The Relationship Between Internet Addiction and Communication, Educational and Physical Problems of Adolescents in North Cyprus

Zehra Ozcinar
Aratrk Teacher Training Academy, North Cyprus

The Internet today, beyond being a source of information and communication, has become an addiction for some people. The rate of Internet addiction is rapidly increasing in the world. The aim of this study was to examine the extent of Internet addiction among adolescents in North Cyprus. Eight hundred and fifty-one participants between the ages of 14 to 26 completed the Internet Use and Addiction questionnaire. Results indicated that 6.6% of the participants were addicted to the Internet. Younger high school students were found to have the highest rate of Internet addiction, followed by university students. Males were shown to have significantly higher rates of Internet addiction than females for all age groups. Academic, interpersonal and physical problems were all found to be associated with Internet addiction. The implications for guidance counsellors of this problem are discussed.

Keywords: computer-mediated communication, student, addiction, Internet addiction

Cyberspace is a virtual world that enables communication with others as well as giving access to a wide range of information. This space, however, unlike the physical space in which we live in, has come into our lives as a new medium (Kim, 2008). Privitera and Campbell (2009) indicated that with the information and communication technology (ICT) revolution over the last decade, there has been a rapid growth in the number of people interacting using the Internet. According to the data updated and published by the Internet World Stats website in 2009, 25.60% of the world population uses the Internet. In North Cyprus, the Internet was first used in universities, and then became widespread in workplaces, private dwellings and now, with the advance of technology, in mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDA) and even in

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Zehra Ozcinar, Atatrk Teacher Training Academy, Nicosia, North Cyprus, Via Mersin 10, Turkey. E-mail: zehra.ozcinar@aoa.edu.tr

22 Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling

Volume 21 | Issue 1 | 2011 | pp. 2232 | DOI 10.1375/ajgc.21.1.22

Problems of Internet Addiction of Adolescents in North Cyprus

portable Sony Play Station (PSP). Today, the majority of individuals living in North Cyprus have access to fast Internet connection and the popularity of 3G is increasing (Bicen, 2009). One of the main groups to use this new medium is young people (Huang & Alessi, 1997; Inlemen, 2009; Jitgarun & Tongsakul, 2009; Ko, Yen, Yen, Chen, & Wang, 2008; zdaml, 2009; Siomos, Dafouli, Braimiotis, Mouzas, & Angelopoulos, 2008; Uzunboylu & Ozdamli, 2006). It has been claimed that the Internet has actually changed peoples social lives (Ceyhan, Ceyhan, & Grcan, 2007). Besides its advantages, the Internet has several drawbacks some of which are Internet addiction, cyberbullying, identity theft, and cybercrime (Chou, 2001; Kim, 2008; Tahiroglu, Celik, Uzel, Ozcan, & Avci, 2008). Young (2004) defined the improper use of Internet as Internet addiction. However, other words are also used to explain these phenomena such as pathological Internet use, excessive Internet use, and compulsive Internet use (Karaman & Kurtog lu, 2009). Internet addiction is said to exhibit signs and symptoms similar to those of other established addictions, although it is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV). Internet addiction is described as uncontrollable and damaging use of the Internet and is recognised as a compulsiveimpulsive Internet usage disorder (Lam et al., 2009). Internet addiction can generally be described as being unable to resist the desire to overuse the Internet, considering the time passing without the Internet to be unimportant, with extreme nervousness and aggression when not having Internet access (Yldz & Blkbas , 2003). It is known that addiction has two dif ferent forms: (1) behavioural addiction and (2) physical addiction. Behavioural addiction refers to activities that involve searching for the substance and pathological use features, while physical addiction generally refers to the presence of tolerance of the substance and deprivation when not using (Sadock, 2005). For instance, excessive gambling is the most commonly described form of behavioural addiction and smoking is the most common physical addiction. Behavioural addictions, which are not chemical and seem to be habits, are still considered to be impulse control disorders in DSM-IV (ztrk et al., 2007). Griffiths (1998) defined Internet addiction to be a subdimension of technological addiction (e.g., computer addiction) and behavioural addiction (e.g., gambling addiction). The rate of Internet addiction is rapidly increasing in the world (De Berardis et al., 2009). According to several researchers Internet addiction is evidenced by participation in chat rooms, constantly checking e-mails, playing online games, and accessing pornographic content (Byun et al., 2009; Grohol, 2005; Kim, 2008). Various studies suggest that chat programs and games are the prominent factors that create Internet overuse (Kandell, 1998; Tahiroglu, Celik, Uzel, Ozcan, & Avci, 2008). Introverted young people are better able to express themselves online and find it easier to participate in groups (Hamburger, 2005). People who are at risk of Internet addiction are those who think about the Internet even when they are not on it, dream of being on the Internet, feel disturbed when unable to check the email inbox, lie about the time they spend on the Internet to their relatives, do not care enough about their studies, and become estranged from their families and friends due to the Internet (Beard, 2005; Young, 1998). Yavas (2008) has argued that as people increase their time on the computer, they become more isolated and depressed. This has been supported by Baek
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Zehra Ozcinar

