مختصر البحثIntroduction
The use of the internet is important for medical students as a
source of education. It has enabled the flow of information, including
academic material, entertainment, financial, and news [1-3]. The
use of internet has been rapidly increasing worldwide, and In Iraq,
the number of internet users increased from 12500 (0.1% of total
population) at 2000 to 14000000 (37.3% of total population) at 2016
[4]. Despite many potential benefits of this technology, the problem
of overuse and the resulting ‘internet addiction’(IA) has become
increasingly apparent and college students are particularly susceptible
group [5]. The term “internet addiction” was first proposed by Dr.
Ivan Goldberg in 1995 for pathological compulsive use of the internet
[6]. Young believes that “the use of the internet can definitely disrupt
academic, social, financial, and occupational life the same way other
addiction like eating disorder, pathological gambling, and alcoholism”.
Moreover, Young mentioned that “as the internet permeates our lives
at home, school and work, it can also create marital, academic, and job
related problem” [7] Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is defined as
a maladaptive pattern of internet use characterized by psychological
dependence, off-line withdrawal symptoms, loss of control, compulsive
behavior, and significant impairment of normal social interactions [8].
Symptoms of internet addiction include all of increasing of time spent
on Internet activities, computer using that interfere with a job or school
performance, withdrawing from other pleasurable activities, changes
in sleep patterns and neglecting friends and family [9]. Internet
addiction can be compared to other types of addictions regarding risks
and consequences [10]. Among the most common adverse reactions
due to excessive Internet use are a musculoskeletal pain, headache, eye
irritation, isolation from family members and community, refusing
to answer calls [11]. Specialized centers have been established in the
US, Europe, and South-East Asia for the treatment of severe internet
addiction, especially for online gaming, this reflects the growing need
for professional help [12]. Studies demonstrated the Prevalence of
*Corresponding author: Shaymaa Abdul lteef Alfadhul, Faculty of Medicine,
Family Medicine, University of Kufa, Medical Education Unit, Al-Najaf, Iraq, Tel:
00964 7704537524; E-mail: [email protected]
Received November 05, 2018; Accepted November 06, 2018; Published
November 14, 2018
Citation: Alfadhul SAI, Ghazi hameed H, Mohammed SJ (2018) Internet Addiction
Disorder among Medical Students in University of Kufa: A Cross Sectional Study. J
Gen Pract 6: 369. doi: 10.4172/2329-9126.1000369
Copyright: © 2018 Alfadhul SAI, et al. This is an open-access article distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original author and source are credited.
internet addiction in general population varies from 0.3% to 38% [13].
Young estimated that about 5-10% of internet users were addicted to
it [5]. Internet in the form of smartphones and tablets has become
an essential part of every student’s life [14]. A large percentage
of students wasting their time by visiting a non-educational
site, although a small fraction uses the internet for educational
activities [15]. Researches have shown that the proportion of time
a student spends on the internet for non-educational activity could
significantly determine his academic performance [16,17]. In Iraq,
to our best of knowledge, this condition not well studied and there
are no published researches about the size of this problem especially
among medical college students. Hence, the present study aimed
to determine the prevalence of internet addiction and some related
factors among medical students of Kufa University, and its effect on
academic performance.
