Problematic Internet Use among Information Technology Workers in South Africa

This exploratory study looks at the prevalence and correlates of problematic Internet use (PIU) in South African technology workers (N = 630) and other workers (N = 769). The results indicated that the prevalence of PIU in this sample was higher in the IT group (3.81%) than the non-IT group (1.91%), both considerably lower than in other countries. In both groups, respondents were more likely to have higher PIU scores if they were younger and male, if they spent a large amount of time online, and if they used the interactive functions of the Internet. The best predictors of PIU in both groups were online procrastination, online flow experiences, spending a long period of time online in a single session, and chatting online.