Extent and pattern of problematic internet use among school students from Delhi: Findings from the cyber awareness programme

The student population is likely to be vulnerable to problems associated with increased online activity. We present the findings on extent and pattern of problematic internet use based on observations from a cyber awareness initiative undertaken in national capital city of New Delhi. A total of 25 schools were enrolled in the first phase of the initiative. The students in the middle, high, secondary and senior secondary grades were eligible for inclusion in the initiative. The Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 was used to assess problematic internet use. Correlation analysis was done using Pearson's correlation. A binary logistic regression was carried to see how various variables predicted the GPIUS scores. The level of statistical significance was kept at p < 0.05 for all the tests. A total of 6291 students participated in first phase. Around 19% of study participants reported problematic internet use and 37% used internet for mood regulation. Male gender, older age, studying in senior grades, and owning a personal device were associated with higher rates of problematic internet use. Use of internet for accessing social media, online gaming, and recreational surfing is associated with problematic internet use, while use of internet for educational activities was associated with lesser problems. There is a need to cover all students under cyber awareness program in order to facilitate safe and healthy use of internet.