Problematic Use of the Internet and Smartphones in University Students: 2006–2017

Abstract

It has been more than a decade since a concern about the addictive use of the Internet and mobile phones was first expressed, and its possible inclusion into the lists of mental disorders has recently become a popular topic of scientific discussion. Thus, it seems to be a fitting moment to investigate the prevalence of this issue over time. The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of the perception of problematic Internet and smartphone use in young people over the period 2006–2017. To this end, a questionnaire on Internet use habits and two questionnaires on the negative consequences of Internet and smartphone use were administered to a sample of 792 university students. The scores were then compared with the results of former studies that had used these questionnaires. The perception of problematic Internet and mobile phone use has increased over the last decade, social networks are considered responsible for this increase, and females are perceived to be more affected than males. The current study shows how strong smartphone and Internet addiction and social media overlap. Participants from 2017 report higher negative consequences of both Internet and mobile phone use than those from 2006, but long-term observations show a decrease in problematic use after a sharp increase in 2013. We conclude that the diagnosis of technological addictions is influenced by both time and social and culture changes.

Factors Contributing to Mobile Phone Dependence Amongst Young People—Educational Implications

“…In accordance with Carbonell et al [16], concern about the potential addiction that can be generated by inappropriate mobile phone use has been a troubling problem in research for more than a decade. This coincides with the point at which studies began to investigate the prevalence of problematic use.…”

“…There is an existing social concern regarding the development of pathological behaviors. Such risks include addiction to this device and problems associated to excess use or other dangerous practices of technology use [11,12,16].…”

“…Amongst the various risk behaviors, the most harmful consists of feelings of dependence and addiction towards the smartphone. Despite interest in investigating this phenomenon further in adolescents and young people as they constitute the population most exposed to this technology, the majority of studies have focused on the adult population [16].…”

Addiction of smart phone and its health implications

“…Dr. Ivan Goldberg was pioneer in the field who coined the terms internet addiction disorder (IAD) for pathological, compulsive use of internet [7]. Broadly speaking, addiction to the internet can be categorized into addiction to sex and relationships, addiction to online games, net compulsions, overload of information and so on [1]. One could argue that we are partly addicted to socializing, not to the technology (smartphones) per se.…”

“…There are relatively few studies available on smartphone addiction. The growing number of users of the smart devises in schools and colleges is a serious health concern [1][2]. Students use smartphones in classrooms, leisure hours specially at night, in bed before going to sleep.…”