Internet addiction among medical and non-medical students during COVID-19 pandemic, Tanta University, Egypt

Abstract

Internet addiction is one of the most growing addictive behaviors worldwide, especially among university students affecting their physical and mental health negatively. During COVID-19, accessing online books, completing assignments, and online assessments are highly recommended by universities, teachers, and students. The Internet has increasingly become a vital part of our lives, and distant online classes increase the dependency of students on the Internet. The aim of this study is to assess the level of internet addiction among medical or non-medical students in Tanta University, Egypt. This was a cross-sectional study conducted during October and November 2020. It included 373 students from the faculty of medicine and 373 non-medical students from the faculty of science. The validated (IAT-20) was used to assess the level of Internet addiction among these students. A total of 51.7% of medical students were found severe internet addicts and 43.4% of them were possible addicts compared to only 11.3% of non-medical students who were found severely addicted to the Internet and 68.9% of them were possible addicts with statistically significant difference between them. Female students of both colleges were found addicted to the Internet than males. Female medical and non-medical students suffered from severe Internet addiction more than non-medical and male ones. Appropriate awareness creation intervention strategies should be implemented to decrease the level of Internet addiction among university students and to reduce its harmful and negative consequences.