Abstract:
Considering the explosive growth in internet use among medical students in India, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of internet addiction in undergraduate medical students.This cross-sectional study involved 90 subjects (18-20 years of age) selected by random sampling from the first year undergraduate medical student population at Kasturba Medical College Mangalore. Young�s Internet addiction test questionnaire was administered. Based on the scoring, subjects were classified into normal users (score <20), mild (score 20-49), moderate (score 50-79) and severe (score >79) internet addiction groups.The prevalence of internet addiction (moderate and severe) was determined to be 18.88%. Majority (57.77%) conformed to mild addiction. The most common purpose for internet use was found to be social networking (97.8%), followed closely by e mailing (87.8%).The prevalence of moderate to severe internet addiction appeared to be low, a significant number of students conform to mild addiction.
Keywords:Internet use, Addiction, Prevalence, Medical students, social networking