Investigation of the Effect of Peer Awareness Training Activity on Internet Addiction and Cyberbullying Level

Abstract

Internet addiction is commonly observed in young people and it negatively affects their psychological health. In this study conducted as part of the İzmir Universities Platform Administration Era of Dokuz Eylül University (year 2019), Social Responsibility Project: Digital Citizenship: Do not Be an Addict and a Bully, Use the Internet Consciously and Safely, the effect of peer awareness training on Internet addiction among university students was examined. A total of 188 students studying in eight universities in İzmir constituted the sample of the study. The data of the study were collected via a 33-item Peer Awareness Training Knowledge Measurement Survey including socio-demographic information and information on Internet use developed by the researchers and the 12-item Short Form of Young's Internet Addiction (YIA) Test. The findings show that approximately 50% of the 188 undergraduate students had a score higher than the average score on the YIA Test and this is an indicator of addiction. A low, positive, and significant correlation was found between Internet use duration and the frequency of social media use of the students and their YIA Test scores.

Investigation of University Students' Internet Addiction Levels and Social Media Use Characteristics: A Descriptive Study

“…The data of this study, which is the second stage of research entitled "Examination of Peer Awareness Training Held Regarding Internet Addiction and Cyber Bullying" (Hotar et al, 2020), were obtained from 1644 university students, of whom 188 were undergraduate students, who had received a certificate for participating in peer education training from nine universities. The students were contacted via random sampling and those meeting the inclusion criteria were interviewed.…”