The evolution from high school to college engrosses important developments academically, interpersonally as well as at an intrapersonal level. In recent times, the ubiquity of the Internet on college premises has been creating a varied form of college environment for students (Dan et al. 281). Majority of the universities offer excellent Internet-services in computer laboratories with 24 hours accessibility and facilitating students to be online as per their convenience. In their article, “Internet Use and Well-Being Among College Students: Beyond Frequency of Use,”Gordon, Juang, and Syed are of the perspective that such an excessive rate of various Internet usages of college students is susceptible to the addictive capacity of the Internet. Recent studies by Gordon et al. have indicated that college of university students with problem internet usage (PIU) is causing critical psychological, social as well as work complexities in the lives of the youths. This paper will argue on the way unlimited web access has been creating behavioural risks and stressful life events among university students in several Western countries especially in Canada. It has been witnessed that previous researchers primarily focused on gender differences regarding the usage of Internet among men and women. However they did not elaborate on the stressful life events or internet addiction of university students due to extensive Internet access. This assignment will focus on the gap in literature.
Gordon et al. have indicated that for college or graduate level students in particular, web access has emerged as a normative facet of daily life. As college students in substantial numbers are now exploring the world of Internet, it may provide a new and advanced area of opportunity of prospective social sustainability that was not earlier obtainable. This increasing rate of Internet access has been consequential to the ubiquity of the Internet on college campuses by forming a varied form of learning environment for these young learners (Demirci et al. 86). However Lepp, Barkley and Karpinski have posited that regardless of the immense resources offered by Internet in recent times such as free and unlimited access in cyber cafes owned by colleges with broadband connections, there remains an ambiguity on the psychological and social issues associated with extensive Internet usage among these Canadian students. Meanwhile, Wohn, Yvette and LaRose are of the perspective that types of Internet usages tend to be frequently evaluated interchangeably with the enthusiasm to use. There can be identified 6 major types of Internet usages namely information gathering, school work, communication along with creation of own Internet site, distance learning as well as downloading learning resources (Gordon et al. 675).
On the other hand, Lepp, Barkley and Karpinski are of the perspective that as internet offers extensive educational and knowledge benefits for Canadian college students and also facilitates them with improved opportunities for communication, social interaction and knowledge gathering avenues for young aged college students. However, Krishnamurthy and Chetlapalli have found that excessive and undue usage can be consequential of unconstructive psychological welfare of these students. This elevating rate of Internet usage by some individuals has led to the emergence of the concept of internet addiction. Furthermore, Lepp, Barkley and Karpinski have revealed the extent to which college or university students aged between 18 years and 22 years are more exposed to the risks of turning into internet addict in comparison to older internet users. Psychological and environment determinants in the lives of college students in Canada exhibit tendencies of making them disproportionately vulnerable towards extensive internet addiction (Lepp, Barkley and Karpinski 345). At this juncture, Stavropoulos et al. have identified the potential implications related to such vulnerability such as students’ huge blocks of free time and their recent shift from parental regulation without any strict supervision or control on types of Internet access. In addition to this, Demirci, Akgönül and Akpinar have also shed light on events experienced by young college students who have left the stringent boundaries of high schools and experiencing new problems of adjusting to university life. These students however typically end up seeking for company by employing various applications available in the web (Dan et al. 279).
