Internet Addiction: Prevalence and Factors among Indian Dental Students

Objective: To assess the prevalence and determine the factors associated with Internet Addiction among Indian dental students. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 dental students from different academic years of the Institute of Dental Sciences, Bhubaneswar. Information on demographic characteristics, purpose, and duration of Internet use was recorded. Internet Addiction was assessed using Young’s 20-item Internet Addiction Test (IAT) questionnaire. Chi-square, One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson’s Correlation tests were used for statistical analysis. The level of significance was set at p≤0.05. Results: The prevalence of Internet Addiction was found to be 20.4%. Third-year students showed the highest mean Internet Addiction (46.74 ± 10.26) score. Social networking was the main purpose of Internet use. Bivariate analysis showed that daily hours of Internet use were strongly associated with Internet Addiction, which was statistically significant (p=0.033). The major domains identified in our study towards the contribution of Internet Addiction were Dependence (10.74 ± 2.79) followed by Overuse (10.52 ± 2.58), Emotional state (9.70 ± 3.10), Inhibiting the Flow of Life (8.16 ± 2.74) and Non-restraint (6.37 ± 1.98). Conclusion: Internet Addiction often coexists with other psychological problems. Therefore, early interventions should be implemented, and students should be aware of the adverse effects of spending unnecessary time online.