Internet Addiction and Mental Health Risks among Adolescents

Abstract

The internet is good for people's mental health and wellbeing when used moderately. However, Internet use is regarded as problematic when it turns compulsive, interferes with everyday activities, and when the user has trouble controlling its usage. The current study looked into the connection between internet addiction and mental health risks such as sadness, anxiety, and stress among 260 internet addicted (108 male and 154 female) school/college students out of total 604 adolescents. Their age ranged from 11 to 19, and they were chosen at random to take a battery of psychometrically recognised tests, such as Internet Addiction Test and  Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results of Pearson correlation coefficients revealed that internet addiction positively and significantly correlated with psychological risk factors like Depression, anxiety, and stress. The values of Pearson r documented as .282, .405 and .355 respectively. In addition, results of Regression analysis also showed that Internet addiction as a predictor of depression and anxiety.