View Article

  • Youth at Risk: Exploring Internet Addiction and Its Impact on South Asia’s Emerging Generation

  • Photo Dr. Pankaj Jain* Photo Sughosh Upasani

  • SES’s R. C. Patel Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Shirpur, 425405, Dhule, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Background - The Indian subcontinent, a South Asian region with diverse cultural practices, linguistics varieties, religious beliefs, and geographical features, is home to India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. An internet usage has increased globally, particularly in emerging nations like India. Internet addiction, a serious problem, is linked to mental health issues like ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. Factors contributing to internet addiction include unstructured time, unrestricted access, cutting-edge equipment use, parental restrictions, virtual emotional expressions, and maintaining confidentiality. Methodology - An analytical investigation was conducted on the Indian subcontinent, involving 150 publications and a sample size of 58633. Data included demographics, internet usage, sample type, age, gender, and IA prevalence, analysed using relevant analytical tools. Result and Discussion - A study comparing 150 articles from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka found that these countries have had the highest mean prevalence of internet addiction. The study suggests combining psychotherapy and pharmacological interventions, a "reality approach" to control behaviour, and a system to provide consistent assistance and alert users to internet usage restrictions. Educational institutions should focus on detecting and intervening before the problem escalates.

Keywords

Indian subcontinent, SAARC, Internet, Anxiety, Depression, Students

Introduction

Indian Subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a South Asian territory known for its many cultural traditions, linguistic variants, religious beliefs, and geographical qualities. This region is a subregion of Asia that includes the countries of India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. All of these countries, including Afghanistan, form the SAARC union. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is South Asia's geographical union of states and regional intergovernmental organisation. India, one of the subcontinent's most populated countries, is well-known for its rich history, diverse cultural traditions, and multiple languages. New Delhi is the national capital of India. Pakistan is known for its diverse landscape, which includes mountains, plains, and a coastline, as well as its tangled history. Islamabad is Pakistan's capital city. Bangladesh is located to the east of India and is noted for its rivers, stunning landscapes, and a mix of urban and rural communities. Bangladesh's capital city is known as Dhaka. Nepal is a geographically isolated country situated mostly in the Himalayas. It is known for its breath-taking mountain beauty and many ethnic groups. Kathmandu is Nepal's major metropolis. Bhutan is a small country located in the eastern Himalayas and is landlocked. It is well-known for promoting Gross National Happiness as a measure of wealth. The capital city of Bhutan is known as Thimphu. Sri Lanka, an island nation to the south of India, is well-known not just for its beautiful beaches, but also for its rich history and diverse cultural influences. Colombo is Sri Lanka's major metropolis. The Maldives are a tropical archipelago in the Indian Ocean. They are noted for their coral reefs, white-sand beaches, and abundance of aquatic life. Male is the name of the capital of the Maldives. The Indian subcontinent has a long and complex history, moulded by numerous empires, religions, and cultures. The region is home to a sizable proportion of the world's population and is well-known for its cultural heritage, which includes Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. Furthermore, the subcontinent is home to a vast diversity of habitats, beginning with the Himalayan Mountain range and reaching all the way to coastal regions and fertile plains. [1-4]

Internet and Internet addiction

Worldwide, and especially in emerging nations like India, internet usage has skyrocketed since the turn of the century. [5-7] The internet has spread to every facet of human existence, from social communication and education to healthcare, finance, administration, retail, and entertainment, despite its humble beginnings as a tool for the exchange of information and study. [6] The internet has become an integral part of our daily lives to the point where we can't fathom a world without it.  The number of people using the internet has surpassed three billion. [8] While technological advancement has undoubtedly improved and simplified our lives, it has also brought about the consequences. [5] Abuse of the internet and compulsive web surfing are real problems. Internet addiction, pathological internet use, online addiction disorder, pathological internet use, and online reliance are some of the terms used to describe this kind of unhealthy internet behaviour. [5,8-11] Although the negative consequences of spending too much time online were known for some time, it wasn't until the mid-1990s that internet addiction was officially acknowledged as a mental illness. [10] Researchers have paid close attention to it since then, and it is now thought of as a subset of behavioural addictions. The DSM-5 does not yet recognise online addiction as a distinct mental illness, although it does list internet gaming disorder as a "condition for further study”. [6, 9-11] Addiction to the internet can cause a host of physical, mental, and social issues, such as reduced productivity at work and in the classroom, poor nutrition, headaches, eye strain, social isolation, and problems in relationships. [10,11] There is strong evidence linking internet addiction to a variety of mental health issues, including ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. [6, 9, 10, 12] The prevalence of internet addiction has been found to vary widely from 0.03% to 97.64 % in various studies, with the exact percentage varying widely across populations, research methods, and diagnostic tools.  Additionally, due to their unique psychosocial and contextual traits, younger people, and particularly college students, are at a higher risk of vulnerability, according to the research. [10] Factors to be responsible - 

