Recent research at colleges and universities has suggested that some college students' academic performance might be impaired by heavier use of the Internet. This study reviews the relevant literature and presents data from a survey of 572 students at a large public university. Heavier recreational Internet use was shown to be correlated highly with impaired academic performance. Loneliness, staying up late, tiredness, and missing class were also intercorrelated with self-reports of Internet-caused impairment. Self-reported Internet dependency and impaired academic performance were both associated with greater use of all Internet applications, but particularly with much greater use of synchronous communication applications such as chat rooms and MUDs, as opposed to asynchronous applications such as email and Usenet newsgroups.
Low sensation seeking and loneliness have been associated with collegiate Internet dependence. In an attempt to further explicate the factors associated with collegiate Internet dependence, interpersonal shyness (both online and in face-to-face [FTF] interactions) was explored. An online questionnaire was used to assess Internet dependency and shyness. The results demonstrated the predicted interaction such that shyness level for nondependents did not differ online or in FTF interactions. However, dependents' shyness was greater in FTF interactions relative to online interpersonal exchanges. The results were discussed in terms of how various Internet resources (e.g., e-mail, chat rooms, and instant messages) can be used to ameliorate shyness and how such negatively reinforced behavior could foster dependence.
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