Internet Addiction among Medical Postgraduate Students: A Cross- Sectional Study

Introduction: Internet addiction was not officially recognized as a disorder by the psychiatric communitytill recently. However, with internet access becoming widespread, problematic internet use is increasinglybeing reported. It has been suggested that excessive internet use could represent addictive behavior withmental health implications. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the objective to assess theprevalence of internet addiction and pattern of internet usage among post graduate students in a medicalcollege.Materials and Method: A cross sectional study was conducted among post graduates of Jawaharlal NehruMedical College, Belagavi. The study was conducted from January 2018 to June 2018 with a universalsample size. The data was collected by using Kimberly Young IAT questionnaire. The data was furthertabulated and analysed.Results: The study revealed that 138 (92%) reported internet addiction and 12 (8%) reported normalinternet usage. The students residing in hostel were more prone for internet addiction. Almost two thirds ofparticipants used internet for communication, social networking and entertainment.Conclusion: Although being trapped in the busy schedules, medical postgraduates were also prone tointernet addiction, leading to various mental disorders like depression. To overcome that various internetrehabilitation centres, regulation of use of internet in working hours can be done