ArticlePDF Available

Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects

January 2013
iBusiness 05(02):72-76

DOI:10.4236/ib.2013.52009

License
CC BY 4.0

Authors:

Sureswaran Ramadass

University of Science Malaysia

Nibras Abdullah

University of Science Malaysia

Available via license: CC BY 4.0

Content may be subject to copyright.

iBusiness, 2013, 5, 72-76

http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ib.2013.52009 Published Online June 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ib)

Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects

Ashish Kapahi, Choo Siow Ling, Sureswaran Ramadass, Nibras Abdullah

National Advanced IPv6 Centre (NAv6), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.

Email: Ashish@nav6.usm.my, csl100092@student.usm.my, Sures@nav6.org, abdullahfaqera@nav6.org

Received January 7th, 2013; revised February 8th, 2013; accepted June 1st, 2013

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

The Internet started as a divine gift to the human society, it was meant to enlighten the human society by transferring

knowledge, making available all the information needed for human well being, growth and prosperity. But as the Inter-

net grew, it created its own set of problems—one of the key ones being Internet Addiction. According to Dr. Jerald J.

Block, from the Center for Internet Addiction, “Internet addiction” affects as many as one in eight Americans. Block

also defined Internet addiction as a compulsive activity involving excessive use, withdrawal and negative repercussions

including social isolation, lying, low achievement and fatigue. As the Internet grows in Malaysia, Internet addiction is

surfacing as a key problem, particularly amongst the younger generation here. This research outlines a method to exa-

mine the level of Internet addiction amongst Malaysian youth. The purpose of our study is to identify the use of Internet

among Malaysian youth and the relation of excessive use to the addictive level. We have devised an online survey to

study the Internet use among the youth; the findings of this study indicate that the youth are indeed susceptible to Inter-

net addiction.

Keywords: Internet Use; Internet Addiction; Addictive Behavior; Surfing Addiction; Malaysian; Youth

1. Introduction

With the evolution of technology and the creation of the

Internet, the cyber world has created a culture of on-line

communication and virtual connectivity. Decades of In-

ternet growth and with it the usage of computer systems

have brought about a change in peoples lifestyle which

rely on Internet—just a few clicks away for all the im-

portant and abundance of information available online.

Un-doubtly the Internet has revolutionized the way we

think and occupies an important place in our private lives

and the society as a whole.

Internet addiction inherits the symptoms of chemical

addiction, and yet, it does not consume any chemical

substance like other drug addiction, alcohol addiction,

and so forth. Internet addiction can be well defined

through the observation of one’s behavior [1]. The defi-

nition of behavioral addiction varies, however, one may

think of behavioral addictions as a repetition of a habit

that has a potential to cause imbalance in lifestyle or so-

cial issues or worst of all, affect one’s health. For beha-

vioral addictions, there is always a sign of uncontrollable

force when the addicts try to control or cut back the

amount of addictive use. It was suggested that behavioral

addiction acts as a medium to escape from the underlying

emotional stress [2].

Over the last couple of years, Internet addiction has

become a global concern to the public and can be classi-

fied as a health issue. There is even a proposal to include

Internet addiction in the next revision of the Diagnostic

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder 5th Edition

(DSM-V), as a cause of mental disorder [3]. Addictive

behaviors were suggested to cause improper life style

and impairment to personalities, especially amongst the

young. The education system has evolved and the use of

technology is now encouraged at much younger ages.

Children are getting exposed to computer technology and

the Internet at early ages.

Even though the study on Internet addiction is not new

to clinical studies, prior studies had always been attri-

buted to psychological terms [4-7]. It is believed that

Malaysians surfing the Internet for long hours are not

aware of the consequences of surfing for long hours and

are addicted to the Internet unknowingly? What causes

them to surf for long hours and what activities do they

engage in while Online, lead to the questions that have

motivated us to do this study on the usage of Internet

among Malaysian youth. We have devised a set of ques-

tions accordingly to diagnose the pattern of online be-

havior among the youth. An on-line survey on Internet

Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects 73

Surfing and Addiction was launched nationwide to get a

response from the youth about their online behavior. We

focus on the youth because they are presumed to be more

adaptable to the fast changing Internet world. The aim of

the survey is to identify the Internet addiction among the

youth caused by surfing long hours.

The paper is organized as follows: Section II talks

about Internet addiction, Section III states the Research

Methodology involved, Section IV—Results of the Study,

and followed by the conclusion in Section V.

2. About Internet Addiction

This section sheds light on topics that are relevant to our

proposed research and have been examined in the fol-

lowing sections.

2.1. Internet Addiction Test (IAT)

Internet Addiction Test (IAT) is a measure devised on a

Likert scale to rate the degree of the Internet use. The

questions range from personal daily life, social life, life

performance, emotional feelings and so forth. Total IAT

scores are used as a measure of the addictive level.

Highest score suggested that a person is addicted to the

Internet and vice versa. The IAT had been further tested

by researchers in its reliability and validity; and it is

suggested to reliable measure to study Internet addiction

[8].

2.2. Subtypes of Addictive Behavior

Addictive behavior to the Internet develops when an in-

dividual starts engaging in activities of obsession. It is

shown as a compulsive preoccupation while at the same

time losing control against the addicted activity [9].

