A Survey of Internet Addiction among Sophomore Students in International Department
—Taking Chengdu Foreign Language School as an Example ()
1. Purpose of Research
With the rapid development of the Internet society, people’s use and dependence on the Internet continue to increase. Contemporary high school students also have legitimate needs for Internet use, but there is still a risk of Internet addiction. Both DSM and ICD have only focused on online game addiction, there are no diagnostic criteria have been established for general online addiction yet. However, internet addiction will bring great negative impact to high school students, mainly in the academic performance of poor, physical quality decline, appear difficult to quit psychological distress and so on. Internet addiction, also known as Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) and Pathological Internet Use (PIU), is a coping mechanism for behavioral addiction proposed by American psychiatrist Ivan Goldberg in 1995 (Yu, 2008) . In 1996, Young finally confirmed the existence of Internet addiction through an online survey (Cheng, 2016) . Domestic scholars Chunyan Yu (Yu, 2008) , Yan Deng, Changqiu Zeng (Deng & Zeng, 2012) , etc., have conducted a large number of studies on the causes and severity of adolescent Internet addiction, as well as the harm and risk factors of Internet addiction to adolescents. However, there is a lack of high school students’ own views on Internet addiction, and their attitudes will affect the possibility of excessive use of the Internet. The second year of senior high school is an important stage of high school learning, in which students are usually under greater pressure, time is tight, and the risk of Internet addiction is greater. In the investigation and study of high school students, there is less research on high school students in the international department. However, high school students in the International Department need to use electronic devices to search for information online, finish homework and take exams, which makes students in the International Department need to contact the Internet every day and are less controlled by the school and parents. Therefore, in terms of Internet use, in order to have a deeper understanding of high school students’ views on Internet addiction and to evaluate the degree of Internet addiction, the author conducted a survey, research and analysis of the sophomore students in the international Department, trying to provide a basis for high school students to use the Internet correctly and reduce the number of high school students’ Internet addiction.
2. Research Method
From 12th to 26th December 2023, according to the research purpose, the research initiated online invitations to all students (N = 110) in the second year of Chengdu Foreign Language School International Department within their class Wechat groups. A total of 40 students were volunteered to response the survey, of which 37 were valid questionnaires, 16 were male and 21 were female. The survey used the Chinese version of the Davis Online Cognition Scale (DOCS) and the self-designed Internet Addiction Questionnaire. Davis Online Awareness Scale (DOCS), which has strong uniqueness and pertinence, not only investigates the degree of Internet addiction from people’s external performance, but also deeply investigates people’s true feelings about Internet use. The Cronbach’s coefficient and the test retest reliability of the Chinese version of the DOCS were 0.937 and 0.905 respectively in Chinese adolescents (Song & Yang, 2007) . The self-compiled questionnaire refers to the contents of “Investigation and Analysis of Internet Use and Internet Dependence of Middle School students in Zaozhuang City” by scholars Liang, Tian, Hou, Qin, & Li (2015) . “Internet Addiction Questionnaire” included a total of 20 questions, measured three things: first, Internet use habits: such as “you spend about 2 hours online every day (single choice): less than 2 hours; 2 - 4 hours; 4 - 6 hours; More than 6 hours”, “What you usually surf the Internet is (multiple choices): to get information related to study; Use social media; Game play; Shopping; Browse real-time information; Watch entertaining short videos; Listen to music; Watch a movie; Read a novel; Others” and so on a total of seven questions. Second, the Internet environment: such as “your parents on the school day to your Internet restrictions (multiple choices): online time; Purpose of Internet access; Do you feel the restrictions of the platform on the Internet for minors (single choice): Yes; No” and so on a total of four questions. Third, attitude and cognition of Internet addiction (single choice): such as “Your dependence on the Internet: no addiction; Some dependent but not addicted; Dependence and addiction”, “Do you think the manifestations of Internet addiction are (multiple choices): tolerance; Withdrawal; Use of the Internet, often to a higher or longer degree than intended; Persistent desire or repeated unsuccessful efforts to abstain or control the Internet; Spends a lot of time on the Internet; Giving up or reducing important social, professional or leisure activities because of the Internet; Continue to use the Internet despite knowing that you have ongoing or recurring physical or mental problems that are most likely caused or aggravated by using the Internet.” There are seven questions in all of the above.
Questionnaires were distributed by the questionnaire Star platform and data were processed by Excel software.
