Internet Addiction among Senior Secondary School Students: A Comparative Study across Gender, Locality, and Academic Streams
Authors-Dr. Sushma Rani, Ms. Manju Yadav
Keyword-Internet addiction, adolescents, senior secondary students, digital behaviour, gender, locality, academic stream.
The Internet has become an indispensable component of contemporary education and communi-cation. Although it facilitates learning, information sharing, and social interaction, excessive Internet use among adolescents has emerged as a growing educational and psychological con-cern. The present study investigated differences in Internet addiction among senior secondary school students with respect to gender, locality, and academic stream. A descriptive survey method was employed to collect data from 90 senior secondary school students using a stand-ardized Internet Addiction Scale. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (Mean and Standard Deviation) and inferential statistics (independent samples t-test). The find-ings indicated significant differences in Internet addiction between male and female students, rural and urban students, and Arts and Science students. Male, rural, and Arts students exhibited comparatively higher levels of Internet addiction. However, no statistically significant differ-ences were observed between Arts and Commerce students or between Science and Commerce students. The findings suggest that demographic and educational variables influence Internet use patterns among adolescents. The study recommends integrating digital literacy, counselling services, and awareness programmes into school education to promote healthy and responsible Internet use among students.
Doi-[https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21943568]