Internet Addiction and dependency: A case study in UNITEN, Malaysia

14 – 16 November 2011

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on IT & Multimedia at UNITEN (ICIMU 2011) Malaysia

Internet Addiction and Dependency: A Case Study in UNITEN, Malaysia Boshra Talebi Haghighi

Marini Othman,PhD

Department of Information System, College of Information Technology, UNITEN, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

Department of Information System, College of Information Technology, UNITEN,

Faridah H. Hashim Department of Languages and Communication, College of Foundation & General Studies, UNITEN, Kajang, Selangor,Malaysia

Abstract— The Internet has become an inseparable part of our daily lives. However, problematical use of the Internet can lead to various types of mental and physical problems. Internet Addiction (IA) is a disorder which is caused by problematical Internet usage. This study aims to determine the situation of Internet Addiction in UNITEN, Malaysia by looking at the Internet usage patterns. How is the Internet Addiction situation in UNITEN, Malaysia? What are the profiles of the Malaysian Internet Users? The research employed a quantitative approach. Data collection was based on a web-based and paper-based survey of 700 college students in Malaysia. The questionnaire survey was developed based on Dr. K. Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ). The respondents were then categorized into 3 levels of Internet Addiction: mild, moderate and severe Internet Addiction. A comparative analysis was performed on the situation in Malaysia in which data on the pattern and the usage of Internet was already available. The survey which was carried out with 700 respondents, produced a 3 percent spoiled result, and found that 31 percent of the respondents are mild addicts, 63 percent are moderate addicts and only 3 percent of the respondents are severe Internet Addicts. Further details which include the profiles of Malaysian Internet users and the revision over published knowledge based on Malaysia Internet Addiction are provided in detail. Physical and mental problems caused by Internet Addiction consequently make problems for the society. An awareness of the Internet usage pattern and the situation of Internet Addiction help to prevent and control the negative consequences of this modern disorder. Keywords- Internet Addiction; Malaysian Internet Dependency; Malaysian Internet Addiction Test;

I.

INTRODUCTION

The Internet has become an inseparable part of our daily lives, and has increased the speed and accuracy of executing simple daily tasks. But problematical use of Internet causes many physical and mental problems such as restlessness, exhaustion, social isolation, depression and etc. Negative consequences of this modern disorder which is known as

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Internet Addiction (IA) in individuals can affect the society. This paper determines the situation of IA in Malaysia by undertaking a survey developed by Dr. K. Young among 700 college students [1], [2]. A comparison study was also reviewed and results from available data on the Malaysian pattern and usage on Internet were compared [5], [6]. The paper presents the progress which evolves in 5 sections. The following section presents the available information on the pattern and usage of Internet in Malaysia. Then it is followed by the methodology section which explains the situation of Internet Addiction in Malaysia. In the fourth section, the results from the 700 respondents who undertook the survey are discussed, as well as the profiles of the Malaysian Internet users. Finally, the conclusion section discusses the advantages and outcomes of this study. II.

MALAYSIAN INTERNET USAGE AND PATTERN STUDIES

A. Effective factors on Malaysian Internet Addiction The study was conducted in 2004 at the International Islamic University Malaysia, and it attempted to determine the effects of loneliness, lack of social support and locus of control on Internet Addiction [6]. This research concluded that factors such as the extent of social support, adolescents’ low personal efficacy and gender had no relationship with IA. However, loneliness and social support was 17% related to the variability of the Internet Addiction scores [6]. Accordingly, it can be concluded that Malaysian Internet users do have a high tendency to communicate over the Internet. B. Malaysian Digital Partners and Social Networks Research conducted in 2010 by an international marketing firm (TNS) observed the habits and behaviour of internet users. This research found that the largest number of social network partners belong to Malaysian Internet users [7]. Malaysian citizens have an average of 233 digital friends and a comparison with their peers in other countries shows that this is the largest number [7]. TNS monitored Brazil with 231,

