Internet Addiction among Medical Students and Its Impact on Academic Performance: An Indian Study

Background: Internet has become an indispensable part of medical student's life. They may experience difficulty in reducing the duration and frequency of internet use, gradually getting addicted to it. The literature on internet usage among Indian medical students is limited and there are hardly any Indian studies correlating Internet addiction and academic performance. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Internet addiction among medical students and its correlation with academic performance. Methods: A cross sectional study was performed among first year to final year medical students from a medical college in South India. Their internet activities were assessed using Internet addiction Questionnaire developed by Kimberly Young. Academic performance was assessed based on the sessional marks obtained in respective subjects. Descriptive / inferential statistics including correlation and ordinal regression was used for analysis. Results: A total of 381 students participated in the study. Out of them, females were 294(71.9%) and males were 107 (28.1%). Prevalence of internet addiction was found to be 61.4%. Among them 149 students (63.7%) had mild, 83 had moderate (35.5%) and 2 (.8%) had severe addiction. Academic performance had a negative association with internet addiction. Conclusion: Prevalence of internet addiction was very high among Indian medical students .Internet Addiction had a negative impact on their academic performance. Early prevention from internet addiction should be emphasized .Awareness is very much important to take up the issue at higher level and to implement measures for preventing it.