Heavy internet use and correlations with interpersonal behaviours among university entrants in Hong Kong

This paper summarizes the effects of Internet use on interpersonal behaviours among university students in Hong Kong. 2427 university matriculants in Hong Kong (mean age = 18.9, response rate 92.1%) completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire at the pre-enrollment health check-up. In the week preceding the survey, 99.4% of students had used the Internet with an average of 2.8 h/day; 14.9% reported heavy Internet use (> 4 h/day). Males (OR = 2.48) and Hong Kong-born students were more likely to be heavy users (OR = 1.67) while students with a religious affiliation (OR = 0.70), with a parent with tertiary education (OR = 0.68), or those in a romantic relationship (OR = 0.72) were less likely to be heavy users. Heavy users were less likely to socialize face-to-face (OR = 0.75) or talking to someone in person (OR = 0.61) in order to relieve feelings of stress, but were more likely to engage in online chatting (OR = 1.73) and online interactive games (OR = 2.43). They were also more likely to skip school (OR = 2.21), to be yelled at by family members (OR = 2.05) and to meet strangers from the Internet in person (OR = 3.31). There is strong evidence of the adverse effects of heavy internet use on interpersonal behaviours among Hong Kong university students, warranting further studies.