  1. Lot of time to spent unstructured.
  2. Unrestricted internet access.
  3. The need to make use of cutting-edge equipment
  4. Fewer restrictions from parents.
  5. Expressions of emotion for other people, virtually.
  6. Maintaining confidentiality 

Several personal, familial, and social traits, in addition to internet-related variables, have been postulated as potential predictors or risk factors for internet addiction by researchers. [10] The appropriate classification of Internet addiction has been debated. Some investigators have linked Internet addiction to addictive disorders, grouping it alongside alcohol and drug use disorders. [13] Others have linked Internet addiction to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)[10] or to the impulse control disorders (ICDs).[14-16] The many names given to this phenomenon recognize the various ways in which it has been regarded:

  • Compulsive computer use, [17]
  • Pathological internet use, [18]
  • Problematic internet use, [19]
  • Internet dependency, [20]
  • Internet addiction [21] and even
  • Internet-mania. [22-23]

According to Young et al., [22] Internet addiction is a broad term covering a wide variety of behaviours and impulse control problems. The five subtypes of Internet addiction are as follows:

  1. Computer addiction,
  2. Cyber-relational addiction,
  3. Cyber-sexual addiction,
  4. Information overload, and
  5. Net compulsions. [23]

Several screening instruments have been developed to assess Internet addiction, although none have emerged as the ‘gold standard’. Viz. Brenner, Egger and Rauterberg, Morahan-Martin and Schumacher, Shaw and Black, Young, etc. [23]

METHODOLOGY

For the Indian subcontinent, an analytical investigation was conducted. The study contained a total of 150 study publications, with a sample size of 58633. To avoid reporting bias, each study article was ensured that it would be coded, and that the information provided would not be the same or duplicate. The information gathered included demographic data, internet usage information, sample type, sample size, mean age of participants, gender preponderance, and IA prevalence. Data was statistically analysed using relevant tools and Microsoft Excel.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Several personal, familial, and social traits, in addition to internet-related variables, have been postulated as potential predictors or risk factors for internet addiction by researchers. [10] Table No. 01 is of details of studies from total 150 articles included in this study from which Bangladesh (06), Bhutan (01), India (128), Nepal (07), Pakistan (06), and Shri Lanka (02). Figure No 01 shows the year of publication and number of studies.

Figure No 01 shows the year of publication and number of studies

Table No. 02 is of Details of studies included such as First author’s name (Surname/ Family name), Year of publication, Location of study sample, Sample type, sample size, prevalence in percentage, criteria used for determination of addiction or problematic use, and Gender preponderance. Table No. 02 is explaining diverse things amongst from which some are as follows. Our analysis, which takes gender differences into account, reveals that while Nepal has more women than men, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have more men than women. However, Bhutan and India are demonstrating an equal impact of men and women. In this study, we observed that, when we broke down the mean prevalence by nation, Bangladesh (31.16%), Bhutan (34.44%), India (27.71%), Nepal (40.38%), Pakistan (36.07%), and Sri Lanka (40.38%) were the highest. Bangladesh (27.25 years), Bhutan (27.6 years), India (21.35 years), Nepal (18.96 years), Pakistan (21.51 years), and Sri Lanka (16.65 years) are the countries with the highest mean ages. Comparing the sample size and population of country is as follows - Bangladesh (1115 out of 169,532,362), Bhutan (721 out of 787,424), India (47424 out of 1,425,775,850), Nepal (2227 out of 30,896,590), Pakistan (2905 out of 241,490,000), and Shri Lanka (4586 out of 21,893,579). The following countries are compared based on sample size and population: Bangladesh (1115 out of 169,532,362), Bhutan (721 out of 787,424), India (47424 out of 1,425,775,850), Nepal (2227 out of 30,896,590), Pakistan (2905 out of 241,490,000), and Sri Lanka (4586 out of 21,893,579). The internet and/or smartphone addiction can be measured using a variety of factors, but there isn't a single, definitive test to detect it with. The phrase addiction or overuse is highly subjective and psychological in nature, making it difficult to define and shape from a single perspective. The following tests or measurements, which were selected for this study after being mentioned in several publications: Chen Internet Addiction Scale - CIAS (01), Internet Addiction Scale - IAS (01), Internet Addiction Test - IAT (30),  Internet Gaming Screening Questionnaire - IGSQ (02),  Mobile Phone Involvement Questionnaire - MPIQ (01),  Nomophobia Questionnaire - NQ (01), Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version - SAS-SV (12), Southampton mindfulness questionnaire - SMQ (02), Smartphone Addiction Inventory - SPAI (01), Young’s Internet Addiction Test - YIAT (93), and self-prepared Questionnaire (06).

