Internet addiction in students at a Peruvian private university during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the accelerated spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have caused governments to decree mandatory social isolation in many countries, causing people to change their habits, among which the time spent on the Internet stands out. Although the Internet has provided valuable opportunities in scientific, communicative, and social aspects of society, it’s inappropriate and extreme use, mostly for recreational purposes, is a serious threat to the health and well-being of the population, especially children. youths. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze internet addiction (IA) in undergraduate students at a private Peruvian university during the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach was quantitative, the design was non-experimental, and the type was descriptive of transectional cut. The sample consisted of 265 students and the instrument used for data collection was the Lima Internet Addiction Scale, which had adequate validity and reliability. The results indicate that 43.4% of the students presented moderate levels of IA, characterized mainly by the fact that they spent more time on the Internet than they intended, after having disconnected they felt that they wanted to continue connected to the Internet and they came to have problems in the university for such conduct. It was concluded that the predominant level of IA in students was moderate and that some sociodemographic and academic variables such as gender, age group, connection time, as well as previous academic performance were significantly associated with the said disorder (p<0.05).