Internet Addiction and Stress in College
Internet Addiction and Stress in College
By Jennifer Wright, Nicel Chennault, and Sarah Halsted
Chadron State College Research Design in Psychology
Dr. Mary Carnot
Internet Addiction and Stress in College
Introduction
Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) and Internet Behavior Dependence (IBD) are becoming more prominent among young adult. With vast necessity and impact that the internet has on college students, it only seems logical that behavior and social implications would succumb. I would like to further investigate whether or not if this is a condition that affects college freshmen under higher stress levels. I would like to also ask and possibly answer the following questions:
What percentages of students are using the internet in extensive amount of time for areas other than school?
What are the factors behind excessive internet usage?
Is the student struggling in college due to lack of preparedness and resorting to addictive behavior as an outlet?
Is the student using the internet to compensate for stress caused by school, work, or environmental changes?
The hypothesis I would like to test out that correlates with the questions is: Freshman college students experience higher stress levels and are more susceptible to addictive behavior such as over-using the internet as a way to cope with stress.
Although Internet addiction is not classified as a disorder under the DSM-IV, there tends to be a clear connection between this addictive trait and further addictive behavior. (Beard 2001)
College students in particular are exposed to large amounts of stress from circumstances such as academic workload, peer relations, family issues, environmental changes, and job stressors. The convenience of the Internet as a means of a release from reality, whether it be for social means or in a casual sense may lead to excessive internet use and in turn creates further problems for the student in a real life setting. When comparing internet addiction to
By Jennifer Wright, Nicel Chennault, and Sarah Halsted
Chadron State College Research Design in Psychology
Dr. Mary Carnot
Internet Addiction and Stress in College
Introduction
Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) and Internet Behavior Dependence (IBD) are becoming more prominent among young adult. With vast necessity and impact that the internet has on college students, it only seems logical that behavior and social implications would succumb. I would like to further investigate whether or not if this is a condition that affects college freshmen under higher stress levels. I would like to also ask and possibly answer the following questions:
What percentages of students are using the internet in extensive amount of time for areas other than school?
What are the factors behind excessive internet usage?
Is the student struggling in college due to lack of preparedness and resorting to addictive behavior as an outlet?
Is the student using the internet to compensate for stress caused by school, work, or environmental changes?
The hypothesis I would like to test out that correlates with the questions is: Freshman college students experience higher stress levels and are more susceptible to addictive behavior such as over-using the internet as a way to cope with stress.
Although Internet addiction is not classified as a disorder under the DSM-IV, there tends to be a clear connection between this addictive trait and further addictive behavior. (Beard 2001)
College students in particular are exposed to large amounts of stress from circumstances such as academic workload, peer relations, family issues, environmental changes, and job stressors. The convenience of the Internet as a means of a release from reality, whether it be for social means or in a casual sense may lead to excessive internet use and in turn creates further problems for the student in a real life setting. When comparing internet addiction to
References: Beard, K., and E. Wolf. “ Modification in the Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for Internet Addiction.” Cyberpsychology & Behavior 4 (2001): 377-383 Beverly L. Fortson, PhD; Joseph R. Scotti, PhD; Yi-Chuen Chen, PhD; Judith Malone, BS; Kevin S. Del Ben, PhD. (2007) Internet Use, Abuse, and Dependence Among Students at Southeastern Regional University. Journal of American College Health, Vol. 56, No. 2 Ya-Rong Huang. (2006) Identity and Intimacy Crises and Their Relationship to Internet Dependence among College Students. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, Vol. 9 Issue 5, p571-576, DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2006.9.571 Yuen, C. Nathalie, Lavin, Michael J. (2004) Internet Dependence in the Collegiate Population: The Role of Shyness. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p379-383, DOI: 10.1089/1094931041774587 Yair Amichai-Hamburger, Galit Wainapel, Shaul Fox. "On the Internet No One Knows I 'm an Introvert": Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Internet InteractionCyberPsychology & Behavior. April 2002, 5(2): 125-128. doi:10.1089/109493102753770507.