(2005) and Whang, Lee, and Chang (2003), who suggested that lack of self-efficacy, depression, anxiety and loneliness are related to Internet addiction. However, Armstrong, Phillips, and Saling (2000) argued that low self-confidence was a contributing factor to Internet addiction and not a consequence. Loneliness is also considered to be a factor with problematic Internet use (Ceyhan & Ceyhan, 2008). In addition, time management, repulsive feelings and reckless behaviours are highly correlated with Internet addiction (Li & Chung, 2006). Chou and Hsiao (2000), in their experimental studies, have revealed that Internet addicts use their two-way communication traits more than nonaddicts do. Excessive Internet use has been found to result in pedagogical, physical, psychological and interpersonal problems (Suhail & Bargees, 2006), as well as poor academic achievement (Chang & Law, 2008). Additionally Liu and Kuo (2007) have suggested that Internet addiction affects interpersonal relations, familychild relations and social anxiety. Many studies have also indicated that computer overuse causes various physical problems such as stiff necks, sore eyes and reduced sleep in addition to musculoskeletal disorders (elebi, 2000; zcan, Esmaeilzadeh, & Blkbas , 2007; Haentjens & Verheughe, 2007). Previously there has only been one study on Internet addiction in North Cyprus, which looked at students between 12 and 17 years of age (Bayraktar & Gn, 2007). This study, therefore, aimed to explore the incidence of Internet addiction in young people in North Cyprus. The study also sought to explore the variables of gender, time on Internet, and problems with communication, academic results and physical difficulties associated with Internet addiction in young people.

Method
Participants

The participants were 851 students (403 female, 448 male). There were 300 high school students (135 female, 165 male). There were also 300 undergraduate students (122 female, 178 male) from various faculties at the Near East University in Nicosia, Northern Cypress. The 251 postgraduate students (146 female, 105 male) were from the Faculty of Education at the same university. The participants ranged in age from 14 to 26 years, (M = 20.4, SD = 3.5, Median = 20, Mode = 17). They reported an average Internet use of 21 hours per week (SD = 7.95, range 240+). Three groups of Internet users: (1) an addiction group, (2) an atrisk group and (3) a typical users group, were identified by self-reported time spent on the Internet and Internet addiction symptoms.
Measure

The Internet Use and Addiction questionnaire by Pratarelli and Brown (2002) was translated by permission into Turkish. Translation and back-translation with independent translators was used. The questionnaire has two parts: The first part of the questionnaire consisted of 22 items of demographic information about Internet use and the major reasons for connecting to the Internet. The second part consisted of a total of 47 items with a 5-point Likert scale (1 Strongly disagree, 5 Strongly agree) about Internet use and its effects. The questionnaire consisted of items related to Internet addiction symptoms, educational problems, interpersonal com24 Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling

Problems of Internet Addiction of Adolescents in North Cyprus

munication problems and physical problems. The internal consistency of the measure was shown to be good with Cronbachs (0.91) with split half (0.87).
Procedure

The study was conducted in the 2008/2009 Spring term. Permission from the Ministry of Education and school principals was formally sought before the survey was conducted. The questionnaire was administered online for undergraduate and Masters students in university classes in computer laboratories and as paper and pencil for high school students in their classrooms. The classes generally consisted of about 25 to 35 students at a time. It was explained to them that the questionnaire was anonymous and their identity would not be disclosed. They were also assured that the data would not be used for any course assessment or direct marketing. The questionnaire took approximately 15 minutes.

