Abstract
The number of internet users has continued to increase through the rapid spread of smart phones. Internet dependence is a crucial issue. The purpose of this research is to find the relationship between overall health performance (physical and mental health, social health, and lifestyle health), in university students with an addictive internet dependence tendency. We investigated this tendency in university students using a J-scale to measure such internet dependence tendency as described by Zheng Yanhua. We divided the university students into two groups (an internet dependence tendency group and a non-internet dependence group). In this research, university students were asked about awareness of their own internet dependence tendencies, and the impact of this tendency on their overall health performance including their mood states.
As a result, 58% of the 156 university students were found to be internet dependentee, and 42% were found to be non-internet dependentee. We found that the subjects with an internet dependence tendency may also have problems sleeping, which is affected both by physical and mental health problems. The dependent were also unstable, had depression, and were generally more impatientee than the non-dependent group.
Although the university students with the internet dependence tendency were more aware of their dependence tendency, they still depended on the internet. University students without awareness of their internet dependence tendency were less so, but it is possible that their internet dependence could become worse due to their lack of awareness.
Based on this study and others, university students need preventive education to teach them how to use the internet appropriately to ameliorate the ill effects of internet dependence on their overall health and lifestyles.