1) Excessive Gaming: One key contributor to gaming

addiction has been the creation of the interactive envi-

ronment for the game’s platform that provokes a sense of

awe and wonder, even amazement, to the fantasy world

far beyond the reality, thus gaming as an activity that

gives gamers the room for imagination. Massive Multi-

player Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) is one of

the appealing forms of gaming addiction for problematic

Internet users [10]. Common signs of gaming addiction

are shown in several ways: a) gaming preoccupation; b)

being dishonest about the excessive gaming; c) social

retreat. Nevertheless, gamers do make virtual friends in

participating with the groups, forums, chat room and so

forth [11]. However, these do not substitute the social

relationships in real life [9,10].

2) Online Sexual Preoccupation: This can be caused

by Adult websites loaded with the sexual content for the

purpose of arousing a sexual interest. Similar to the

gaming addiction, sexual addiction provides the Internet

addicts with a room for imagination. Online sexual pre-

occupation usually refers to the activities of online view-

ing, downloading sexual materials, participating in the

adult chat rooms, or uploading adult-content materials

for the purposes of trading [12]. Internet users who are

addicted in this category, find this as an easy alternative

to access sexually explicit materials while remain ano-

nymous, thus are allured into this form cyber addiction

[13].

3) Emailing or Texting: Emailing or texting prevails to

be an effective communication tool in the emergence of

mobile Internet network. The ease of access to the Inter-

net with the use of mobile devices incentivizes individu-

als to engage in mailing or texting activities more fre-

quently. Online communication also helps them express

their emotions more openly. Although interactive re-

sponse through text or email seems to be an advanced

step to managing a long-distance relationship, it does not

replace the conventional form of face-to-face communi-

cation. Internet users who are addicted in this category

usually suffer from: a) loneliness; b) lack of confidence;

c) social retreat. In short, emailing or texting addiction is

about finding alternatives to avoid real life confrontations

[14].

2.3. Social and Cultural Implication of the

Internet

The Internet is perceived to have both pros and cons,

there are arguments that suggest that the Internet benefits

the society by: 1) joining the global network of like-

minded people; 2) Improves our performance and execu-

tion capabilities; 3) facilitates expressing of ideas freely;

and 4) is a consolation at times of disappointment. There

are the other, who suggest, that the Internet causes temp-

tation and poisons the minds of the young as they indulge

more with the virtual world of the Internet, and causes

them to neglect their roles in the real life also affecting

their performance at work [15].

2.4. Challenges of Internet Addiction

The Internet was invented with the objective of helping

the development of human society whether in academia,

industry, or the governments etc. However, as it evolved,

like any other tools or technology, its misuse became

inevitable. Excessive use of the Internet has become one

of the leading challenges of the modern society and

causes both physical and mental impairment. Although

Academic and clinical researchers have been working on

finding the symptoms and solutions for this for while, not

much progress has been made, and most of the cases

even today are self reported by the addicts [16]. Any so-

lutions that were planted earlier have failed and addicts

have been found to relapse to persistent addictive behav-

ior.

Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects

3. Research Methodology

An online survey was conducted to study the Internet use

and addiction among Malaysian youth; a questionnaire

was created on the basis of Internet Addiction Test (IAT)

[17], a well-validated instrument and a reliable measure

that covers the key characteristics of pathological online

use factors affecting the Internet addiction and the Im-

pact of Internet addiction. A questionnaire was con-

structed based on the following information: 1) Demo-

graphic information, 2) A modified version of the Inter-

net addiction test (IAT), 3) Factors affecting the Internet

addiction, 4) Internet Surfing Addiction, 5) Impact of

Internet addiction.

A random sample of 203 Malaysian youth was se-

lected to participate from all over Malaysia in the study.

Our questionnaire consisted of 30 questions; the ques-

tions were distributed as following:

1) 7 questions were asked on demographic information

ranging from sex, age, and so forth.

2) 10 questions were asked on the degree of the Internet

use. A modified version of the Internet addiction test

(IAT) was used as the measure of scale. The ques-

tions were devised to be in form of close-ended ques-

tion which summarize on Young’s research on a 10-

item based questionnaire [8].

3) 4 questions were asked on the factors that affecting

the Internet surfing behavior, ranging from the pur-

poses to the emotional feelings.

4) 3 questions were asked on the contents of surfing to

find out the most visited websites.

5) 5 questions were asked on the impacts of the Internet

addiction, ranging from psychological concern to task

effectiveness.

6) An optional open-ended question was asked on the

participants’ opinion towards the Internet addiction to

find out what people may think of the Internet use.

The Survey was conducted for a total duration of

seven days. It was sent through emails, or through a link

provided by the On-line survey builder along with a brief

description of the study. Once the survey was finished,

participants could submit it online and the data was

stored as a spreadsheet on an online database. The Sur-

vey took approximately 20 minutes to complete. Results

were collected on for further analysis. The information

provided by the participants was considered confidential

and would not be disclosed for any other purpose.

The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) conducted was used

to evaluate the degree of addictive behavior. The answers

to “yes” were counted, if seven yes were marked for par-

ticular participant, then the participant was considered as

susceptible to Internet addiction. Based on the survey, 58

participants (29%) were considered to be at risk of addic-

tive behavior.

