Exploring the Loneliness and Internet Addiction Level of College Students Based on Demographic Variables

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the loneliness and Internet addiction levels of collegestudents in terms of demographic variables and to determine the variables that predicttheir Internet addiction level. Data were collected from college students studying at apublic university in Turkey. The UCLA Loneliness Scale Version3 and Internet AddictionTest (IAT) were used as the data collection tools. College students were delivered anonline survey and at the end 489 college students were voluntarily participated in thestudy. This survey study employed independent sample t-tests, ANOVA tests, correlationand multiple regression tests for data analysis. The results show that younger participantsfelt significantly more loneliness than older participants; similarly, students in lowerclasses felt more alone than those in upper classes. In terms of addiction, it is seen thatthe frequent use of computers, smartphones and social media increases the Internetaddiction level of students. The study suggests a significant correlation betweenloneliness, Internet addiction, age, and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).Additionally, loneliness and CGPA significantly predict Internet addiction. This study maybe important in terms of determining the psychological variables affecting today'sincreasing technology addiction (internet, smart phone, etc.). Thus, determining the effectof the level of loneliness of young people on internet addiction may be effective in termsof preventing this addiction.