Table 01 – Details of studies included.

Authors

Year

Location

Sample type

sample size

PRV (%)

Criteria used

Gender preponderance

Ref

Macro

2004

India

MED

165

58.1

IAT

Not Clear

6

Dixit

2010

India

MED

200

18.5

IAT

Not Clear

6

Neha

2012

India

MED

212

58

IAT

Not Clear

6

Aggarwal

2013

India

MED

192

23.9

SQ

Not Clear

6

Jain

2013

India

MED

200

69.5

IAT

Not Clear

6

Subba.,

2013

India

MED

335

78.8

Reference

  1. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), SAARC Secretariat, Nepal. [Internet] [cited 2023 Dec 23] https://saarc-sec.org/index.php/resources /publications/66-saarc-at-a-glance/file]
  2. Dhavendra Kumar. Genomics and Health in the Developing World. Oxford University Press. 2012, p. 889. ISBN 9780195374759]
  3. Michael Mann. South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives. Taylor & Francis. 2014, pp. 13–15. ISBN 9781317624455]
  4. Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, Religions of South Asia: An Introduction, page 3, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 9781134593224
  5. Nayak JK. Relationship among smartphone usage, addiction, academic performance, and the moderating role of gender: A study of higher education students in India. Computers & Education. 2018 Aug 1; 123:164-73.
  6. Davey S, Davey A. Assessment of Smartphone Addiction in Indian Adolescents: A Mixed Method Study by Systematic review and Meta-analysis Approach. Int J Prev Med 2014; 5:1500-11.
  7. Mangot AG, Murthy VS, Kshirsagar SV, Deshmukh AH, Tembe DV. Prevalence and pattern of phantom ringing and phantom vibration among medical interns and their relationship with smartphone use and perceived stress. Indian J Psychol Med 2018; 40:440-5.
  8. Chaudhari B, Menon P, Saldanha D, Tewari A, Bhattacharya L. Internet addiction and its determinants among medical students. Ind Psychiatry J 2015; 24:158-62.
  9. Nowreen N, Ahad F. Effect of smartphone usage on quality of sleep-in medical students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 2018;8(10):1366-1370.
  10.  Jain P, Gedam SR, Patil PS. Study of smartphone addiction: prevalence, pattern of use, and personality dimensions among medical students from rural region of central India. Open J Psychiatry Allied Sci. 2019; 10:132-8. doi: 10.5958/2394-2061.2019.00029.6.
  11. Shankar V, Singh K, Jangir MK, NOMOPHOBIA: Detection and Analysis of Smartphone Addiction in Indian Perspective, IJAER, 2018, (13), 11593-11599
  12. Kumar VA, Chandrasekaran V, Brahadeeswari H. Prevalence of smartphone addiction and its effects on sleep quality: A cross-sectional study among medical students. Ind Psychiatry J. 2019 Jan-Jun;28(1):82-85. doi: 10.4103/ipj.ipj_56_19. Epub 2019 Dec 11.
  13. Christenson GA, Faber RJ, de Zwaan M, Raymond NC, Specker SM, Ekern MD, Mackenzie TB, Crosby RD, Crow SJ, Eckert ED, et al. Compulsive buying: descriptive characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity. J Clin Psychiatry. 1994 Jan;55(1):5-11.
  14. Whang LS, Lee S, Chang G. Internet over-users' psychological profiles: a behavior sampling analysis on internet addiction. Cyberpsychol Behav. 2003 Apr;6(2):143-50. doi: 10.1089/109493103321640338.
  15. Greenfield DN. Psychological characteristics of compulsive internet use: a preliminary analysis. Cyberpsychol Behav. 1999;2(5):403-12. doi: 10.1089/cpb.1999.2.403.
  16. Treuer T, Fábián Z, Füredi J. Internet addiction associated with features of impulse control disorder: is it a real psychiatric disorder? J Affect Disord. 2001 Oct;66(2-3):283. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00261-5.
  17. Yoo HJ, Cho SC, Ha J, Yune SK, Kim SJ, Hwang J, Chung A, Sung YH, Lyoo IK. Attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms and internet addiction. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2004 Oct;58(5):487-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2004.01290. x.
  18. Brenner V. Psychology of computer use: XLVII. Parameters of Internet use, abuse and addiction: the first 90 days of the Internet Usage Survey. Psychol Rep. 1997 Jun;80(3 Pt 1):879-82. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1997.80.3.879.
  19. Holden C. 'Behavioral' addictions: do they exist? Science. 2001 Nov 2;294(5544):980-2. doi: 10.1126/science.294.5544.980.
  20. Belsare TJ, Gaffney GR, Black DW. Compulsive computer use. Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Feb;154(2):289. doi: 10.1176/ajp.154.2.289a.