4. Results

A total of 203 participants took part in the Survey; gen-

eral description of the participants is as below:

The participants were categorized into four segments

based on the hours spent on the Internet usage: 1) nor-

mal user; 2) moderate user; 3) at-risk user; and 4) ex-

treme user. Before participants proceed with the IAT

modified version measure scale, a question was asked to

self-identify if they considered themselves as Internet

addict or Not. A large number of participants (64%) con-

sider themselves as Internet addicts whereas the opposite

(36%) did not consider that they were addicted. The eth-

nicity of the sample participants was as follows: Chinese

(50%), Indian (26%), Malays (22%), and other ethnic

groups (2%). Most of the participants were ranging from

20 - 25 years old (64%) and studying a bachelor’s degree

(51%). Northern States of Malaysia (53%), east coast of

Malaysia (8%), Southern States of Malaysia (8%), Sabah

and Sarawak (6%) and other states (25%) constitute the

sample of survey. The gender and age classification of

users is also specified in the Table 1 as below:

A) Factors Affecting Internet Addiction were found as

follows:

1) Task-relevant Factor: There were many reasons to go

online, including the distant learning, working online

and so forth. 83% of the participants go online for

task-related purposes; where as the remaining 17% of

the participants do not use the Internet as a tool for

study or work purposes. Figure 1 shows the findings

for the dependence on the Internet for school or work

related purposes. The results skewed towards the fre-

quent usage of the Internet.

2) Ease of Access: the ease of access is an important

factor to determine how long the user stay connected

to the Internet.

3) Figure 2 shows the findings for the access location

appropriate for the Internet users.

4) Motive: The motive to stay Online often followed by

reasoning. Figure 3 shows the findings of motive that

compel Internet user to engage in online activities.

5) Impulsive Surfing: The first reaction proceeds from a

natural feeling when a user opens a browser window.

Figure 4 shows the findings for impulsive surfing

B) Impact of Internet Addiction was found to be as

follows:

1) Insomnia: Refers to those who surf the Internet until

late at night and have sleeping disorders. 69% par-

ticipants did not suffer from insomnia, whereas (31%)

were found to suffer from the late-night log-ins and

problems related to sleep.

2) Physical Changes: Refers to immediate impact on the

physical changes such as weight loss, backaches or

headaches. 57% participants were found to experience

Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects 75

Figure 1. Task-relevant factor to the Internet use.

Figure 2. Ease of access to the Internet use.

Figure 3. Motive to use Internet.

Figure 4. Impulsive surfing by participants.

Table 1. User categorized by the gender difference.

Internet Users

User-Category

(Hrs spent) Male Female Total Percentage %

Normal user (0 - 6) 48 37 85 42

Moderate user (6 - 12) 41 34 75 37

At-risk user (12 - 18) 25 10 35 17

Extreme user (18 - 24) 3 5 8 4

Total 117 86 203 100

some form of physical changes whereas 43% had ob-

served no physical changes.

3) Inferiority: Refers to a feeling of low esteem and un-

important in social relationships. 61% participants did

not encounter difficulty in socializing with other peo-

ple whereas 39% encountered some difficulty in so-

cializing with other people.

4) Loss of concentration: Refers to immediate impact on

daily activities at work or at school or otherwise. 52%

participants maintained regular level of concentration

while studying or at work whereas the 48% found it

difficult to stay focused, resulting in drop of concen-

tration.

5) Loss of productivity: The direct impacton outcome at

work or schools due to long surfing habits. 59% par-

ticipants suffered from loss of performance whereas

41% maintained regular performance and producti-

vity.

6) Withdrawal Syndrome: When a person stops using

the Internet, they experience unpleasant feelings or

physical effects. We found that a large number of the

participants who suffered any of the above symptoms

were also susceptible to Withdrawal Syndrome and

felt uneasy and missing something if they did not ac-

cess the Internet a few times daily [18,19].

5. Conclusions

Internet addiction is described broadly for Internet over-

use or excessive use of computer that may lead to inter-

fere or changes in ones regular daily life. For a while

now, our society has been obsessed with the abstract

world of the Internet, which is beginning to have a deep

effect on it now. Our findings in relation to Internet ad-

diction among Malaysian youth show that they are at

high risk of Internet addiction. Those in the age range of

18 - 25 are found to be susceptible to Internet addiction,

especially those going to college or university. Addictive

behavior however may not be all that harmful and is

subjected to the individual’s intentions, actions and

self-discipline, which determine the real harm to the in-

dividual and the society. The Malaysian society is quite

diverse in culture and may not share a cohesive view on

the Internet as a whole and its perception might change

widely across the segment of the society, reflecting di-

verse views, attitudes and behavior toward the Internet

usage, however our study has been limited to a very nar-

row segment of the society, the youth and mostly who go

to college and or university, therefore are finding apply

to only for this segment.

The findings of this research are preliminary and can

be used as a basis for further broader research in this area.

Empirical work needs to be done to complement this

research and further research on Internet Addiction. We

Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects

understand the limitations of this study and propose that

the boundaries of the hypothesis be tested in future re-

search.

6. Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the reviewers, participants

and other individuals who directly or indirectly contri-

buted to this research.

REFERENCES

[1] M. Griffiths, “Behavioural Addictions: An Issue for Eve-

rybody?” Employee Counseling Today: The Journal of

Workplace Learning, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1996, pp. 19-25.

doi:10.1108/13665629610116872

[2] G. A. Marlatt, J. S. Baer, D. M. Donovan and D. R. Kiv-

lahan, “Addictive Behaviors: Etiology and Treatment,”

Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 39, 1988, pp. 223-252.

doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.39.020188.001255

[3] J. B. Jerald, “Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction,”

American of Journal Psychiatry, Vol. 165, No. 3, 2008,

pp. 306-307.

