Internet Usage, Challenges, and Attitudes among University Students: Case Study of the University of Jordan

The Internet usage has grown rapidly during the last decade in almost every country in the world and in Jordan specifically; today millions of individuals are connected to the Internet and the Internet has become the backbone of the information economy. It was used for social, commercial, political, and personal interactions. This study aims to investigate the attitudes of students at The University of Jordan towards using ICT (Information and Communication Technology). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data for obtaining students attitudes on the amount of Internet usage, reasons for using the Internet, and how the Internet impacted on students’ life. The data analysis was done by using SPSS, version 17. 536 students from different faculties (medical, humanities, and scientific) of the University of Jordan participated in the study. The results indicated that most students access Internet before they attended university; there is a positive attitude towards Internet; and they used it mainly for social websites, chatting and information gathering. The slow speed of the Internet connection and the lack of adopting ICT in courses syllabus are some constraints facing the students.