Abstract

Introduction:The Internet was originally designed to facilitate communication and research activities. However, the dramatic increase in internet usage in recent years has led to pathological use (Internet addiction). There is a high incidence of internet addiction in Iran synchronous to the other regions of the world. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of internet usage among the students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Methods:The present study was done on 400 students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Science. The amount of internet usage was measured with a standard questionnaire and compared with demographic information of volunteers. Data were analyzed by SPSS (Version 17) using chi-square and ANOVA tests. Results:This study included about 400 students of various medical courses and fields. One hundred-sixteen students were female and 284 students were male. Average of 61.6% had degrees of internet addiction. 52.5% of students had low internet addiction and 9.1% of students had moderate internet addiction. On the basis of our findings,amount of internet usage was not related to age, sex, marital status and the field of the students. Duration of internet use, settling and type of search motor were significantly related to internet addiction. Conclusions:Internet addiction is very prevalent among students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Science. It is necessary to design plans for prevention of internet addiction and promoting healthy use of the Internet.