  21. Stein DJ. Internet addiction, Internet psychotherapy. Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Jun;154(6):890. doi: 10.1176/ajp.154.6.890.
  22. Aboujaoude E, Koran LM, Gamel N, Large MD, Serpe RT. Potential markers for problematic internet use: a telephone survey of 2,513 adults. CNS Spectr. 2006 Oct;11(10):750-5. doi: 10.1017/s1092852900014875.
  23. Shaw M, Black DW. Internet addiction: definition, assessment, epidemiology and clinical management. CNS Drugs. 2008;22(5):353-65. doi: 10.2165/00023210-200822050-00001.
  24. Joseph J, Varghese A, VR V, et al. Prevalence of internet addiction among college students in the Indian setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis. General Psychiatry 2021;34: e100496. doi:10.1136/gpsych-2021-100496
  25. Mamun, M.A.; Griffiths, Mark D. (2019). The assessment of internet addiction in Bangladesh: Why are prevalence rates so different? Asian Journal of Psychiatry, doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.01.017
  26. Sharma M, Amandeep, Mathur DM, Jeenger J. Nomophobia and its relationship with depression, anxiety, and quality of life in adolescents. Ind Psychiatry J 2019; 28:231-6
  27. Prabhakaran MA, Patel VR, Ganjiwale DJ, Nimbalkar MS. Factors associated with internet addiction among school-going adolescents in Vadodara. Journal of family medicine and primary care. 2016 Oct;5(4):765.
  28. Buneviciene I, Bunevicius A. Prevalence of internet addiction in healthcare professionals: Systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 2021;67(5):483-491. doi:10.1177/0020764020959093
  29. Patel AV, Patel AP, Patel DV, Patel DM, Patel DR, Patel JB, Suresh V. Assessment of smartphone addiction among undergraduate students of Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Vadodara. International Journal of Nursing Education and Research. 2017;5(1):16-8.
  30. Dharmadhikari SP, Harshe SD, Bhide PP, Prevalence and correlates of excessive smartphone use among medical students: A cross sectional study. Indian J Psychol Med 2019; 41:549-55.
  31. Karki K, Singh DR, Maharjan D, KC S, Shrestha S, Thapa DK. Internet addiction and sleep quality among adolescents in a peri-urban setting in Nepal: A cross-sectional school-based survey. PLoS One. 2021 Feb 18;16(2):e0246940.. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20192903
  32. Daniel P. Pattern of internet use and prevalence of internet addiction among interns of a medical college in Kerala. Int J Community Med Public Health 2019; 6:5, 1-5. 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20191508
  33. Kamate R, Baliga S, Mallapur MD. Internet addiction among engineering students in Belagavi city: cross sectional study. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 2019 Apr;6(4):1488. 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20191372
  34. Kandasamy S, Buhari AM, Janaki S. A study on anxiety disorder among college students with internet addiction. Int. J. Community Med. Public Health. 2019 Apr; 6:1695-700. 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20191407
  35. Kannan B, Karthik S, Pal GK, Menon V.Gender Variation in the Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Impact of Internet Addiction on Reaction Time and Heart Rate Variability in Medical College Students.J Clin of Diagn Res.2019; 13(4):CC01-CC04. https://www.doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2019/40839/12753
  36. Padmanabha TS, Kshamaa HG, Raghavendra SK. A Cross-sectional Study of Relationship between Internet Addiction and Performance in Internal Assessment in 2nd Year Medical Undergraduates of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital at B G Nagara. J Med Sci Health 2019;5(1):7-11.
  37. Patel VK. Study of Internet Use Characteristics, Perceived Stress, and Internet Addiction among First-year Medical Students of Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. Ind J Priv Psychiatry 2019;13(2):44–47
  38. Sancheti PV, Kotnis SD, Mangulikar SK. Is Mental Health of College Students Affected by Internet- A Cross Sectional Study in Solapur City. Natl J Community Med 2019;10(10):536-540
  39. Andrusha A. Features of Internet-addiction among medical students (Doctoral dissertation).
  40. Asokan AG, Varghese VA, Rajeev A. Internet addiction among medical students and its impact on academic performance: An Indian study. J Med Sci Clin Res. 2019;7(3):670-6.
  41. Bagdey P, Adikane H, Narlawar U, Dhage D, Surwase K, Kaware A. A cross sectional study of prevalence of internet addiction and its association with mental health among college going students in Nagpur city. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Apr;5(4):1658-65.