Norway with 217, China with 68, South Korea with 50, Tanzania with 38 and Japan with 29 digital friends respectively [7]. There are a few studies which show Malaysian Internet Users’ high interest in social websites [7] [8]. These users spend an average of 9.0 hours per week on the social websites, followed by the Russians in second place with 8.1 hours per week and the Turks in third place with 7.7 hours per week [7]. C. Social Activeness Microsoft conducted a survey on 2800 respondents in 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region to determine the pattern of the social activities over the Internet [8]. It concluded that Internet users from the Asia Pacific are active on average in at least three different social websites; while this is the minimum number of active social websites for 45% of Malaysian Internet users [8]. 71% of Malaysian Internet users spend more than one hour per day for cyber social activities and the largest number of Internet users’ friends on Facebook belongs to Malaysian Internet users [8]. D. Nielsen net Survey Nielsen’s Mobile Insights studied the phone and Internet behavior in Malaysia. It performed a survey on 3889 Malaysian Internet users, aged 15 to 64 years old, in 2010 [9]. According to the Nielson report, the number of satisfied Malaysian Internet users had only increased by 3%, while unsatisfied users increased from 16% to 26%. The elements such as coverage and speed have the most significant effect on the Internet Service Provider (ISP) selection and users’ satisfaction [9]. This study also found out that Mobile broadband is becoming the most common way for an Internet connection rather than the fixed broadband and dial up. The respondents’ percentage increased from 20% to 54% between 2009 and 2010 [9]. Nielsen also reported that Instant Messaging, local news, web-based email and video sharing is used by an average of 33.5% respondents. However, at the top of the list, 71% of the respondents visit social websites [9]. The Nielsen study also reported that Internet users in the light Internet dependency category decreased from 65% to 47% while heavy users with a time spending of 22.3 hours per week online increased from 15% to 31% respondents and medium users with 19.3 hours per week online activities remained unchanged [9]. These results and statistics reflect that the number of light Internet dependent users is decreasing but the number of heavy Internet users is increasing. Table I shows the findings of the summary of the Nielsen net survey. III.

METHOD

This study attempted to determine the situation of Internet dependency and Addiction (IA) among Malaysian college students. The research employed a quantitative approach: data collection was based on an online and web-based survey. To determine the situation of IA in Malaysia, a survey was conducted among Malaysian Internet users between 18 to 25 years old. The College of Information Technology (COIT) of University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) was selected as the survey site with 700 of its students serving as random respondents.

TABLE I. Observed Elements

NILSEN NET SURVEY OVERVIEW [9] Percentage

Situation

26% to 29%

A 3% Increase

16% to 26%

A10% Increase

Mobile broadband connection

20% to 55%

A 35% Increase

Light Internet users

65% to 47%

An 18% Decrease

Average Users

20% to 22%

A 2% Increase

Heavy Internet Users

15% to 31%

A 16% Increase

Instant Message users

35%

-

Local News users

34%

-

Web-based mails

33%

-

Video sharing

32%

-

Social websites

71%

-

Satisfied Users

Internet

Dissatisfied Users

Internet

Internet

The survey has three sections: section A; which included 5 questions for profiling the respondents, section B; which included 20 questions of Dr. K. Young’s IAT and finally section C; which included 6 questions from Dr. K. Young’s IADQ. A few modifications were applied to the original questionnaire regarding the number of the questions and the vocabulary was adapted for the local respondents. IV.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

As mentioned before, the survey has 3 sections: Respondents’ Profile, IAT and IADQ. Each section will be discussed separately. A. Respondents’ Profile 90.14% of the respondents were from the College of Information Technology (COIT) and the rest, 7.57% were from the College of Engineering (COE), 0.86% was from the College of Foundation and General Studies (CFGS) and another 1.14% were from other departments in UNITEN. The designation of the respondents was recorded as: 92.14% are undergraduate students, 6.57% are postgraduate students and approximately 1% of the respondents were members of the staff. The respondents were categorized into three age ranges: 18 to 20 years old, 21 to 23 years old and 24 to 26 years old which allocates to 31.57%, 49.86% and 18.29% of the respondents respectively. In addition, 55% of the respondents were male and 44.71% of the respondents were female. Also 62.86% of respondents were Malays, 5.14% were Chinese, 16.00% were Indians and 16.14% were International students from other nationalities. Table II shows a summary of the respondents’ profiles.