[4] J. Xiong and L. Yao, “The Research of Event-Related

Potentials in Working Memory of the Juvenile Internet

Addiction,” 2010 International Conference on E-Health

Networking, Digital Ecosystems and Technologies (EDT),

Shenzhen, 17-18 April 2010, pp 93-95.

doi:10.1109/EDT.2010.5496510

[5] W. Gao, F. Zhang and Z. Chen, “Psychopathological

Mechanism and Compensation Psychoterapy of Internet

Addiction,” 1st IEEE Symposium on Web Society, Lan-

zhou, 23-24 August 2009, pp. 172-176.

doi:10.1109/SWS.2009.5271788

[6] H. Li, J. Wang and L. Wang, “A Survey on the Genera-

lized Problematic Internet Use in Chinese College Stu-

dents and Its Relations to Stressful Life Event and Coping

Style,” International Journal of Mental Health and Ad-

diction, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2009, pp. 333-346.

[7] G. Deng and Y. Xuan, “Internet Addiction and Mental

Health Status of Chinese College Freshmen”, ICBBE 3rd

International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bio-

medical Engineering, Beijing, 11-13 June 2009, pp. 1-4.

doi:10.1109/ICBBE.2009.5162977

[8] L. Widyanto and M. McMurran, “The Psychometric Pro-

perties of the Internet Addiction Test,” Cyber Psychology

and Behavior, Vol. 7, No. 4, 2004, pp. 443-450

doi:10.1089/cpb.2004.7.443

[9] K. S. Young “Internet Addiction: Diagnosis and Treatment

Considerations,” Journal of Contemporary Psychothe-

rapy, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2009, pp. 241-246.

doi:10.1007/s10879-009-9120-x

[10] N. Yee, “Motivations of Play in Online Games,” Cyber

Psychology and Behavior, Vol. 9, No. 6, 2007, pp. 772-

775. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9.772

[11] K. S. Young, “Understand Online Gaming Addiction and

Treatment Issues for Adolescents,” American Journal of

Family Therapy, Vol. 37, No. 5, 2009, pp. 355-372.

doi:10.1080/01926180902942191

[12] A. Cooper, “Sexuality and the Internet: Surfing into the

New Millennium,” Cyber Psychology and Behavior, Vol .

1, No. 2, 1998, pp. 181-187. doi:10.1089/cpb.1998.1.187

[13] K. S. Young, “Internet Sex Addiction: Risk Factors,

Stages of Development, and Treatment,” American Be-

havioral Scientist, Vol. 52, No. 1, 2008, pp. 21-37.

doi:10.1177/0002764208321339

[14] A. Bianchi and J. G. Philips, “The Impact of the Internet,

Multimedia and Virtual Reality on Behavior and Soci-

ety,” Cyber Psychology and Behavior, Vol. 8, No. 1,

2005, pp. 39-51. doi:10.1089/cpb.2005.8.39

[15] P. Brey, “Evaluating the Social and Cultural Implications

of the Internet,” SIGCAS, Computers and Society, Vol. 36,

No. 3, 2006, pp. 41-48.

doi:10.1145/1195716.1195721

[16] K. S. Young, “Internet Addiction: A New Clinical Phe-

nomenon and Its Consequences,” American Behavioral

Scientist, Vol. 48, No. 4, 2004, pp. 402-415.

doi:10.1177/0002764204270278

[17] K. Young, “Clinical Assessment of Internet-Addicted Cli-

ents,” In: K. Young and C. Nabuco do Abreu, Eds., Inter-

net Addiction, John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, 2011.

[18] J. H. Kwon, C. S. Chung and J. Lee, “The Effect of Escape

from Self and Interpersonal Relationship on the Patho-

logical Use of INTERNET Games,” Community Mental

Health Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1, 2009, pp. 113-121.

doi:10.1007/s10597-009-9236-1

[19] A. N. Joinson, “Understanding the Psychology of Internet

Behaviour,” Palgrave McMillan, Houndmills, 2003.

Internet Addiction: Influencing Academic, Non-academic and Psychological Aspects in Offshore Malaysian Medical Students

Article

Sep 2024

Excessive internet usage creates abundant problems like dependency and addictive behaviour. Internet addiction (IA) is becoming a universal public health concern. The isolated group of Malaysian students studying in offshore campuses in India is more susceptible to IA due to language, culture, ethnicity, and food habit differences, leading to a lack of communication with native students. The study aims to determine the prevalence of IA and its influence on academic, non-academic, and psychological aspects in Malaysian medical students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 170 offshore Malaysian medical students using Young’s Internet Addiction Test (Y-IAT) questionnaire of 20 items. The difference was tested by student’s t-test and the association between IA and other factors by chi-square test with a statistical significance at 5%. The study observed a 46% prevalence of IA in offshore Malaysian medical students. Male students were more prone to IA compared to females. The amount of time spent on entertainment per day was significantly (p = 0.004) associated with IA. The present study revealed that the prevalence of IA was significantly associated with academic performance (χ2 = 33.670, p = 0.001) and psychological disturbances like sleep disturbance due to late-night log-ins (χ2 = 41.013, p = 0.001), felt life would always be joyless (χ2 = 27.272, p = 0.001) and, depressed moody without internet (χ2 = 33.347, p = 0.001). The present study revealed that IA has an adverse impact on students’ academic activities as well as on psychological health. Medical teachers and schools should identify students who are prone to and affected by IA and recommend interventions based on their needs. This study recommends that students utilise their valuable time in offline activities like regular sports, cultural exchange programmes, fun activities, yoga, meditation, and learning new skills and languages. These activities may help students prevent overindulgence with the internet, encourage the overall growth of promising doctors, and build a healthy society.