Stavropoulos et al. have found that unnecessary and excessive Internet pose unconstructive interpersonal interactions by condensing the time spent with companions, acquaintances or family members tend to result to an increased amount of loneliness, anxiety and depression by reducing level of psychological wellbeing (PWB). Furthermore, the uses and gratifications theory has proposed unique indulgences offered by diverse Internet technologies, such as avoidance and instantaneous communication which could further justify certain psychological consequences associated with Internet use (Gordon et al. 675). However, studies conducted by Dan et al. on PWB and high internet addiction among college students indicated that PWB is linked negatively to the reduced rate of impulse control, depression, anxiety as well as social comfort-dimensions of internet addiction. However improved PWB has been related to college students who constitute adequate social support while worse consequences have been associated with factors devoid of such social support (Gordon et al. 675). More explicitly, Lepp, Barkley and Karpinski have investigated that Canadian students who show greater inclination towards Internet resources for surviving life challenges are highly exposed to critical challenges of depression and declined rate of family cohesion. However, as these dejected and socially anxious youths reserve negative perceptions of their own social ability, using Internet access facilitates them to successfully interact devoid of any obligation or pressure of interpersonal communication (Krishnamurthy and Chetlapalli115). At this juncture, Gordon et al. has posited that relying on Internet resources may not increase the depression or anxiety level of these young college students but make them dependent or unaided to deal with life struggles on their own.
However, on the other hand Oberst et al. is of the opinion that Internet usage serves highly decisive tool of communication in order to maintain associations with family and relatives. Thus it can be denoted that Internet specifically for college students living away from homes or parents may improve family steadiness by increasing greater degree of regular social dealings (Krishnamurthy and Chetlapalli 115). Furthermore, excessive Internet access for communication and knowledge gathering purposes might result in a wide gap in attaining social support, understanding from family. Thus Krishnamurthy and Chetlapalli have claimed that increasing rate of web access is not unusual in recent times and in certain cases cannot be linked to unconstructive psychological adjustments. While Wohn, Yvette and LaRose have indicated that college students specifically a vulnerable association tends to account of the time they spend on accessing internet services along with exploring various social networking sites. Thus, adequate awareness of Internet access intentions could be productive in successfully distinguishing students who have developed the perception that the world of Internet is an exclusive arena to utilize for dealing with challenging life situations especially concerning social experiences (Dan et al. 280). Furthermore, with adequate knowledge that these college students may use Internet services for coping purposes, it can be productive to obtain comprehensive insights of the university websites with information how students will respond if they contest any form of mental health challenges (Oberst et al. 53).
Conclusion:
Hence to conclude, it can be stated that excessive and undue internet addiction is emerging as a growing problem among college students and psychological wellbeing (PWB) of many Canadian college students who are negatively affected by severe Internet addiction. Thus it is highly essential for students to develop strategies and approaches for successfully preventing internet addiction and further endorse therapeutic interventions.
References:
Dan, Hyuju, et al. “Relationship of smartphone addiction to physical symptoms and psychological well-being among nursing students: Mediating effect of internet ethics.” Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration 21.3 (2015): 277-286.
Demirci, Kadir, Mehmet Akgönül, and Abdullah Akpinar. “Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students.” Journal of behavioral addictions 4.2 (2015): 85-92.
Gordon, Cheryl F., Linda P. Juang, and Moin Syed. “Internet use and well-being among college students: Beyond frequency of use.” Journal of College Student Development48.6 (2007): 674-688.
Krishnamurthy, Sharmitha, and Satish Kumar Chetlapalli. “Internet addiction: Prevalence and risk factors: A cross-sectional study among college students in Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India.” Indian journal of public health 59.2 (2015): 115.
Lepp, Andrew, Jacob E. Barkley, and Aryn C. Karpinski. “The relationship between cell phone use, academic performance, anxiety, and satisfaction with life in college students.” Computers in Human Behavior 31 (2014): 343-350.
Oberst, Ursula, et al. “Negative consequences from heavy social networking in adolescents: The mediating role of fear of missing out.” Journal of adolescence 55 (2017): 51-60.
Stavropoulos, Vasileios, et al. “The longitudinal association between anxiety and Internet addiction in adolescence: The moderating effect of classroom extraversion.” Journal of behavioral addictions 6.2 (2017): 237-247.
Wang, Jin-Liang, et al. “The effects of Social Networking Site (SNS) use on college students’ friendship and well-being.” Computers in Human Behavior 37 (2014): 229-236.
Wohn, Donghee Yvette, and Robert LaRose. “Effects of loneliness and differential usage of Facebook on college adjustment of first-year students.” Computers & Education 76 (2014): 158-167.
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