Impact of Internet Addiction on Perceived Stress and Well-Being Among Full Time Working Professionals
Keywords:
Internet, addiction, stress, well-being, full time, working, professionalsAbstract
This study investigates the impact of internet addiction on perceived stress and well-being among full-time working professionals. The research assesses the prevalence of internet addiction, its relationship with stress, and its influence on mental, emotional, and physical well-being. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using standardized scales, including the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), and WHO-5 Well-being Index. Data were collected from 129 full-time professionals aged 24–45 years in India, using stratified random sampling. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between internet addiction and perceived stress, supporting the hypothesis that higher internet addiction levels contribute to increased stress. Regression analysis demonstrated a significant negative impact of internet addiction on well-being, indicating that excessive internet use deteriorates overall well-being. An independent samples t-test showed that male professionals exhibited higher internet addiction levels compared to females, with a statistically significant difference. The findings highlight the psychological risks associated with excessive internet usage, particularly among male professionals, and its detrimental effects on stress and well-being. The study underscores the need for organizational interventions, such as digital detox programs, awareness initiatives, and work-life balance strategies, to mitigate internet addiction’s negative impact. These insights contribute to workplace policies aimed at enhancing employee mental health and productivity in the digital era..
Downloads
Metrics
References
Fung, S. F. (2019). Psychometric evaluation of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) with Chinese university students. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 17(1), 46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-019-1113-1
Egozi Farkash, H., Lahad, M., Hobfoll, S. E., Leykin, D., & Aharonson-Daniel, L. (2022). Conservation of resources, psychological distress, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Public Health, 67, 1604567. https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604567
Den-Nagy, K. (2010). Mental health, personality, and parental rearing styles of adolescents with Internet addiction disorder. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13(4), 401–406. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2009.0222
Ching, S. M., Hamidin, A., Vasudevan, R., et al. (2017). Prevalence and factors associated with internet addiction among medical students: A cross-sectional study in Malaysia. Medical Journal of Malaysia, 72(1), 7-11.
Shakthivel, N., Amarnath, V. M., Ahamed, F., Rath, R. S., Sethuraman, A. R., & Suliankatchi, R. A. (2017). Level of perceived stress and coping strategies prevailing among 1st year medical undergraduate students: A cross-sectional study from South India. International Journal of Medical Public Health, 7(2).
Shakthivel, N., Amarnath, V. M., Ahamed, F., Rath, R. S., Sethuraman, A. R., & Suliankatchi, R. A. (2017). Level of perceived stress and coping strategies prevailing among 1st year medical undergraduate students: A cross-sectional study from South India. International Journal of Medical Public Health, 7(2).
Bhavani, N. M., Ahmed, M., & Prashantha, B. (2018). Perceived stress and source of stress among undergraduate medical students of Government Medical College, Mysore. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 5(8), 3513-3518.
Mutalik, N. R., Tejaswi, T. P., Moni, S., & Choudhari, S. B. (2018). A cross-sectional study on assessment of prevalence of internet addiction and its correlates among professional college students. Open Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences, 9(1), 20-25.
Krishnamurthy, S., & Chetlapalli, S. K. (2015). Internet addiction: Prevalence and risk factors: A cross-sectional study among college students in Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India. Indian Journal of Public Health, 59(2), 115.
Hasan, A. A. (2019). Prevalence of internet addiction, its association with psychological distress, and coping strategies among undergraduate students. Nurse Education Today, 81, 78-82.
Angane, A. Y., Kadam, K. S., Ghorpade, G. S., & Unnithan, V. B. (2020). Unraveling the net of self-esteem, stress, and coping skills in the era of internet addiction. Annals of Indian Psychiatry, 4(1), 70.
Pulla, P. (2020). Covid-19: India imposes lockdown for 21 days and cases rise. BMJ, 368, m1251. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1251
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1983). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
Taylor, M. R., Agho, K. E., Stevens, G. J., et al. (2008). Factors influencing psychological distress during a disease epidemic: Data from Australia’s first outbreak of equine influenza. BMC Public Health, 8(1), 347. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-347
Reinecke, L., Aufenanger, S., Beutel, M. E., et al. (2017). Digital stress over the life span: The effects of communication load and internet multitasking on perceived stress and psychological health impairments in a German probability sample. Media Psychology, 20(1), 90–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2015.1121832
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., et al. (2020). A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: Implications and policy recommendations. General Psychiatry, 33(2), e100213. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2020-100213
Goldberg, I. (1996). Internet addiction. Available from: http://web.urz.uniheidelberg.de/Netzdienste/anleitung/wwwtips/8/addict.html [Last accessed on 2020 Mar 22].
Mark, G. (2000). Does internet and computer “addiction” exist? Some case study evidence. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 3(2), 211–218. https://doi.org/10.1089/109493100316067
Davis, R. A. (2001). A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 17(2), 187–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0747-5632(00)00041-8
Young, K. S. (1998). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1(3), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237
Caplan, S. E. (2006). Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic internet use. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(2), 234–242. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2006.9963
Shyam, H. R., Sharma, M. K., & Palanichamy, T. (2016). Exploration of technology use pattern among teenagers and its relationship with psychological variables. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 17(2), 239–249.
Sharma, A., & Sharma, R. (2018). Internet addiction and psychological well-being among college students: A cross-sectional study from Central India. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 7(1), 147–151. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_189_17
Perez, M. (2020). Video games are being played at record levels as the coronavirus keeps people indoors.
Pantling, A. (2020). Gaming usage up 75 percent amid coronavirus outbreak, Verizon reports.
Lepido, D., & Rolander, N. (2020). Housebound Italian kids strain network with Fortnite marathon.
Stephen, B. (2020). This is Twitch’s moment. [Internet].
Kuss, D. J., & Lopez-Fernandez, O. (2016). Internet addiction and problematic Internet use: A systematic review of clinical research. World journal of psychiatry, 6(1), 143.
Maheshwari, S. K., & Preksha, S. (2018). Internet addiction: A growing concern in India. Indian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing, 15(1), 61-68.
Abrams, R., Vandrevala, T., Samsi, K., & Manthorpe, J. (2019). The need for flexibility when negotiating professional boundaries in the context of home care, dementia and end of life. Ageing & Society, 39(9), 1976-1995.
Shrivastava, A., Sharma, M. K., & Marimuthu, P. (2016). Internet use at workplaces and its effects on working style in indian context: An exploration. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 20(2), 88-94.
Rohith, M., & Patil, S. S. (2017). Prevalence of internet addiction amongst the IT professionals of Bangalore city and its effect on their lifestyle and dietary habits.
Ratnani, A. (2020). INTERNET ADDICTION: A RESEARCH STUDY AMONG IT PROFESSIONALS IN INDIA.
Toth, G., Kapus, K., Hesszenberger, D., Pohl, M., Kosa, G., Kiss, J., ... & Feher, G. (2021). Internet addiction and burnout in a single hospital: is there any association? International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(2), 615.
Gao, L., Gan, Y., Whittal, A., Yan, S., & Lippke, S. (2020). The mediator roles of problematic internet use and perceived stress between health behaviors and work-life balance among internet users in Germany and China: web-based cross-sectional study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(5), e16468.
Buneviciene, I., & Bunevicius, A. (2021). Prevalence of internet addiction in healthcare professionals: Systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(5), 483-491.
Shrivastava, A., Sharma, M. K., & Marimuthu, P. (2018). Internet addiction at workplace and it implication for workers life style: Exploration from Southern India. Asian journal of psychiatry, 32, 151-155.
.
.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