The Prevalence of Internet Addiction among University Students in Malaysia

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2023

Excessive Internet use has led to the emergence of Internet addiction and become an issue of growing concern with negative impacts on university students' lives nowadays. Therefore, this study has been conducted with the aim to investigate the prevalence of Internet addiction among university students. This study is carried out in one of the public universities in Malaysia involving 810 student respondents selected based on the simple random sampling technique. The level of Internet addiction among the respondents is measured using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). The study data are analyzed using the frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The study finding shows that the majority of the respondents, or 81.5% were always using the Internet. In terms of Internet addiction, 5.4% cases were severe users, 44.7% had moderate addiction, 45.6% showed mild addiction and 4.3% were cases of normal users which had no addiction. The mean of Internet addiction was 50.400 (SD = 18.787). Even though the results indicate that the rate of severe Internet addiction among respondents is still lower than the previous study, it is still necessary to curb the spread of this crisis due to its implication especially toward student's overall well-being in life.

The Relationship between Gratification of Internet Usage and Negative Behavior among Youth in Malaysia

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2023

Youth are significant consumers of internet technologies. Sometimes, adolescents are directly involved in problematic internet usage, such as online gambling and pornography. They are indirectly exposed to some negative behavior, such as alcohol usage, drug usage, internet addiction, and social isolation. This study aims to identify the relationship between six factors of negative behavior and gratification in using the internet among 440 Malaysian youth by collecting data via survey. The theory applied is the uses and gratification theory (U&G). The results revealed no meaningful relationship between the gratification of using the internet and pornography, online gambling, alcohol, and drug usage. However, there was a significant positive relationship between the gratification of internet use, social isolation, and internet addiction.

Culturally sensitive approaches to internet addiction among adolescents and young adults: The integration of Islamic practices

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2024

Internet addiction is increasingly recognized as a significant mental health concern, and is now included in DSM-5 TR as internet gaming disorder. Cybersexual addiction, a subtype of internet addiction, presents unique treatment challenges due to the pervasive need for online activities. This paper examines the incorporation of Islamic principles in the treatment of internet addiction among Muslim patients. The aim is to explore culturally sensitive approaches that align with Islamic practices to effectively address internet addiction. To highlight the specific challenges and benefits of integrating Islamic principles in managing internet addiction, a review of various databases was conducted. Key search terms included "internet addiction," "Islamic principles," "religious therapy," and "psychospiritual treatment." A detailed case vignette was included to demonstrate the practical application of integrating Islamic principles in treatment, highlighting the psychospiritual aspects and their impact on patients' emotional well-being. This paper discusses the principles of treatment, patient suitability, therapist preparedness, and potential limitations. Integrating religious principles as part of a psychospiritual approach shows promise in behaviour therapy for Muslim individuals suffering from internet addiction.

Effects of Internet Addiction on the Psychological Health of University Students in Mardan.

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2022

Internet addiction can harm the psychological well-being of excessive internet users. It is important to study the correlation between the two scientifically. The study explores the link between internet addiction and psychological well-being among university students in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sample consisted of 150 university students. A random sampling technique was used to select respondents. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 30 years. The instruments used were the Internet Addiction scale and the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Test. Pearson correlation and T-test were used to test the hypothesis/ correlation between internet addiction, gender, and psychological well-being. A significant negative relationship between internet addiction and psychological well-being was found. Similarly, a significant gender difference in internet addiction and a non-significant gender difference in psychological well-being. Reduced internet use improves students' psychological well-being. Less internet use helps students' academic careers and reduces interpersonal conflicts.

Towards Understanding the Personal and Situational Factors of Cyber Aggression: A Theoretical Review

Article

Full-text available

May 2024

The act of aggression through computer-mediated communication is often coined as cyber aggression. The media reports attracted social scientists to study the phenomenon. Unfortunately, local research is limited; therefore, many policies and practices are being developed and implemented without a solid research foundation. A study is conducted to understand the factors that lead to cyber aggression among youths in Malaysia. The study proposed a contemporary general aggression model as the underpinning theory and the media system dependency for this study. The model explains the situational and aggression factors between parents and peer influences, youth's personality traits, internet exposure and cyber aggression. The proposed model also indicates the essential decision-making process and the possible outcomes (cognitive, affective, behavioural) when a person is exposed to an aggressive situation.

