Internet Addiction Between Mass Communication and Nursing Students of Segi University College Research Proposal
Background
In recent years, the use of the internet has skyrocketed. The internet appears to have an ever-increasing part of many people’s day-to-day lives. Internet addiction is a new phenomenon of today’s plastic age. In fact, for some people, the computer world rivals their real world. Currently, Internet addiction is not an official disorder, and many mental health professionals are not certain if it ever should be considered a real disorder. Nevertheless, compulsive Internet use is a serious problem for many people, and there are methods that can be helpful in alleviating this problem.
Issues on the excessive use of internet or internet addiction, first studied by Young (1996), have been widely explored from different angles and several scales have been developed to study the matter empirically.
According to a review by Widyanto and Griffiths (2006, as cited in Azim et al. 2009), it is summarized that empirical research on ‘internet addiction’ can be categorized into five areas:
1) comparison between excessive internet users and non-excessive users,
2) survey studies on vulnerable groups of excessive internet use,
3) studies on the psychometric properties of excessive internet use,
4) case studies on excessive internet users and the treatment, and
5) correlational studies examining the relationship of excessive internet use with other behaviours.
Students in general, are not restricted to specific working or studying hours, and they have a number of term breaks and holidays throughout the year. In addition to that, Kandell (1998, as cited in Azim et al, 2009) stated that college students usually have free and easily accessed connections, meaning that internet use is both implicitly and explicitly encouraged by a recognized, institutional authority. Furthermore, due to high necessity of internet connection for both academic and organizational purposes, most education institutions today do provide internet access for the students in the campus.
In recent years, the use of the internet has skyrocketed. The internet appears to have an ever-increasing part of many people’s day-to-day lives. Internet addiction is a new phenomenon of today’s plastic age. In fact, for some people, the computer world rivals their real world. Currently, Internet addiction is not an official disorder, and many mental health professionals are not certain if it ever should be considered a real disorder. Nevertheless, compulsive Internet use is a serious problem for many people, and there are methods that can be helpful in alleviating this problem.
Issues on the excessive use of internet or internet addiction, first studied by Young (1996), have been widely explored from different angles and several scales have been developed to study the matter empirically.
According to a review by Widyanto and Griffiths (2006, as cited in Azim et al. 2009), it is summarized that empirical research on ‘internet addiction’ can be categorized into five areas:
1) comparison between excessive internet users and non-excessive users,
2) survey studies on vulnerable groups of excessive internet use,
3) studies on the psychometric properties of excessive internet use,
4) case studies on excessive internet users and the treatment, and
5) correlational studies examining the relationship of excessive internet use with other behaviours.
Students in general, are not restricted to specific working or studying hours, and they have a number of term breaks and holidays throughout the year. In addition to that, Kandell (1998, as cited in Azim et al, 2009) stated that college students usually have free and easily accessed connections, meaning that internet use is both implicitly and explicitly encouraged by a recognized, institutional authority. Furthermore, due to high necessity of internet connection for both academic and organizational purposes, most education institutions today do provide internet access for the students in the campus.
References: Azim, D. H. F. & Zam, N. A. M. & Rahman, W. R. A. (2009). Internet Addiction Between Malaysian Male and Female Undergraduate Human Sciences Students of The International Islamic University Malaysia. The Sixth International Research Colloquium: Research in Malaysia and Thailand. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Psychology. Kandell, J. J. (1998). Internet addiction on campus: the vulnerability of college students. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1, 11–17. Ozcan, N. K. & Buzlu, S. (2007). Internet use and its relation with the psychosocial situation for a sample of university students. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 10,767–772. Wan Rafaei Abdul Rahman (2005). In search of equivalence: The cross-cultural approach. The First International Research Colloquium: Research in Malaysia and Thailand. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Psychology. Widyanto, L. & McMurran, M. (2004). The psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 7 (4), 443-450. Widyanto, L., & Griffiths, M. (2006). ‘Internet addiction’: A critical review. International Journal of Mental Health Addict, 4, 31-51. Young, K. (1996). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 3, 237–244. Young, K. (1998). Caught in the Net. New York: John Wiley & Sons.