TABLE II. Categories Gender

Age range

Race

College

Level of Studies / Position

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS Status

Male

Percentage

INTERNET ADDICTION TEST RESULTS

Observed Symptoms

Percentage

Stay online longer than intended

79.43%

Check the email before doing other things

78.43%

Neglect house chores to spend more time online

62.57%

Unsuccessful effort to cut down the time spent online

58.58%

Preoccupied with the Internet

50.14%

Prefer the Internet to spending time for social activities or with friends

49.71%

Grades or school work suffer because of the time spent being online

49.7%

Hiding the duration spent for online activities

48.86%

Form new relationships with fellow online users

45.72%

55%

Female

44.71%

18 – 20

31.57%

21 – 23

49.86%

24 – 26

18.29%

Malays

TABLE III.

62.86%

Chinese

5.14%

Indians

16.00%

Others

16.14%

COIT

90.14%

COE

7.57%

CFGS

0.86%

Others

1.14%

Postgraduate

6.57%

Undergraduates

92.14%

Staff

1.00%

B. Internet Addiction through Internet Addiction Test The second section of the survey included 20 questions of Dr. K. Young’s IAT [2]. This test provided 5 alternatives as the answers: ‘Rarely’, ‘Occasionally’, ‘Frequently’, ‘Often’ and ‘Always’. The results from the survey performed revealed that 79.43% of respondents stay on-line longer than they intended very frequently. 62.57% neglected house chores to be on-line longer and an average of 49.71% prefer to use the Internet rather than spending time with their friends, or for social activities. However, only 45.72% form new relationships with fellow on-line users. Taking into consideration these statistics, it is predictable that the Internet may have affected school work or grades as the survey found that an average of 49.7% of the respondents’ grades or school work suffer from using the Internet. 50.14% of the respondents felt preoccupied with the Internet or fantasized about being on-line while 58.58% was unsuccessful in their efforts to cut down the time spent being on-line . 78.43% of respondents confirmed that they checked their email at the beginning of their on-line activities while 48.86% of them tried to hide the duration spent for on-line activities. Table III represents the results of the second section of the survey which includes the IAT.

C. Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire The last section of the survey consists of 6 questions based on Dr. K. Young’s IADQ with Boolean answers [1]. The findings are as follows: 63% of the respondents prefer to increase the time spent on-line in order to achieve a similar satisfaction as those who say that they usually stay online longer than intended. It was also identified that 55.86% of the survey respondents use the Internet to escape from problems and negative moods. These set of questions also mentioned the unsuccessful efforts to control or stop using the Internet in which 40.43% of the respondents agreed. Risking the loss of a significant job, education or career opportunity was also asked, in which 67.43% respondents disapproved. It was surprising to find that 20.86% respondents who lied to others or concealed the extent of their Internet usage as the response is totally different from a similar question’s result in the IAT section. Table IV shows the results of the last section of the survey including questions from IADQ. D. Internet Addiction Dependency Level Other than the information gathered on the individual’s symptoms and problems, the survey also determined Internet dependency levels of Malaysian Internet users as defined by Dr. Young. They are ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ and ‘severe’ Internet Addiction. 30.85% of respondents were considered as ‘mild’, 63.28% ‘moderate’, 3.28% ‘severe’ and 2.5% of results were considered as spoiled results due to some problems encountered during data gathering. Fig. 1 shows the results of the survey based on the Internet Addiction levels among Malaysian Internet users in UNITEN. A reported data from S. Korea suggests that 8.5 percent of S.Korean Internet Users are Internet Addicted [10] while the results obtained through this survey indicate that 3.29 percent of Malaysian Internet users are ‘severe’ Internet Addicts. A noticeable part of the survey confirms that users would like to stay online longer than intended, and increase the time spent being online. A small percentage (40.43%) of the respondents