Prevalence of internet addiction among medical and non-medical students of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuantan

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2023

Internet addiction has become a serious problem with the increasing internet use, especially among college students and adolescents. Most of the available literature on internet addiction among college students was mainly related to medical students and showed a disturbing prevalence, however, this is not widely studied among non-medical students. This study describes the prevalence and factors associated with internet addiction among medical and non-medical students at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuantan. A total of 107 medical and 104 non-medical students of IIUM Kuantan participated in this cross-sectional study conducted from July 15, 2019, to August 25, 2019, using random sampling. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was distributed through social media platform. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the prevalence and socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, while binary logistic regression was used to identify respondents’ factors associated with internet addiction. The results showed that 67.3% of medical students and 65.4% of non-medical students were moderately addicted to the Internet. The significant predictors of internet addiction in medical students are age (OR 0.235 95% CI 0.068-0.812) and duration of internet use of 4-6 hours (OR 0.235 95% CI 0.068-0.812). Among non-medical students, the significant predictors were social networking (OR 0.137 95% CI 0.003-0.636), Internet TV (OR 3.574 95% CI 1.057-12.08), and time spent on the Internet from 4-6 hours (OR 0.247 95% CI 0.06-0.91). The prevalence of internet addiction among medical and non-medical students at IIUM Kuantan is of concern. Early identification based on these findings for each medical and non-medical faculty can be tailored to ensure successful intervention.

Mental Health Problems and Attitude Toward Seeking Counseling Help among University Students

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Dec 2023

Suhaili Arifin

Attending university can be a stressful time for students since they have to deal with the stressful tasks of separation and individuation from their family. Hence, many students who are unable to cope well with stress, and are always in extreme stress, will tend to finally be exposed to mental health problems. However, the studies on the attitude of the students in the university in their effort to seek for counselling help regarding their mental health issues remain scarce within the Malaysian context. Therefore, this study is conducted to examine the relationship between Malaysian university students’ mental health problems with their attitude toward seeking counselling help. This was a correlational study involving the undergraduate students in University Putra Malaysia (UPM). Through a stratified random sampling method, a total of 810 respondents had agreed to participate. The mental health problems of the respondents were assessed using Mental Health Inventory (MHI), while the attitude toward seeking counselling help was assessed using the Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ATSPPH). Correlation results suggested that university student’s mental health problems has a significant negative relationship with their attitude toward seeking counselling help r=-.25, n=810, p<.05. Based on the findings obtained, the university authorities should make an effort to design an appropriate mechanism to maintain the mental health of students especially through the university counselling services. Keywords: Mental health problems, attitude toward seeking counselling help, university students

An Overview of Contemporary Cyberspace Activities and the Challenging Cyberspace Crimes/Threats

Article

May 2014

One thing that has emanated from the development of the internet technology and popular embrace of social networking is the emergence of a second digital world which is a virtual reality world called the cyberspace. The cyberspace users who can be described as the Cyberians are attracted to the cyberspace from time to time especially because of the various opportunities/activities available via the cyberspace cutting across many spheres of human endeavor. There are however many threats or challenges which may be inimical to the safety of the cyberspace, the cyberspace assets/resources and the interest of the Cyberians, the regular cyberspace users or cyber citizens. This paper, based on extensive examination of contemporary literature on the cyberspace, explores fundamental activities of the cyberspace and explicates various forms of cybercrimes orchestrated by cyber criminals posing great threats to the cyberspace. The basic ideas of the paper are equally captured in vivid illustrative models. Keywords: Cyberspace, Cyber activities, Cybercrimes/Threats

The Relationship Between Internet Addiction and Sleep Quality Among Human Sciences Undergraduates During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2021

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the relationship between internet addiction and sleep quality among Human Sciences undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. A group of 36 male (M=36) and 132 female (F=132) undergraduates, age ranged between 17-29 participated in the study. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was used to measure the level of internet addiction while the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to measure sleep quality. Using Spearman’s rho Correlation Coefficient to analyse the relationship, the study found a statistically significant positive correlation between internet addiction and sleep quality (rs(166)=.190, p=.007). This indicated that higher level of internet addiction was associated with progressively worse sleep quality. The findings could be useful for psychologists, educational counselors, government, researchers, and students in designing interventions to help students using the internet without the risk of addiction and improve their quality of sleep. Implications, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research were discussed.

Internet Addiction and Mental Health Status of Chinese College Freshmen

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2009

A large sample of college freshmen participated in the present online survey and completed two questionnaires, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the University Personality Inventory (UPI). The results showed that among those 3342 students who accomplished both scales, about 25% were rated as problematic internet users and about 7.5% were classified as having severe mental health problems. Gender differences were significant for either the IAT or UPI scores which suggest that male students are more subject to Internet addiction but female students are more subject to severe mental problems which need immediate counseling. Students from different departments differed in their internet addiction and mental health status. A significant positive correlation was found between participants' Internet addiction and mental health status. Finally, a factor analysis revealed that variations of Internet addiction could be explained by four factors: time management, withdrawal, obsession, and cyberrelationship.

Behavioural addiction: An issue for everybody?

Article

Full-text available

Jun 1996

Mark D Griffiths

For many people the concept of addiction involves taking drugs. Therefore it is perhaps unsurprising that most official definitions concentrate on drug ingestion. Despite such definitions, there is now a growing movement which views a number of behaviours as potentially addictive, including many behaviours which do not involve the ingestion of a drug. But do behavioural addictions really exist? Answers this question by examining the various commonalities (psychological, sociological and cultural) between excessive behaviours (behavioural and chemical) and by drawing on the author’s own work into fruit-machine addiction. Concludes that addictions are not just restricted to drug-ingestion behaviours and that evidence is growing that excessive behaviours of all types do seem to have many commonalities.

