Typology Of Czech University Students By Their Internet Addiction

Abstract

The paper describes the first part of a research study aimed at addiction to the internet, computer games, and online communication among students of teacher training courses at Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic. The research method was the standardized CIAS scale. Addictive behaviour among students in relation to computer games was assessed by a questionnaire designed by the authors. Moreover, selected online activities and other data were analysed. The research sample in the preliminary research comprised 146 students of various study programmes. Internet addiction was observed in 2.7% of students. A higher degree of internet addiction was observed in men (score 44) and younger students (42), but the difference was not statistically significant. The Generalized k-Means Cluster Analysis suggested two clusters by respondents’ addiction. The first cluster comprised about 26% of students, mostly men, who showed a higher internet addiction score (46) and a higher computer game score (11). Each day on average they played for 98 minutes, of which 55 minutes was online. They did not pursue leisure activities, spent less time communicating using their mobile phone, and read in their free time. The second cluster comprised about 74% of students, mostly women, who show a higher internet addiction score (39) and a lower computer game score (3). Each day on average they played for 16 minutes, of which 9 minutes was online. They pursued leisure activities, spent more time communicating using their mobile phone, and went out with friends in their free time.

Keywords: Internet addictionCIASstudentsGeneralized k-Means Cluster Analysis

Introduction

Generally, internet addiction is defined as excessive use of the internet that causes psychological, social and work-related or school-related complications. Research has shown that people do not develop “internet addiction” but rather addiction to specific internet applications or websites (Škařupová, 2015). Internet addiction, also known as internet addiction disorder, is pathological use of internet in all forms, including playing web games, chatting, reading e-mails, surfing, etc. In a broader sense, this disorder is classified as addiction to the so-called virtual drugs, which also includes mobile telephones and TV (Young, 2017). However, experts agree that the concept of internet addiction is not very precise; instead, they recommend to refer to addictive behaviour (Blinka, Ševčíková, Škařupová, Vondráčková, & Licehammerová, 2015).

The most addictive applications and websites are those that allow two-way communication. Generally, there are 3 basic types of internet addiction:

• Online game addiction. This usually includes the so-called multiplayer RPG online games, i.e. hero games for more players.

• Online communication addiction. This category includes online communication, whether with real or internet friends. This also includes emailing, chatrooms, discussion fora, ICQ, Skype or various social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

• c) Addiction to websites with pornographic content.

Problem Statement

Among the general population, the most-at-risk group in terms of addictive behaviour comprises university students regarding their use of information technology and especially the internet (Škařupová, 2015). The high prevalence is usually attributed to students’ easy access to the internet, flexible daily programme, and by the fact that after enrolling in university, most of them are in a new environment without their previous social ties and start to build new relationships and social status, which is largely facilitated by the internet.

The prevalence of addictive behaviour in relation to internet use among foreign university population ranges between 6 and 13% (Šmahel, Vondráčková, Blinka, & Godoy-Etcheverry, 2009⁏ Weinstein et al., 2015⁏ Seki, Hamazaki, Natori, & Inadera, 2019⁏ Laconi et al., 2019). The problem is however that only a very small part of internet users are aware of the negative effects of this behaviour on their lives. Students with risk behaviour in relation to the internet most often use two-way communication applications such as chatrooms, emails, and interactive computer games (Škařupová & Blinka, 2015).

The most frequent negative implications of addictive behaviour in the context of internet use is worse academic achievement, late arrivals or absence in classes, worse eyesight, sleep deprivation, backache, hurting hands and fingers, and overall fatigue. However, the impact in the social area is disputable because some studies suggest a positive effect of internet use on interpersonal relationships, while others suggest negative implications, such as greater social isolation and a decreased number of new relationships (Blinka et al., 2015).

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated for the purposes of the research:

• What is the degree of internet addiction among students of teacher training courses?

• Is the degree of internet addiction among students of teacher training courses dependent on gender?

• Is the degree of internet addiction among students of teacher training courses dependent on their form of study?

• Are there typical groups of students of teacher training courses by the degree of their internet addiction and addictive behaviour in relation to playing computer games and online communication?

Purpose of the Study

The paper aims to identify the risks posed by the increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and internet in everyday university students life (Kopecký, 2013). Specifically, the paper focuses on the negatives associated with playing computer games (Blinka, Škařupová, & Mitterova, 2016) and internet addiction (Young, 2017). Currently, everyday use of the internet is an absolute necessity for university students, even in their free time (Cerniglia et al., 2016). Unfortunately, students often play computer games and show signs of addictive behaviour (Chráska, 2016a). Generally, this is referred to as Problematic Internet use (PIU), not only internet addiction (Laconi et al., 2019).

Research Methods

In the present research, the following two principal research methods were used. The first standardized CIAS method (see section 5 .1) was used for baseline assessment of internet addiction (Chen, Weng, Su, Wu, & Yang, 2013). The second method (authors’ questionnaire) has so far been partially standardized and was used to investigate students’ addictive behaviour in relation to computer games (Chráska & Basler, 2016). Moreover, selected online activities, leisure activities, and other demographic data of students were examined (see Tab. 5 ).

Findings

Internet addiction among students by gender

The results in the table 3 and figure 2 suggest that men achieve a higher absolute score in the CIAS scale (internet addiction) than women, but this difference is not statistically significant (p=0.08).

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Internet addiction among students by form of study and age

The results in the table 4 and figure 3 suggest that full-time students achieve a higher absolute score in the CIAS scale (internet addiction) than part-time students, but this difference is not statistically significant (p=0.11). It was assumed that this difference was caused by students’ age and that older students were less addicted to the internet than younger students. Therefore, the results of the CIAS test were also compared by age (see table 4 ). The assumption was confirmed, but again the difference was not statistically significant. However, this fact may be caused by the small research sample in the preliminary research.

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Conclusion

Internet addiction was observed in 2.74% of students of teacher training courses, which is less than for example in Japan (Seki et al., 2019) or in a comparable population of adults in Europe (Cerniglia et al., 2016). A higher degree of internet addiction was observed in men (score 43.69) than women (39.84), which was surprising concerning the original assumptions. A comparison of 9 European countries (Laconi et al., 2019) showed a prevalence of problematic internet use (PIU) from 14% to 55%, and was more frequent in women. This discrepancy may be caused by the teaching specialization of the research sample.

However, it is typically reported that men are a higher risk group for Internet addiction (Wenliang, Xiaoli, Cheng, Yan, & Potenza, 2019). Most studies report significant results to varying degrees, mostly suggesting a higher average male dependence rate (Cerniglia et al., 2016; Weinstein et al., 2015). However, the findings are particularly ambivalent for university students. Some studies indicate that the difference has not been demonstrated (eg Kuss et al., 2013), or has been mild (Servidio, 2014), or that the difference has not been demonstrated (Capetillo-Ventura & Juárez-Treviño, 2015).

A higher degree of internet addiction was observed among younger students (41.76) compared with older students (38.69). However, the differences were not statistically significant.

The Generalized k-Means Cluster Analysis suggested two different groups of students according to their addiction to the internet, computer games, and frequency of online activities. These groups show different addiction to the internet, computer games, and mobile phone communication by gender.

Acknowledgments

The paper was supported by project IGA_PdF_2019_043 “Analysis of selected current issues in teaching ICT-based subjects with an emphasis on online technologies”.

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