  42. Chaudhuri S, Dutt R, Ahmad S. Internet addiction among medical undergraduates in a medical college of West Bengal-a cross-sectional study. Indian Journal of Community Health. 2019 Sep 30;31(3):371-5.
  43. Ghanate AN, Jattana DK, Vijra V, Baig AR. A study of prevalance of internet addiction and its association with depression and anxiety among medical students. Telangana Journal of Psychiatry. 2019 Jul 1;5(2):133-40.
  44. Kulkarni DV, Kumar DL, Naidu DL. Smart phone use and sleep disturbances, depression and anxiety in Adolescents. Public Health Review-International Journal of Public Health Research. 2019;6(2):1-7.
  45. Kumar N, Kumar A, Mahto SK, Kandpal M, Deshpande SN, Tanwar P. Prevalence of excessive internet use and its correlation with associated psychopathology in 11th and 12th grade students. General psychiatry. 2019;32(2).
  46. Amala KJ, Diya AP, Abhishek N, Vidhukumar K. Peer-reported prevalence of substance and internet use among school going adolescents. Kerala Journal of Psychiatry. 2018;31(2).
  47. Mavatkar MV. A cross sectional study on social media usage and health status among under graduate medical students studying in Government medical college Telangana.
  48. Mohandas B, Pawar AT, John A, Kumar KD, Sujesh PK. A cross sectional study on internet addiction among students of KMCT integrated campus. Public Health Rev. 2019; 6:17-24.
  49. Renuka K, Gopalakrishnan S, Umadevi R. Prevalence of smartphone addiction in an urban area of Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu: a cross sectional study. Int J Com Med. 2019 Oct;6(10):4218.
  50. Javaeed A, Bint Zafar M, Iqbal M, Ghauri SK. Correlation between Internet addiction, depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate medical students in Azad Kashmir. Pakistan journal of medical sciences. 2019 Mar;35(2):506. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.2.169
  51. Javaeed A, Jeelani R, Gulab S, Ghauri SK. Relationship between internet addiction and academic performance of undergraduate medical students of Azad Kashmir. Pakistan journal of medical sciences. 2020 Jan;36(2):229. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1061
  52. Hassan et al. Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association (2020) 95:3 https://doi.org/10.1186/s42506-019-0032-7
  53. Vadlamudi Nandan Siva Sai, Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Its Association with the Quality of Sleep among First and Second Year MBBS students, IJSR, 2020,09,02, 954-956. DOI: 10.21275/ART20203911
  54. Abhinaya RV, Sailahari KV. " A Cross Sectional Study on Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Relation with Psychopathology in Undergraduate Medical Students. DOI: 10.9790/0853-1905031419
  55. Gupta D, Prabhu S. Study of internet addiction in young adults. Int J Health Sci Res. 2020; 10(4):52-58.
  56. Awasthi AA, Taneja N, Maheshwari S, Gupta T. Prevalence of Internet addiction, poor sleep quality, and depressive symptoms among medical students: a cross-sectional study. Osong public health and research perspectives. 2020 Oct;11(5):303. 10.24171/j.phrp.2020.11.5.06
  57. Jain S, Agarwal V, Garg SK. Internet Addiction among Undergraduate Students of a Medical College in North India. J Med Acad 2020;3(1):14–16.
  58. Kaur G, Saha S, Das A, Naithani M. Prevalence and Health related effects of Internet Addiction on Medical students in a Tertiary care center. Indian J Comm Health. 2020;32(1):145-150
  59. Sharma MK, Sunil S, Roopesh BN, Galagali PM, Anand N, Thakur PC, et al. Digital failure: An emerging reason of anger expression among adolescents. Ind Psychiatry J 2020; 29:335-8
  60. Singh B, Singh P, Singh U, et al. Student’s Perceived Stress and Internet Addiction during the Lockdown in India. Ind J Priv Psychiatry 2020;14(1):30–34
  61. Agarwal AK, Verma A, Agarwal M, Singh SK. Adolescents Sleep Quality and Internet Addiction. Pediatric Oncall Journal. 2020 Nov 20;17(4):116-20.
  62. Basu S, Sharma P, Rustagi R, Sharma R, Sharma N. Measuring addiction to internet gaming among Indian medical students: Development and preliminary psychometric properties of a new scale. Industrial Psychiatry Journal. 2020 Jan;29(1):33.
  63. Gotame N, Sainju S, Bhandari N. Online Game Addiction among Secondary Level Students of Selected Schools at Kathmandu District. Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences Nepal.:44.
