A Study on the Effects of Loneliness , Depression and Perceived Social Support on Problematic Internet Use among University Students

The present study investigated the effects of loneliness, depression and perceived social support on problematic Internet use among university students. The participants were 459 students at two universities in Turkey. The study data were collected with a Questionnaire Form, Problematic Internet Use Scale (PIUS), University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (Version 3), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance were conducted to examine the differences; and correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between variables. There was a positive significant correlation between the PIUS and MSPSS and the UCLA Loneliness Scale and a negative significant correlation between the PIUS and Beck Depression Scale (BDS). The female students had higher total PIUS scores. The results also illustrated that there was a statistically significant difference in total PIUS scores according to having a social network account. Address for correspondence : Dr. Murat Ozsaker Celal Bayar University, School of Physical Education and Sport, 45040 Manisa,  +90 236 231 30 02 Fax: +90 236 231 30 01 E-mail: muratozsaker@yahoo.com INTRODUCTION The Internet has become the leading tool of communication in the 21st century. With a gradual increase in the public use of the Internet and widening differences in user profiles, it has become inevitable to study both the negative effects of the Internet and its positive contributions, such as sharing knowledge and facilitating communication between people (Odaci and Kalkan 2010). Internet use may be beneficial or benign when kept to ‘normal’ levels, however, high levels of internet use which interfere with daily life have been linked to a range of problems, including decreased psychosocial wellbeing, relationship breakdown and neglect of domestic, academic and work responsibilities (Gonul 2002; Hardie and Yi-Tee 2007). The concept of “problematic internet use” revealed when individual cannot control internet use. “Problematic Internet use” (Beard and Wolf 2001; Davis et al. 2002) which is also called as “pathological Internet use” (Davis 2001; Morahan-Martin and Schumacher 2000) revealed itself as spending time on the Internet more and more, not being able to stop the desire to access to the Internet and continuing to use it despite the deterioration of mental preoccupation and functioning in various areas regarding Internet use. The studies have shown that Internet use is comparatively more common among university students (Morahan-Martin and Schumacher 2000; Nalwa and Anand 2003; Niemz et al. 2006; SPO 2008). A study carried out by the Turkish State Planning Organization (SPO) with a larger sample (2008) suggested that 16-24 year-old young people compose the leading group of Internet users (65.6%), that Internet use increases with educational status (87.7%) and students are the top users of the Internet (82.2%) (State Planning Organization Information Society Statistics 534 MURAT OZSAKER, GONCA KARAYAGIZ MUSLU, AYSE KAHRAMAN ET AL. 2008). As a result, young Internet users are more likely to develop Internet addiction (Chou et al. 2005). The higher levels of Internet addiction among university students may result from a variety of reasons. They may encounter many challenges (gaining independence, seeking a better career, adapting to peer groups) with their new life at university. Some university students may not successfully cope with such novelties and difficulties and they may potentially develop depression or stress, which may lead to an escape into the online world (Celik and Odaci 2012). Thus, it proved to be elemental to investigate the correlation between Internet use and mental problems of students in developing preventive guidance programs against Internet addiction. An easier and faster Internet access at universities may also enhance the risk of university students getting involved with negative effects. Ceyhan (2010) argued that the findings of different studies on problematic Internet use would enable us to make generalizations and to understand the nature of this behavior better. In Turkey, there is a great need for studies on problematic Internet use (PIU) of university students. In Turkey, there is a great need for studies on problematic Internet use (PIU) of university students. Socio-demographic Features and Problematic Internet Use Studies in the literature delve into the relationship between problematic Internet use and variables like gender (Serin 2011; Ceyhan and Ceyhan 2007; Celik and Odaci 2012; MorahanMartin and Schumacher 2000; Odaci