Internet Addiction among Junior Doctors: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: The number of Internet users in India crossed 205 million in October 2013. Excessive internet use has been attributed to socio-occupational dysfunction, and this study is targeting the junior doctors on whom not many studies have been done till date. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze the proportion of junior doctors with internet addiction and whether there is any relation between increased internet use and psychological distress, assessed using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred postgraduate students and house surgeons were requested to fill out the specially prepared pro forma, Internet Addiction Test Questionnaire and GHQ, and the data were analyzed. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Among the 100 study participants, 13% were found to have moderate addiction and none were in severe addiction range. Internet addiction was more common among those from urban areas (P = 0.011). A significant association was found between GHQ score and internet addiction test score (P = 0.031). CONCLUSION: The Internet is a double-edged social revolution. Further studies are required to delineate the specific effects on human behavior.