Issues for DSM-V: internet addiction

Article

Apr 2008

Jerald J Block

Clinical Assessment of Internet-Addicted Clients

Article

Oct 2012

Kimberly S. Young

Diagnosis of Internet addiction is often complex. Unlike chemical dependency, the Internet offers several direct benefits as a technological advancement in our society and not a device to be criticized as addictive. Individuals can conduct research, perform business transactions, access libraries, communicate, and make vacation plans. This chapter reviews ways to evaluate possible Internet addiction. It reviews the evolution of Internet addiction and current conceptualizations of pathological computer use. As part of the assessment process, this chapter also presents the first validated measure of Internet addiction, which is an especially useful tool to measure the severity of symptoms once diagnosed. Finally, the chapter outlines specific clinical interview questions and treatment issues that clients present with in the early stages of recovery. These include a client's motivation for treatment, underlying social problems, and multiple addictions.

Sexuality and the Internet: Surfing into the New Millennium

Article

Jun 1998

AL COOPER

This paper highlights a few of the ways that the Internet is having a profound effect on sexuality. For the sake of simplicity, and to better elucidate the points, the Internet's effect on sexuality is divided into the three broad categories: negative patterns, positive connections, and commercial aspects. In addition, three of the key factors that combine to give the Internet its power are delineated. They include Access, Affordability, and Anonymity or as they are called here the "Triple A". Finally, suggestions for how the field should deal with this phenomena are offered.

Understanding Online Gaming Addiction and Treatment Issues for Adolescents

Article

Sep 2009

Kimberly Young

Massive Muti-user Online Role-Playing Games or MMORPGs as they are often called are one of the fastest growing forms of Internet addiction, especially among children and teenagers. Like an addiction to alcohol or drugs, gamers show several classic signs of addiction (Grusser, Thalemann, and Griffiths, 2007). They become preoccupied with gaming, lie about their gaming use, lose interest in other activities just to game, withdrawal from family and friends to game, and use gaming as a means of psychological escape (Leung, 2004). This paper explores the emergence of online gaming addiction and its impact on individuals and families. This paper reviews the nature of online games and what makes them addictive among some players. As computers are relied upon with greater frequency, detecting and diagnosing online gaming addiction may be difficult for clinicians, especially as symptoms of a possible problem may be masked by legitimate use of the Internet. This paper reviews the warning signs of online gaming addiction, adolescent issues involved in gaming addiction, especially as the industry targets youth, and parenting and therapy considerations for this emergent client population.

The research of event-related potentials in working memory of the juvenile internet addiction

Article

Apr 2010

Internet addiction disorder, as a form of technological addiction, will cause neurological complications, psychological disturbances, and relational chaos. Teenagers are in the most vulnerable age group, who will develop more serious complications than other age groups when addicted to the Internet. The objective of this study was to analyze the damage in working memory of the juvenile Internet addiction (IAD). The Chinese words Recognition is used as the experimental paradigms of event-related potentials (ERP). 13 normal teenagers and 10 Internet addiction received recognition task which use the old/new effects during Chinese words and the behavior data and electroencephalogram signals were recorded by the experiment equipment. After the data disposed, compared with the normal, both the ERP and the behavior data of the IAD have some obvious characteristics. The difference reveals the damage of the working memory from the neurophysiology.

Internet Sex AddictionRisk Factors, Stages of Development, and Treatment

Article

Sep 2008

Kimberly S. Young

Internet sex addiction typically involves viewing, downloading, and trading online pornography or engagement in adult fantasy role-play rooms. Adult Web sites comprise the largest segment of electronic commerce catering to a wide variety of sexual interests. Given the widespread availability of sexually explicit material online, Internet sex addiction is the most common form of problem online behavior among users. Using research and illustrative case studies, this chapter explores how sexually explicit material enters our homes, schools, and business, and examines the risk factors that lead to addiction. As new users are more at risk to become hooked on online porn or adult sex chat rooms, this chapter presents a model that shows the progressive stages of development underlying Internet sex addiction and how the Internet enables sexually explicit behavior to develop. Finally, this chapter reviews current treatment practices associated with the disorder and the implications of new mobile technologies.