tries to cut off or control their Internet usage, and the survey identified that they do not usually reveal the extent of their involvement on the Internet. The data suggests that even if students deny risking their education or career due to their activities on the Internet, the Internet however does pose some effects on their educational and social activities. The study also shows that almost half of the respondents (55.86%) use the Internet to escape from problems and would like to make new relationships through the Internet. Overall, a comparison between the different findings about Malaysians’ Internet usage and pattern which were discussed in section II in the International Islamic University Malaysia study in 2004, in the international marketing firm (TNS) studies in 2010, in Microsoft’s survey in 2010, in the Nielsen’s Mobile Insights in 2010 and the results from the survey in this study presents a significant overview about the current situation of IA in Malaysia. V.

Percentage

Use the Internet to escape from negative mood or problems

55.86%

Unsuccessful effort to control or stop using the Internet

40.43%

Jeopardized or risk the loss of significant job, education or career chance

28.00%

Lie to others or conceal the extent of involvement on the Internet

20.86%

CONCLUSION

The survey helped to project an overview on the situation of IA in Malaysia among 700 college students in UNITEN. The results of the survey show that most of the respondents fall into the second category of IA which is ‘moderate’ dependency or in other words; they are excessive Internet users. The second place is Level 1 which is ‘mild’ IA, and the difference between these two levels is almost doubled (2.05x). Hence, it can be concluded that Malaysian Internet users are considered as excessive Internet users and are potentially at a high risk of being ‘severe’ Internet Addicts. For the moment, the current results are not disturbing yet. As mentioned before, there are also a few other reports that can confirm Malaysia’s Internet users’ high tendency in visiting social websites [6] [7] [8] [9]. It is evident that IA is both a personal and a social problem. According to the Korean Association for Policy Sciences, some crimes such as assault, fraud and murders can be considered as being the result of IA. In addition, spending a huge $9.3 billion for IA projects indeed highlights this problem as a national concern [10]. This study also suggests that Malaysian Internet users are at a high risk of being ‘Severe’ Internet Addicts. Hence, some action should be taken to overcome this problem and to control it. TABLE IV.

Observed Symptoms

INTERNET ADDICTION DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONNAIRE RESULT Observed Symptoms

Percentage

Increase amount of time spent online to achieve satisfaction

63.00%

Stay online longer than intended

63.00%

Figure 1. Internet Addiction levels

REFERENCES [1]

K. Young, "How Addictive are You?", iBrownie, 20 February, 2010; http://www.internetoveruse.com/?p=171. [2] K. Young, "Signs of Internet Addiction", 1995; http://www.netaddiction.com/. [3] L. M. Koran, N. Gamel, E. Aboujaoude, M. D. Large and R. T. Serpe, “Potential Markers for Problematic Internet Use: A Telephone Survey of 2,513 Adults”,CNS Spectrums, vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 750-755, 2006. [4] B. Young, “Diffusion and Usage Patterns of the Internet in Korea and Japan: a Comparison of Policy and Cultural Factores”,Soongsil Univ, Development and Society, vol. 33, no.2, pp. 229-250, December 2004. [5] W. Jamaliah, W. Jusoh and J. G. Kannu, “Internet Usage Patterns and Addiction: An Exploratory Study among Malaysian Internet Users”, IIUM Univ, Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics, ISSN. 1511-2802, pp. 85-96, 2000. [6] H. Rahmat, “Internet Addiction, Locus of Control and Social Isolation among Malaysian Adolescents”, master's thesis, Dept. Psychology, International Islamic University of Malaysia, 2004. [7] A. Zamhari, “Malaysia punyai rakan digital paling ramai”, TNS, Malaysiakini, Oct. 2010. [8] A. Venugopal, “Time to Get Socially Energetic”, Nov. 2010; http://www.mmail.com/content. [9] Y. H. Chieh, “More Access Yet More Grouses, Says Nielsen Net Survey”, The Malaysian Insider, Apr. 2011. [10] B. Ji-soo, “S. Korea’s National Internet Addiction Therapy Center Opens”, The Korean Herald ANN, May. 2011.