  64. Kandre D, Patel A, Mehta PI. Analytical study of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and Internet addiction among medical students. Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia/Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology. 2020;15(1):7-12.
  65. Oswal RM, Pal S, Patel SV, Patel A, Doshi V, Gandhi RR. Smartphone addiction among undergraduate medical students and its association with academic performance. Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences. 2020;11(2):111-6.
  66. Prakash S, Yadav JS, Singh TB. An online cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of internet addiction among people staying at their home during lockdown due to COVID-19. Int J Indian Psychol. 2020;8(3):424-32.
  67. Dhamnetiya D, Singh SV. Predictors of internet addiction among medical students of North India. 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-526585/v1
  68. Raveendran, R., Jose, R., Jacob, S. R., George, A. S., N., V., K., M. M., S., G., Unni, R., & S., A. K. (2021). Internet usage among medical students: prevalence, addiction and health issues. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 8(8), 4030–4036. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20213040
  69. Mariavinifa, X., Govindarajan, P. K., & Felix, J. W. (2021). Prevalence and associated factors of Internet addiction among college students using smartphone in Tamil Nadu -A Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 8(9), 4525. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20213563
  70. Razik MC, Premarajan KC, Sujiv A, Olickal JJ. Prevalence of internet addiction and its association with quality of sleep among arts and science college students of Puducherry, India. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 2021 Nov;8(11):5364.
  71. Mengistu N, Tarekegn D, Bayisa Y, Yimer S, Madoro D, Assefa DG, Zeleke ED, Molla W, Wudneh A, Shumye S, Duko B. Prevalence and factors associated with problematic internet use among Ethiopian undergraduate university students in 2019. Journal of Addiction. 2021 Dec 9;2021. 10.1155/2021/6041607
  72. Salunkhe L, Ghaorpade V, Salunkhe R, Mali N. Assessment of prevalence of internet addiction among youth population in urban and rural area: A comparative study. International Journal of Advanced Community Medicine. 2021;4(2). 10.33545/comed.2021.v4.i2a.192
  73. Yamuna G, KV AV, Thomas S. Internet Addiction Among Young Adults Amidst Covid 19 Pandemic. 10.36713/Epra6557
  74. Patil, S. S. (2021). to assess the prevalence of internet addiction and awareness regarding impacts of internet addiction on health among high school students. International Journal of Advanced Psychiatric Nursing, 3(2), 43–45. https://doi.org/10.33545/26641348.2021.v3.i2a.63
  75. Kumar V, Prajapati AK, Soni K, Bharti RK, Rani V, Singh NP. A Study on Prevalence and Severity of Internet Addiction Among Students of a Degree College of Etawah City Uttar Pradesh. Int J HealthCare Edu & Med Inform. 2021;8(2):7-11.
  76. Sebastian SR, Saji JA, Salam SA, Victor JJ, Puthuvana AT. The phantom syndrome: a descriptive study on prevalence and association with smartphone addiction and perceived stress among medical students in central Kerala. Int J Community Med Public Health 2020; 7:2348-51.
  77. Singh HN, Singh TH, Sewda A, et al. Internet addiction and its association with psychopathology in medical students of JNIMS, Imphal, Manipur. J Evid Based Med Healthc 2021;8(17):1111-1115. DOI:10.18410/jebmh/2021/215
  78. Surobhi Chatterjee & Sujita Kumar Kar (2021): Smartphone Addiction and Quality of Sleep among Indian Medical Students, Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1080/00332747.2021.1907870
  79. Gupta, M.K., Kujur, S., & Kumar, N. (2021). Prevalence of smart phone addiction and its impact on sleep quality and selected psychological problems among nursing students of selected nursing colleges, Rohtas, Bihar. International Journal of Advanced Psychiatric Nursing.
  80. Nayak A, Saranya K, Fredrick J, Madumathy R, Subramanian SK. Assessment of burden of internet addiction and its association with quality of sleep and cardiovascular autonomic function in undergraduate medical students. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2021 Jul 1; 11:100773.
  81. Kumar Pal, A., & Ray, S. (2021). AN Evaluation Of Internet Addiction Among Undergraduate Medical Students In India. Indian Journal Of Applied Research.
  82. Mengistu, N., Tarekegn, D., Bayisa, Y., Yimer, S., Madoro, D., Assefa, D., Zeleke, E. D., Molla, W., Wudneh, A., Shumye, S., & Duko, B. (2021b). Prevalence and Factors Associated with Problematic Internet Use among Ethiopian Undergraduate University Students in 2019. Journal of Addiction, 2021, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6041607