3. Results
1) Internet usage habits
According to the age of first contact with the Internet, 10.81% of the people started to contact the Internet before school, 67.57% began to contact the Internet in primary school, and the remaining 21.62% began to contact the Internet in junior high school. About the daily online time, 8.11% of people surf the Internet 2 - 4 hours a day, 32.43% of people surf the Internet 4 - 6 hours a day, and the remaining 59.46% surf the Internet more than 6 hours a day. The study found that the students surveyed overall started using the Internet earlier, and all spent more than two hours a day. Among the various options of online content, they obtained information related to study (97.30%), used social software (97.30%), watched entertainment short videos (94.59%), listened to music (94.59%), played games (78.38%), went shopping (70.27%), watched movies or dramas (70.27%), and watched video games (94.59%). Read novels (32.43%), read real-time information (21.62%), and other (5.41%). In terms of multiple options for online consumption, online shopping reality items (75.68%), game consumption (70.27%), software items (62.16%), learning (37.84%), fan support (27.03%), live streaming tips (27.03%), and other (5.41%). In terms of the proportion of monthly online consumption to monthly pocket money, 40% - 60% (40.54%), 60% - 80% (29.73%), 20% - 40% (10.81%), 0% - 20% (10.81%), 80% - 100% (8.11%), 0% (0%). On school days, 37.84% of people surf the Internet for the main purpose of learning, 5.41% of people’s main purpose is entertainment, and 56.76% of people’s main purpose is learning and entertainment. During the holidays, 5.41% of people surf the Internet for the main purpose of learning, 32.43% of people’s main purpose is entertainment, and 62.16% of people’s main purpose is learning and entertainment. The study found that the purpose of the surveyed students to surf the Internet during the holiday is very different from that on the school day, especially the students who use the Internet for a single purpose. The vast majority of students, whether on school days or holidays, surf the Internet for both learning and entertainment, indicating that students have a great demand for the Internet.
2) Internet environment
On school days, 10.81% of the students are restricted by their parents on the Internet time, 5.41% of the students are restricted by their parents on the purpose of the Internet, 86.49% of the students are not restricted by their parents. On weekends, 24.32% of students are restricted by their parents on the length of surfing the Internet, 8.11% are restricted by their parents on the purpose of surfing the Internet, and 75.68% are not restricted by their parents. Parents restrict Internet access more on weekends than on school days, especially when it comes to time spent online. The restrictions of online platforms on minors are very common, and 100% of students have felt the restrictions of the platform on the Internet for minors. But Internet access from parents is less restrictive. Regarding the views of students on the restriction of Internet access by parents and platforms, 13.51% of students support it, 40.54% of students oppose it, and 45.95% of students are neutral.
3) Attitude and cognition towards Internet addiction
Regarding the degree of dependence on the Internet, 81.08% of the students admitted that they were dependent on the Internet but did not think that they were addicted, only 10.81% believed that they were addicted to the Internet, and 8.11% thought that they were not addicted. 40.54% of people worry that they will become addicted to the Internet, while 59.46% do not worry about it. In addition, 70.27% of them could identify the core manifestations of Internet addiction, but only 62.16% of them knew that the manifestations of Internet addiction were more than three core manifestations occurring frequently or continuously within a year. Although 62.16% of the students believe that attention should be paid to Internet addiction, 35.14% of the students still feel indifferent, and 2.7% believe that Internet addiction has no adverse consequences. The students’ understanding of the factors affecting Internet addiction is relatively low, only 45.95% of the students understand the factors of Internet addiction. Most students believe that Internet addiction is mainly caused by the Internet itself and living environment factors. 78.38% of the students had a unified understanding of the adverse effects of Internet addiction on minors, including the decline in academic performance, causing physical and mental health problems, and affecting social communication ability.
4) Davis Online Cognition Scale
According to the Davis online cognition Scale, there were 37 students in total, and the average score was 165 points. 94.59% of the subjects scored more than 100 points, according to the scale evaluation criteria for Internet addiction.
5) Gender differences
a) There is a big difference between male and female students in the use of Internet consumption. 93.75% of the boys will buy in the game, only 43.75% of the boys will buy real things online; Only 52.38% of girls spend money in games, while all (100%) of girls shop online for real things.
b) Female students generally spend more money online than male students. 50% of male students spend 40% - 60% of their monthly allowance on the Internet, and 12.5% of male students spend 60% - 80% of their monthly allowance on the Internet. 33.33% of female students spend 40% - 60% of their monthly allowance on the Internet, and 42.86% of female students spend 60% - 80% of their monthly allowance on the Internet (as in Table 1).
c) There is also a big difference between male and female students’ views on the restrictions imposed by parents and platforms on their Internet access. 50% of male students are opposed to such restrictions, while 25% of male students are neutral. 33.33% of female students are opposed to such restrictions, and 61.9% of female students are neutral. According to the data, most of the boys have strong opposition psychology, while the girls have weak opposition psychology, and most of them hold a neutral attitude (as in Figure 1).
d) Among the subjects, 18.75% of the boys had first access to the Internet in preschool, 75% in primary school, and 6.25% in junior high school; Only 4.76% of girls had their first access to the Internet in pre-school, 61.9% in primary
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Figure 1. Attitudes towards the internet access restrictions from parents and platforms.
