INFLUENCE OF INTERNET ADDICTION ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND MENTAL HEALTH OF COLLEGE STUDENTS

Internet is becoming a widely accepted channel for information exchange and networking. It is experiencing tremendous growth and development in its size and numbers of users all over the world. The benefits of the internet have been widely researched and include keeping in touch with friends, making vacation plans, managing finances, assisting with educational needs etc. Despite the positive effects of internet, there is growing literature on the negative effects of its excessive use. The goal of this research is to examine the degree to which the students are addicted to Internet usage and the impact of Internet addiction (IA) on their academic success and mental health. While most young people today are consistently exploring all phases of Internet connections, there is a plethora of debate as to what constitutes leisurely use of the Internet and where the border lies between such use and a non-transient addiction. Therefore, our first goal is to determine a concise measurement for IA that will distinguish levels and usage patterns that will stipulate when one should be considered addicted and when not. As a result, we developed a comprehensive set of questions to measure this degree of IA