and Kalkan 2010; Tekinarslan and Gurer 2011; Weiser 2000), age/class level (Ceyhan and Ceyhan 2007; Johanson and Götestam 2004). However, studies with different sampling characteristics revealed different implications regarding some predictor variables including gender. In Turkey, studies of university student pupils similarly mentioned that boys use computers pathological more than girls (Serin 2011; Ceyhan and Ceyhan 2007; Celik and Odaci 2012; Odaci and Kalkan 2010; Tekinarslan and Gurer 2011). However, some of the studies points that there are no gender differences in the PIU levels of the students (Ceyhan et al. 2009; Davis et al. 2002; Hardie and Yi-Tee 2007; Odaci and Celik 2011). Similarly, studies with different sampling characteristics revealed different implications regarding age (Hardie and Yi-Tee 2007; Niemz et al. 2005). Further, there are still some controversy particularly about age issue in the PIU literature. Time Spent Online and Problematic Internet Use Time spent on the Internet is one of the most important criteria of diagnosis for problematic Internet use. The more time spent using the Internet, the higher the possibility of problematic Internet use. The researchers investigated the relationship between PIU and time spent online (Morahan-Martin and Schumacher 2000; Odaci and Kalkan 2010) and purpose of internet usage (Caplan 2002; Chak and Leung 2004). People, who are addicted to the Internet, obviously make intense and frequent use of the Internet measuring in per week. Especially, due to the purposes of internet use such as gambling, gaming, chatting and so forth individuals may spend more time when online, and this may result in the PIU (Morahan-Martin and Schumacher 2000; Tekinarslan and Gurer 2011). The studies resulted also show that the more time spent on the Internet; the more likely were to have problematic Internet use and unhealthier lifestyles. Internet use changed with regard to several lifestyle-related factors including decreases in physical activity, increases in time spent on the Internet, shorter durations or lack of sleep, and increasingly irregular dietary habits and poor eating patterns (Kim and Chun 2005; Lam et al. 2009). Loneliness, Depression, Social Support and Problematic Internet Use Recent studies on the Internet mainly focus on psychosocial wellness and Internet use, which particularly emphasized the correlation between PIU and depression (Shapira et al. 2000), loneliness (Serin 2011; Caplan 2007; Ceyhan and Ceyhan 2008; Davis 2001; Davis et al. 2002; DurakBatigun and Hasta 2010; Gross et al. 2002; Hardie and Yi-Tee 2007; Kim et al. 2009; MorahanMartin and Schumacher 2003; Odaci and Kalkan 2010), social support (Hardie and Yi-Tee 2007; Keser-Ozcan and Buzlu 2005; Swickert et al. 2002) and interpersonal distortion (Kalkan 2012) at university students. Davis (2001) suggested that psychosocial problems, such as loneliness and depression, are the precursors of PIU and lonely PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 535 and depressed people are more prone to prefer online interaction. This, further, acknowledged that individuals with lower levels of communication skills prefer online communication to faceto-face communication and who reportedly experience difficulties in controlling the time spent online (Davis 2001). Shaw and Gant (2002) stated that more internet use was associated with an increase in perceived social support but also decrease in loneliness. In a study it was found that lonely individuals can develop a preference for online social interaction and it can cause problematic internet use (Caplan 2003). In Turkey, Odaci and Kalkan (2010) additionally noted that PIU among university students increases with higher levels of loneliness. Ceyhan and Ceyhan (2008) stated that individuals experiencing the feeling of loneliness tend to have more PIU behavior. Based on these theoretical frameworks, this analytical study aims to conduct a thorough analysis of the effects of loneliness, depression and perceived social support on problematic Internet use among university students. The hypotheses of the study are as following: 1. There is a significant difference between students’ gender and levels of problematic Internet use. 2. There is a significant difference between students’ age and levels of problematic Internet use. 3. There is a significant difference between levels of problematic Internet use and students’ length of Internet use. 4. There is a significant difference between levels of problematic Internet use and a social network accounts 5. There is a significant correlation between students’ problematic Internet use and loneliness, depression and social support levels.