Results
In this research the Internet addicts group was defined as those who had scored higher than 111, the at risk group was defined as those who had scored between 69 and 110, and the typical users group was below 69 on the Internet Use and Addiction questionnaire. These cut-offs are suggested by Pratarelli and Brown (2002). Results showed that 420 (49.4%) were typical users, 375 of them (44.1%) were at risk of becoming Internet addicts and 56 (6.6%) were Internet addicts.
Level of Education

Results showed that, 8.3% (n = 25) of high school students, 5.7% (n = 17) of undergraduate students and 5.6% (n = 14) of Masters students were considered to be addicted to the Internet.
Gender

Chi-square test results showed that significantly more males were classified as Internet addicted (8%, n = 36) than females (5%, n = 20), 2(2) = 49.25, p < .05. However, in the group who were classified as at risk of Internet addiction there was no significant gender difference, 2(2) = 43.73, p =. 316.
Reasons for Internet Use

The reasons for Internet use by gender are shown in Table 2. Multiple-choice questions were used to determine the reasons for usage of the Internet. The stu-

TABLE 1
Internet Addiction Levels for all Education Levels Combined
Female Male Total

N = 403
Typical users At risk Internet addicts 62% 33% 5%

N = 448
37% 54% 8%

N = 851
49.4% 44.1% 6.6%

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Zehra Ozcinar

dents reported that they used the Internet to find resources, communicate with friends and for entertainment. Females (76.43%) used the Internet to find resources more than males (67.37%), 2(2) = 35.54, p = .00 < .05. On the other hand, males (55.80%) preferred online games more than females (30.27%), 2(2) = 42.39, p = .00 < .05. It was also observed that 8.19% of females and 29.02% of males stated that they used Internet to become acquainted with new people, 2(2) = 34.53, p = .00 < .05. The rate of Internet use for school and work highlight significant difference for female students. For there was a significant difference between male and female users in the utilisation of online games, meeting new people, sharing opinions with others, cybersex, fantasy sharing and reading online news. Male users utilised the Internet for the reasons shown in Table 2 more frequently than female users. No significant difference was observed between male and female users specifically in the use of Internet for the purpose of chatting with distant friends, learning and downloading software.
Time Online

It was found that there was a significant positive correlation between time spent on the Internet and Internet addiction (r = .714, p < .01). By simple linear regression analysis it was also determined that hours of Internet use is a significant predictor of Internet addiction, R = 0.714, R2 = 0.51, F = 884.415, p <. 01.
Interpersonal Communication, Academic and Physical Problems Associated With Internet Addiction

There was a strong correlation between Internet addiction and self-reported interpersonal communication problems (r = .788, p < .01). Over half of the participants (56%, 31) were classed as Internet addicts agreed with the statement I solve interpersonal conflicts via Internet rather than face-to-face, and (49.5%, 28) endorsed I sit in front of my computer to access the Internet before chatting with my family. There was also a strong correlation between Internet addiction and academic difficulties.

TABLE 2
Adolescents Reasons for Internet Use
Female Reasons To find resources for work or school To talk to distant friends For learning Online games To download software To meet new people To talk to others who share my interests Cybersex To share ideas or fantasies Online journals/news Male % 76.43 51.12 43.92 30.27 21.09 8.19 9.43 2.23 3.72 3.30 Total % 57.37 54.46 54.02 55.80 33.26 29.02 19.64 16.96 12.50 4.10 2 % 66.39 52.88 49.24 43.71 27.50 19.51 14.81 9.99 8.46 3.73 34.544 2.483 1.281 4.690 .157 34.532 7.658 62.00 14.803 62.02

p p < .05 p >.05 p > .05 p < .05 p > .05 p < .05 p < .05 p < .05 p < .05 p < .05

N
308 206 177 122 85 33 38 9 15 13

N
257 244 242 250 149 130 88 76 56 18

N
565 450 419 372 234 166 126 85 72 31

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Problems of Internet Addiction of Adolescents in North Cyprus

(r = 0.818, p < .01). Almost half (49%, 27) the participants who were classed as Internet addicts agreed with the statement I request the people that I met on the Internet to do my homework, and (58.7%, 33) agreed with the statement I deal with something else while the teacher is lecturing in the classroom. There was a strong correlation also between Internet addiction and physical problems (r = .650, p < .01). For example, 30% (17) of the participants who were classed as Internet addicts stated I have a headache when I use computer, 33% (18) of them stated After spending hours at a computer, I have sometimes experienced some disorientation or visual effects, 35% (19) of them stated that I feel eye strain when using the computer and 31.2% (17) of them stated I have been feeling disturbance in my shoulders since I started to use computer.