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Table 1. The proportion of online consumption to the monthly pocket money.
school and 33.33% in junior high school. According to the data, most male students are exposed to the Internet earlier than most female students.
4. Discussion
In this paper, the survey of Internet usage habits, attitude and cognition of Internet addiction among senior two students in the International Department of Chengdu Foreign Language School shows that the actual Internet addiction rate of senior two students in the International Department is 94.59%. First of all, the results of the questionnaire reflect that only 70.27% of people can identify the core manifestations of Internet addiction, and only 62.16% of people know that the manifestations of Internet addiction are more than three core manifestations frequently or continuously within a year. From this, we can conclude that most students have limited understanding of Internet addiction and are not clear about the standards of Internet addiction. This also led to students being overly optimistic in their self-assessment of their degree of Internet dependence. Secondly, 81.08% of people admitted that they are dependent on the Internet but think that they are not addicted, and 8.11% think that they are not addicted. 40.54% of people worry that they will become addicted to the Internet, while 59.46% do not worry about it. Compared with the Internet addiction rate of 94.59% measured by Davis online Cognition Scale, we found that most students lack awareness of Internet addiction and their self-assessment is inaccurate. Finally, 35.14% of the students think that Internet addiction does not matter, and 2.7% believe that Internet addiction has no adverse consequences, which can reflect that the students have a certain awareness of the adverse consequences of Internet addiction, but it does not cause them to attach importance to themselves and a sense of crisis.
Through cross-analysis, it is found that although there is no significant difference between men and women in Internet addiction rate, there are great differences in actual Internet consumption and behavioral use between male and female students. Girls’ online shopping is basically real products, while most boys are generally virtual consumption, recreational use is more, only 43.74% of boys will online shopping real goods. In addition, boys are exposed to the Internet for the first time earlier than girls and are more resistant to parental restrictions. These confirm Tsai & Lin (2004) findings: “Female students attach more importance to the utility of the Internet than male students, and tend to see the Internet as a tool or technology, while male students attach more importance to getting pleasure from the Internet, and see the Internet as a toy.” It can be seen that male students are at a higher risk of Internet addiction.
Reports on Internet use and Internet addiction are increasing in China, but there are few investigations on the Internet use habits, attitude and cognition of Internet addiction among senior high school students in the international Department, and the results are different compared with those in other senior high schools. For example, the survey on the excessive use of electronic products among primary and secondary school students by Wen (2023) found that most high school students use electronic products for less than 2 hours per day on non-weekends and less than 3 hours on weekends. In this survey, 59.46% of people surf the Internet for more than 6 hours a day, which shows that the results of the two surveys are far different.
This study believes that such a large difference in data is caused by factors such as school system and special types of subjects. As for the school system, the International Department has fewer restrictions on the use of electronic products and the Internet, and there is no time limit on the use of electronic products. Moreover, sophomore students face application and multiple online courses, so students spend a long time on the Internet every day. The longer students use the Internet, the greater the likelihood of Internet addiction. As for the group of subjects, most of the students in the subjects first came into contact with the Internet earlier, which is likely to make the students in the subjects develop the habit of relying on the Internet.
There were some limitations of the present research. As for the survey method, the Davis Online Cognition Scale (DOCS) was used in this survey to more intuitively show people’s psychological dependence on the Internet and their actual degree of Internet addiction, while there may be biases in subjective feelings. If the dual questionnaire is used for screening, the proportion of addicts may be more accurate; In terms of sample population, this survey only targets the students in Grade Two of the International Department of Chengdu Foreign Language School. Due to the small-sized class setting in this type of school, there are limited valid data in the present study. If we have the opportunity to investigate more schools of the same type or other grades in the future, more valuable information will be obtained.
After the investigation of the Internet usage habits of the sophomore students in the International Department, as well as their attitude and cognition towards Internet addiction, in order to reduce the risk of Internet addiction, the government departments should improve the system of laws and regulations and attach importance to the implementation of policies and measures; Students should strengthen their cognition of Internet addiction and learn related knowledge of Internet addiction, which can make them assess their own degree of Internet dependence more accurately and arouse the attention of Internet addiction. Schools should strengthen guardianship responsibility, formulate regulations on Internet use, strengthen the management of students’ electronic products, and enrich students’ after-school life. Finally, with the rapid development of network technology, the problem of students’ Internet addiction is becoming more and more serious. We should pay more attention to the social problem of students’ Internet addiction and promote the healthy growth of students. Of course, the normal study of international high school students does need the network and electronic equipment, modern life is more inseparable from the network, need to avoid unhealthy overuse, do not need to panic.