A Study on the Association between Internet Addiction and Its Impact on Cognitive Absorption in Young Adults

Abstract

 Objectives: In today's digital era, Internet has become a basic necessity. With the prevalence of internet addiction of 11.3%
among young adults, it is alarming to note the ramifications that comes with it. One of many, is the neurological abnormalities
that may result in onset of cognitive deficits from young age. This study was conducted to see the association between
Internet Addiction Disorders and the related neurocognitive deficits between young adults aged 18-26.
Study design and setting: This study was conducted by filling out 154 questionnaires, using random sampling techniques,
from university students of Karachi, Pakistan.
Methodology: Data analysis was performed by IBM SPSS statistics v27. Mean and standard deviation were calculated
for quantitative variables. Frequency and percentages were reported for qualitative variables. Chi-square/fisher exact test
was applied to check association between qualitative variables. Our findings indicate that 98.4% participants use the Internet
every day with a mean screen time of 5.42±2.47 hours. Six-item Cognitive Impairment Test (6CIT) and internet addiction
test(IAT20) were used to assess cognitive impairment and internet addiction, respectively.
Results: The mean cognitive impairment and internet addiction test scores were 4.75±3.78 and 43.19±17.92, respectively,
with 32.5% subjects exhibiting substantial cognitive impairment. Moreover, our research noted significant correlation of
internet addiction with aggression, slowness with everyday tasks and headache.
Conclusion: Our study highlighted the grave reality of today’s generation where excessive use of the Internet is turning
Young Adults into addicts and causing neural abnormalities which results in behavioral changes, memory deficits, lack
of concentration and poor reasoning.