Does the Nature of the Study Affect Internet Use and Addiction? Comparative- Study in Benha University, Egypt

Abstract

Eman M. Araby, Marwa S-E. Abd El-Raouf, Sheref M. Eltaher

Introduction: The importance of using internet is increasing now because it is one of the most effective tools in many fields as science, business and education. The negative effects of social networking locations overweigh the positive ones. There are few studies about Facebook and Internet addiction among youth and adolescent in Egypt.
Aim of the work: To determine prevalence, pattern of internet utilization, and effects of internet and Facebook among students of Benha university and to investigate the role of study nature on the use of internet.
Subject& Methods: A comparative cross sectional study conducted in University of Benha during 2nd term of the year of academic (2018-2019). The study enrolled (755) students from medicine and education faculties. A self- administered semi structured questionnaires is used as a tool for data collection. It included some questions about socio-demographic data, internet and Facebook, physical health hazards and Young Internet Addiction Test (YIAT).
Results: Most all students whether from faculty of medicine or education reported “home” as the frequent place for internet (99.5% and 97.7%) and mobile phone as the most commonly used device. Afternoon and evening times are the preferred times to use internet for students of both faculties (79% and 74.9%).Medical students differed significantly regarding duration of internet use /years (57.2% vs. 51.5% used internet for more than five years)and average daily use(41.5 % vs. 31% use internet for about 4 to 6 hours daily).Entertainment was the most common purpose for usage and was significantly higher among medical students (60.8% vs. 42.5%).Students from faculty of education experienced more health hazards than medical students due to internet and Facebook usage and all these differences were of statistical significance. Academic performance was the most affected from point of view of education students (62.3% vs. 46.5%). The majority of students are potential problematic internet users(PIUs) (70.5% for faculty of medicine vs. 63.7% for faculty of education), but actual problematic internet users were more among students of faculty of education (13% vs. 1.5 %). Family income and sex were significant predictors of YIAT score among the all students.
Conclusion: Facebook and internet use affects the social life of university students. Students from faculty of education experienced more physical health hazards and higher percentage of PIUs. So Health education of university students to moderate their use of internet and social media is essential.