  83. Singh S, Shrestha S. Internet addiction among students of selected schools of Pokhara, Nepal. Journal of Chitwan Medical College.2021;11(35):104-7.
  84. Singh, B., Singh, K.K., & Ansari, J.A. (2021). Internet Addiction, Sleep Quality and Depression among Undergraduate Medical Students in Nepal.
  85. Lakhdir, M. P. A., Hameed, A. N., Hasnani, F. B., Angez, M., Nawaz, M. T., Khan, M. M. H., Peerwani, G., Nathwani, A. A., & Azam, S. I. (2021). Internet addiction and related psychosocial factors among Pakistani population during Covid19. Research Square (Research Square).  https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-927656/v1
  86. Memon TF, Baloch GH, Khan MT, Zehravi F, Soomro H, Motlani J. Internet Use and Its Addiction Among Medical Students in Hyderabad, Pakistan. J Islamabad Med Dental Coll. 2021; 10(4): 228-233. Doi:10.35787/jimdc. v10i4.724
  87. Mengistu, N., Tarekegn, D., Bayisa, Y., Yimer, S., Madoro, D., Assefa, D., Zeleke, E. D., Molla, W., Wudneh, A., Shumye, S., & Duko, B. (2021). Prevalence and Factors Associated with Problematic Internet Use among Ethiopian Undergraduate University Students in 2019. Journal of Addiction, 2021, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6041607
  88. Naseem A, Hashmi Z, Arif S, Razzaq T, Shahzadi N, Correlation of internet addiction with academic performance and general health in undergraduate physiotherapy students: Internet Addiction with Academic Performance and General Health. Pakistan BioMedical Journal, 2201, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v4i2.108
  89. Gunathillaka, K., Wijesinghe, C. A., Gunasekera, T., Premathilake, B., Rodrigo, A., Pathmeswaran, A., & Kuruppuarachchi, L. (2021). Validation of the internet addiction test (IAT) to Sinhalese and assessment of internet addiction among school children in Sri Lanka. British Journal of Psychiatry Open, 7(S1), S27.
  90. Tasneem Chowdhury A, Siddiqua SR, Rahman L et al. Internet addiction during COVID-19 restricted movement period: A cross-sectional study from Bangladesh [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] F1000Research 2022, 11:519 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.108664.1
  91. Chauhan N, Tiwari P, Ahlawat P, Singh SK, Kamble BD, Mahaur G. Internet Addiction and Sleep Quality Among Medical Students of Delhi: A New Age Epidemic. Natl J Community Med 2022;13(12):864-868. DOI: 10.55489/njcm.131220222488
  92. Ghogare AS, Aloney SA, Vankar GK, Bele AW, Patil PS, Ambad RS. A cross-sectional online survey of an impact of COVID-19 lockdown on smartphone addiction and nomophobia among undergraduate health sciences students of a rural tertiary health-care center from Maharashtra, India. Ann Indian Psychiatry 2022; 6:27-37.
  93. Patel, N. M., Patel, H. C., & Patel, V. (2022). The Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Associated Factors among School-Going Adolescents in Ahmedabad. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 04(04), 104–111.
  94. Dawadi, P., Khadka, S., Maharjan, S., Baniya, A., Khadka, S., Thapa, S., & Deo, R.K. (2022). Internet Addiction among Undergraduate Medical Students of a Medical College: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study. JNMA: Journal of the Nepal Medical Association, 60, 533 - 536.
  95. Mohi Ud Din, Mahboob T, Mehboob F, Saeed K, Ali MA, Faraz MA. The prevalence of internet addiction and its association with depression among medical students. Professional Med J 2022; 29(9):1432-1438.
  96. Gayan, A., & De Silva, C. (2022). Internet Addiction Disorder and its Associated Factors among 15-19-Year-Old Adolescents in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 1(2), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajiri.v1i2.792
  97. Goel, Deepak; Subramanyam, Alka; Kamath, Ravindra. A study on the prevalence of internet addiction and its association with psychopathology in Indian adolescents. Indian Journal of Psychiatry 55(2): p 140-143, Apr–Jun 2013. | DOI: 10.4103/0019-5545.111451
  98. Shahi, D.A., & Razdan, D.R. (2023). A study on the prevalence of internet addiction in medical students. International Journal of Research in Psychiatry.
  99. Acharya, S., Adhikari, L., Khadka, S., Paudel, S., & Kaphle, M. (2023). Internet Addiction and Its Associated Factors among Undergraduate Students in Kathmandu, Nepal. Journal of Addiction, 2023.