Discussion
In this study it was found that 6.6% of the participants self-reported such a high level of Internet usage that they were classified as addicted. This is in line with both Greenfield (2000) and Young (1999). It is also similar to many studies in other countries, which range from 9.8% in Norway, to 4% in Australia, and 1.6% in South Korea (Ghassernzadeh, Shahraray, & Moradi, 2008; Siomos, Dafouli, Braimiotis, Mouzas, & Angelopoulos, 2008; Tahirog lu, Celik, Uzel, Ozcan, & Avci, 2008; Wang, 2001). What is surprising in this study, however, is the extremely high group of students that are at risk of Internet addiction. It was also found that the rate of Internet addiction in males is higher than in females. These results lend support to a vast literature on this subject (Bayraktar & Gn, 2007; Chen, 2006; Erdogan, 2008; Ko, Yen, Johansson, & Gtestam, 2004; Konstantinos et al., 2008; Morahan & Schumacker, 2000; Siomos, Dafouli, Braimiotis, Mouzas, & Angelopoulos, 2008; Soule, Chou, & Hsiao, 2000; Whang, Lee, & Chang, 2003). The main reason seems to lie in males use of Internet to play games. As Jaruratanasirikul et al. (2009) found 22% of boys and only about 9% of girls played electronic games every day. Age was also associated with Internet addiction. High school students were found to be the group that showed the most Internet addiction. The reason for this might be the fact that high school students in North Cyprus have less course and work load than undergraduate and Masters students and, thus, they are able to spend more time on the Internet, supporting Thomas and Martins (2009) conclusions. Another finding of this study is that there is a strong correlation between interpersonal communication problems and Internet addiction. As Internet addiction increases, young individuals problems in interpersonal communication skills increase, which supports finding from other studies (Liu & Kuo, 2007; Suhail & Bargees, 2006; Yeh, Ko, Wu, & Cheng, 2008). According to Nie and Erbring (2000), Internet usage decreases available time to spend socialising. However, the main problem associated with Internet addiction found from this study was educational difficulties. It is interesting to note that this result is similar to the results reported by Chang and Law (2008). Finally it was found that physical problems also increase as Internet usage increases. This supports studies such as Yeh, Ko, Wu, and Cheng (2008) and
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Zehra Ozcinar

Binark and St (2008), who found that Internet addiction caused health problems such as wrist syndrome, stiff neck, eyestrain, and insufficient sleep. The results of this study suggest that the young people who were Internet addicts experienced physical, educational and interpersonal communication problems more than those who were typical users.
Some solutions

Preventive schedules should be developed by experts for possible Internet addicts, and the group that is at risk should be provided with detailed information about the issue. By including families in the preventive programs prepared by experts, information can be given about how to deal with young people about the Internet use. Teachers in schools who provide psychological counselling and guidance should raise the awareness of families on this issue by arranging parent meetings, and the interests of students should be distracted from the Internet and attracted to other environments by organising periodic activities on subjects that attract students. Families should support young people to turn towards interpersonal communication activities by keeping their Internet activities under control through parental control software and preparing time schedules for social activities and Internet use. According to Glasheen and Campbell (2008, 2009) students at the secondary school level show disorders of depression and anger and have stated that especially male students tend not to want to take part in the opportunity for face-to-face counselling. The results of these findings, suggest schools in North Cyprus should provide not only face-to-face counselling services but also online counselling when students show Internet addiction tendencies to help them with their education and resolve problems of communication. It has also been suggested families assist in resolving problems caused through the Internet (Bhat, 2008). Families should teach students the ethical rules for communicating on the Internet. The findings of this study should also inform teachers who can teach the positive and negative aspects of the Internet and show how to use Internet in the most effective and efficient way to students. Finally, this study had several limitations. The first was the sample representation. In future studies, samples should also be taken from secondary schools. Another one was that only the Internet Use and Addiction questionnaire was used as a data collection tool in the study. In further studies, the interview and experimental methods can be used along with the questionnaire. Additionally, further studies can investigate the relationships between Internet addiction and behavioural addictions such as gambling and pornography. Besides these limitations, the study sheds light on the general conditions of young people on the issue and presents the correlation between Internet addiction and other problems they experience, and thus, it is expected to lead the way for future studies.

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