Prevalence of Internet Addiction in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The internet has unique properties that include ease of access, ease of use, low cost, anonymity, and its attractiveness which resulted in problems such as internet addiction. Different statistics has been reported about internet addiction rate, but there is not a suitable estimation about the growth of Internet addiction in Iran. The aim of this study is to analyze the growth of Internet addiction in Iran using meta-analysis method. METHODS: At the first stage, by searching in scientific databases such as Magiran, SID, Scopus, ISI, Embase and use of keywords like Internet addiction, 30 articles were chosen. The outcomes of the study combined together with using meta-analysis method (random effects model). The analysis of the data was performed using R and Stata software. FINDINGS: Based on 30 studies and sample size of 130531, the growth rate of internet addiction based on the random effects model was 20% [16-25 confidence interval (CI) of 95%]. The meta regression model showed t-hat the trend of Internet addiction growth rate in Iran increased from 2006 to 2015. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the prevalence of Internet addiction in Iran seems moderate. Therefore, the necessity of identification, treatment, and prevention of the age groups which are at the risk is being sensed by the responsible and related authorities.