Photo
Dr. Pankaj Jain
Corresponding author

SES’s R. C. Patel Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Shirpur, 425405, Dhule, Maharashtra, India

Photo
Sughosh Upasani
Co-author

SES’s R. C. Patel Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Shirpur, 425405, Dhule, Maharashtra, India

Dr. Pankaj Jain*, Sughosh Upasani, Youth at Risk: Exploring Internet Addiction and Its Impact on South Asia’s Emerging Generation, Int. J. Sci. R. Tech., 2025, 2 (12), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18118505

More related articles
To Develop and Evaluate A Tablet Formulation Conta...
Mayank Harne, Jija Lode, Chitralekha Therkar, ...
Role Of The Government Towards The Promotion Of So...
Anju Bala , ...
Data to Diagnosis Machine Learning Models for Accu...
Ayush Kumar, A. Srinath, G. Bharath, A. Sharath Chandra, Dr. R. S...
View more
Exploring the Land Reclamation Practice for Sustainable Agricultural Development...
Siddharth Singh, Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh, ...
The Interplay Between Calcium Homeostasis and Cardiac Function in Congestive Hea...
Arnab Roy, Mahesh Kumar Yadav, Naba Kishor Gorai , Rakhi Kumari , Megha Chattaraj , Tammana Parween,...
Neurodegenerative Disorder...
Vaishnavi Lokhande, N. S. Patole, Gauri Torane, Dhanashri Virkar, Pranali Daware, ...
View more
Download PDF
Related Articles
From Circuit Switched to Packet Switch Data: Architecture Evolution and Impact o...
Mukta Tamhankar, Nilam Khandelwal, Sanyukta Karajgar, Radhika Kashatriya, Pranjal Farakte, ...
Density without Equity? Rethinking Urban Agglomeration, Inclusiveness, and Spati...
J. Madegowda, ...
Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Using Guar Gum Powder as A Natural Polyelectrol...
Ezhava Shruthi, Aayushi Panchal, Bharat Maitreya, Solanki Hitesh, ...
Artificial intelligence in drug discovery and development...
Shubham Gurule, Pratik Bhabad, Anuja Darade, Sahil Gawade, Rutuja Avhad, Sakshi Bhagat , ...
To Develop and Evaluate A Tablet Formulation Containinng Cassia Alata Leaf Extra...
Mayank Harne, Jija Lode, Chitralekha Therkar, ...
More related articles
To Develop and Evaluate A Tablet Formulation Containinng Cassia Alata Leaf Extra...
Mayank Harne, Jija Lode, Chitralekha Therkar, ...
Role Of The Government Towards The Promotion Of Social Entrepreneurship...
Anju Bala , ...
Data to Diagnosis Machine Learning Models for Accurate Anemia Classification...
Ayush Kumar, A. Srinath, G. Bharath, A. Sharath Chandra, Dr. R. Shoba Rani, Dr. M. Manikandan, Dr. S...
View more

Copyright © 2025 IJSRT. All rights reserved