Evaluating the social and cultural implications of the Internet

Article

Sep 2006
Comput Soc

Philip Brey

Since the Internet's breakthrough as a mass medium, it has become a topic of discussion because of its implications for society. At one extreme, one finds those who only see great benefits and consider the Internet a tool for freedom, commerce, connectivity, and other societal benefits. At the other extreme, one finds those who lament the harms and disadvantages of the Internet, and who consider it a grave danger to existing social structures and institutions, to culture, morality and human relations. In between one finds the majority, those who recognize both benefits and harms in the Internet as it currently exists and who recognize its usefulness while worrying about some of its negative impacts.As an example of a positive appraisal of the Internet, consider what Esther Dyson, one of the early enthusiasts for the Internet, states in her book Release 2.0. There, she claims: "The Net offers us a chance to take charge of our own lives and to redefine our role as citizens of local communities and of a global society. It also hands us the responsibility to govern ourselves, to think for ourselves, to educate our children, to do business honestly, and to work with fellow citizens to design rules we want to live by." (Dyson, 1997). Dyson argues that the Internet offers us the chance to build exciting communities of likeminded individuals, enables people to redefine their work as they see fit, fosters truth-telling and information disclosure, helps build trust between people, and can function for people as a second home.For a negative appraisal, consider the opinion of the Council of Torah Sages, a group of leading orthodox rabbis in Israel who in 2000 issued a ruling banning the Internet from Jewish homes. The Council claimed that the Internet is "1,000 times more dangerous than television" (which they banned thirty years earlier). The Council described the Internet as "the world's leading cause of temptation" and "a deadly poison which burns souls" that "incites and encourages sin and abomination of the worst kind." The Council explained that it recognized benefits in the Internet, but saw no way of balancing these with the potential cost, which they defined as exposure to "moral pollution" and possible addiction to Internet use that could quash the motivation to learn Torah, especially among children. ( See Ha'aretz, January 7, 2000.)Even the greatest critics of the Internet, like the Council of Torah Sages, see benefits in the technology, and even the greatest advocates recognize that there are drawbacks to the medium. People have different opinions on what the benefits and disadvantages are and also differ in the way in which they balance them against each other. Underlying these different assessments of the Internet are different value systems. Esther Dyson holds a libertarian value system in which the maximization of individual freedom, property rights and free market capitalism are central values. Her positive assessment of the Internet is based on the potential she sees in this technology to promote these values. In contrast, the values Council of Torah Sages are values of Hareidi, a variety of orthodox Judaism, according to which the highest good is obedience to God's law as laid out in the Torah, and they concluded, based on these values, that the Internet is harmful.Yet, it is not just differences in value systems that determine one's appraisal of a technology like the Internet. Such an appraisal is also determined by one's empirical understanding of how the technology works and what its consequences or implications are. People often come to unduly positive or negative appraisals of technology because they assess its consequences wrongly. For instance, some people believe that Internet use increases the likelihood of social isolation, but empirical research could conceivably show that in fact the opposite is the case. Disagreements about the positive and negative aspects of the internet may therefore be either normative disagreements (disagreements about values) or empirical disagreements (disagreements about facts). Of course, it is not always easy to disentangle values and empirical facts, as these are often strongly interwoven.Next to contested benefits and harms of the Internet, there are also perceived harms and benefits that are fairly broadly acknowledged. For instance, nearly everyone agrees that the Internet has the benefit of making a large amount of useful information easily available, and nearly everyone agrees that the Internet can also be harmful by making dangerous, libelous and hateful information available. People have shared values and shared empirical beliefs by which they can come to such collective assessments.My purpose in this essay is to contribute to a better understanding of existing positive and negative appraisals of the Internet, as a first step towards a more methodical assessment of Internet technology. My focus will be on the appraisal of social and cultural implications of the Internet. Whether we like it or not, policy towards the Internet is guided by beliefs about its social and cultural benefits and harms. It is desirable, therefore, to have methods for making such beliefs explicit in order to analyze the values and empirical claims that are presupposed in them.In the next two sections (2 and 3), I will catalogue major perceived social and cultural benefits and harms of the Internet, that have been mentioned frequently in public discussions and academic studies. I will focus on perceived benefits and harms that do not seem to rest on idiosyncratic values, meaning that they seem to rest on values that are shared by most people. For instance, most people believe that individual autonomy is good, so if it can be shown that a technology enhances individual autonomy, most people would agree that this technology has this benefit. Notice, however, that even when they share this value, people may disagree on the benefits of the technology in question, because they may have different empirical beliefs on whether the technology actually enhanced individual autonomy.Cataloguing such perceived cultural benefits and harms is, I believe, an important first step towards a social and cultural technology assessment of the Internet and its various uses. An overview of perceived benefits and harms may provide a broader perspective on the Internet that could be to the benefit of both friends and foes, and can contribute to a better mutual understanding between them. More importantly, it provides a potential starting point for a reasoned and methodical analysis of benefits and harms. Ideas on how such an analysis may be possible, in light of the already mentioned facts that assessments are based on different value systems, will be developed in section 4. In a concluding section, I sketch the prospects for a future social and cultural technology assessment of the Internet.

Internet Addiction: A New Clinical Phenomenon and Its Consequences

Article

Dec 2004

Kimberly S. Young

New research identifies online users who became hooked on chat rooms, interactive games, and even eBay only to see their lives become increasingly unmanageable because of the Internet. Prior research explores the addictive qualities sustaining drug and alcohol abuse, pathological gambling, and even video game addiction; however, given the relative newness of Internet addiction, little is understood about the habit-forming nature of the Internet and its potential for abuse. As the Internet permeates our lives at home, school, and work, this article takes a closer look at how the Internet can create marital-, academic-, and job-related problems. This article outlines a workable definition of Internet addiction and as a clinical new phenomenon, explores the major consequences created by Internet addiction, including online affairs, student Internet abuse, and employee Internet abuse. Future areas for research and practice are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects

Recommended publications

Measurement Invariance of the Internet Addiction Test Among Hong Kong, Japanese, and Malaysian Adole...

Malaysian Internet Surfing Addiction (MISA): Factors affecting the Internet use and its consequences

Psychosocial and Occupational Impact Assessment due to Internet Addiction: A Critical Review

Internet Addiction: Diagnosis and Treatment Considerations

Propriety of internet use time for internet addiction among Korean adolescents