Essay Sample on Internet Addiction in College Campuses

Introduction

Addiction to the internet among college students has been rampant recently. I have chosen the articles; "There's a new addiction on campus: Problematic Internet Use (PIU)", and "Internet addiction detection rate among college students in the People's Republic of China: a meta-analysis" as references for the discussion. The first article was a single study conducted in UNC-Chapel Hill, on how internet addiction impacts family relationships. The latter was an analysis of 26 studies aimed at determining the detection rates of internet addiction among college students in China. This paper, therefore, is a comparative analysis of the articles above, as they differ in their areas of focus and the modes of study.

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The article by Synder, O' Brien & Wen focuses on how the problematic use of the internet affects how college students relate with their family members. The authors had conducted a study at the University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus, where graduate and undergraduate students participated. The criteria required that the participants had to be students who consume 25 hours every week on the internet for non-academic reasons. Moreover, they should have encountered at least one problem from the excessive use. The findings revealed that students experienced both beneficial and adverse effects of internet addiction on their family relationships.

College students are now facing a behavioral addiction to the internet that they cannot regulate or be honest about (Synder, O' Brien & Wen). As a result, they are at risk of suffering from mental health conditions such as ADHD, depression, social-related phobias, and sleeping disorders. According to A. Sharma and R. Sharma (147), several factors are leading students to internet addiction. Firstly, they have ample free time and easy access to the internet. Secondly, students face challenges when adapting to college life, hence, use the internet to find friends and companions. Thirdly, they are at liberty to use the internet as they please since parental control is minimal in the campus. Lastly, the internet is also an escape route for college troubles.

Statistics from the UNC-Chapel Hill study showed that about 48.1% of the participating students were addicted to the internet (Synder, O'Brien & Wen). The students had given a positive response to at least five out the eight questions in the questionnaire. 40.7% had the potential of being internet addicts as they agreed to be affected by a few of the issues in question. They had answered "yes" to three or four queries. The 'Compulsive Internet Use Scale', was used as the criteria for problematic internet use (PIU) revealed that all the participants had difficulties such as sleeping problems if they did not use the internet.

On the other hand, conversations that included six to eight participants showed that there were both positive and negative impacts of PIU on family relations (Synder, O'Brien & Wen). Three significant issues which included family connections, conflict of disconnect, and excessive internet use among family members emerged. Romiani et al. (1381) argued that addiction to the internet could alter a family's values and lifestyle. From UNC study, only a few participants explained that internet overuse positively affected how they related to other family members. For instance, some claimed that they frequently connected with relatives using applications like Facebook and Skype.

On the contrary, many students admitted that PIU had negatively impacted their family relationships (Synder, O'Brien & Wen). For example, a high number revealed that spending too much time on the internet resulted in family conflicts. For example, one of the students admitted that his parents and grandparents were uncomfortable with his excessive internet use. Another undesirable effect was that boundaries lacked on how family members spent time on the internet. It is, therefore, evident that internet addiction is detrimental to family relations.

The article, "There's a new addiction on campus: Problematic Internet Use (PIU)" has successfully claimed that internet addiction is a problematic behavior that affects college students. However, it has majorly focused on its effect on family relationships and ignored other adverse effects such as academic performance, substance abuse, and general health. The study also had a small sample of 27 students. The sample size could have limited the possibility of encountering more themes and effects of internet addiction. The study was, however, efficient in its context to identify a problem and address it.

The article "Internet addiction detection rate among college students in the People's Republic of China: a meta-analysis.", is a comprehensive study that Shao et al. conducted in China. The study involved the analysis of 26 research papers, with a sample size of 38, 245 students. Results from this meta-analysis showed that 4,573 of them were addicted to the internet. The combined detection rate of internet obsession among Chinese college students was higher as compared to other countries, hence, called for attention.

Shao et al. (25) acknowledged that there lacks an agreement on the ideal method of detecting and diagnosing internet addiction. 'The Young's Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire' and the 'Chen Internet Addiction Scale' (CIAS) are the primary techniques, which are also used in the studies. The questionnaire has eight questions, and the criteria dictate that an individual is addicted to internet if he/she answers "yes" to five questions. Young later upgraded the questionnaire to include a DSM-IV with points starting from 0 to 100 (Berner et al. 11). An individual who scores 80 to 100 points is addicted to the internet. In the CIAS, a person with 68 and above points is an internet addict.

The meta-analysis on 26 articles published from 2006-2017 portrayed that the prevalence of the internet addiction among college students in China was between 4 and 43.9% (Shao et al. 25). The combined addiction rate in China was 11%, which was higher than the global figure of 10% (Bian et al. 68). The detection rate was higher among male students at 16% as compared to 8% if females. Male students are more addicted to the internet since they rarely seek social support but opt to find their solutions (Luo et al. 434). They also find online games rather interesting, unlike female students. Male students are, therefore, more responsive to the internet than the females.

Findings from the evaluation revealed that the eastern part of China had the highest detection rate than other regions (Shao et al. 25). The area had 13%, as compared to 11% in the northern and southern parts, and 9% in the mid-eastern regions. The disparity could be as a result of an unequal economic development in the regions. The eastern part has more availability of the internet, hence, popular to college students. Finally, the results showed that the Young scale produced higher detection rates than the Chen scale.

Addiction to the internet entails the excessive use of the internet, which impairs one's academic, psychological, social, and occupational aspects (Beard & Wolf 377). According to Shao et al. (25), internet addiction has raised concerns in the public health sector globally. The problem has significantly affected the mental and physical health of Chinese college students. Overindulgence in online games has significantly reduced normal physical and social activities (Levy & Strombeck 495). In another study, evidence showed that high depression rates occurred among students who are addicted to the internet (Subhashini & Praveen 2977). Moreover, the exposure of young adults to pornography and other vices negatively affects their mental health. Lastly, spending too much time online can deprive one off sleep and also affect vision, therefore, posing a challenge to one's health.

Another study has supported Shao et al.'s claim the internet addiction affect the academics of college students. According to Soleymani, Asieh and Firoozeh (191), students need the internet to access information to use on academic matters. However, they are prone to deviate and use it for other non-learning purposes (Kamran et al. 635). In this process, they are at a higher risk of becoming internet addicts. Consequently, the addiction affects their academic performance as they tend to waste a lot of useful time in non-academic information.

The article by Shao et al., unlike the previous one by Synder, O' Brien and Wen is a broad study. It evaluates findings from various studies which focused on internet addiction among college students. Contrary to the first article, this study has comprehensively analyzed a larger sample of 38,245 participants. Moreover, it has depicted that internet addiction impacts several aspects of a college student's life. It affects not only the social, but also the physical, academic, and mental wellness. Lastly, the study compared the detection rate of internet addiction in Chinese college students with those in other parts of the world.

In comparison, the two articles have depicted that the increased internet use by college students has resulted in internet addiction. In addition to that, the obsession has many adverse effects especially on the mental health of the students. One of the most significant impacts on mental wellbeing is the development of depression. Both articles have also shown that the social aspect of the students' life is also affected negatively. Unhealthy relationships have, therefore, developed as a result of addiction to the internet.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the addiction to the internet among college students has been an issue of concern lately. Several studies have shown that this trend has been on the rise and especially in China. It is evident that despite being a powerful research tool the internet harbors dangers to the young generation. The first article had highlighted a few positive effects of the overuse of the internet on maintaining family connections. However, more studies have revealed that internet addiction is more detrimental to relationships. The latter is true since the excessive use of the internet limits face-to-face interactions and other social activities. Finally, internet addiction has adverse effects on health. The mental, as well as the physical wellbeing of college students, is essential, as its impairment will have severe consequences on society. It is, therefore, paramount to conduct further research in clinical detections of internet addiction and find a long-lasting solution to the problem.

Works Cited

Beard, Keith W., and Eve M. Wolf. "Modification in the proposed diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction." Cyberpsychology & behavior 4.3 (2001): 377-383.

Berner, Juan Enrique, et al. "Description of internet addiction among Chilean medical students: a cross-sectional study." Academic Psychiatry 38.1 (2014): 11-14. doi: 10.1007/s40596-013-0022-6.

Bian, H. Y., et al. "Meta-analysis for Internet addiction rate among adolescents." Chin J School Health 37.1 (2016): 67-70.

Kamran, A., Farahani, A., Bakhteyar, K., Pirzadeh, A., Fathian, Z., Mirkarimi, K., et al. Internet Addiction Associated with Smoking and Educational Status of University Students. Health system research. (2012): 8(4):635-42.

Levy, Judith A., and Rita Strombeck. "Health benefits and risks of the Internet." Journal of Medical systems 26.6 (2002): 495-510. doi: 10.1023/A:1020288508362.

Luo, S., Guo, J.Z., Hu, S.J., Zhuang, L.H., & Wang, H.J. "Internet addicts' behavior and influencing factors among college students." Chin J Health Stat. 2014;31(3):434-436.

Romiani, Niromand, et al. "Exploring the Relationships between Internet Usage and Family Values of College Students." Iranian journal of public health 45.10 (2...