Effects of internet addiction on mental and ocular health of school students of district Amritsar

Background: The popularity of mobile phones is increasing among students because of their multifunctionality as one click allows them to explore multiple applications providing new and varied functions. This excessive use becomes an addiction at later stages that has a negative impact on the mental health of the child. Further emission of blue lights from screens negatively impacts the eyes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst the students of 9th to 12th class students from 4 Schools of Amritsar where 92 students (23 students per class, 1:1 male to female ratio) from each school were selected using simple random sampling. Based on various symptoms related to ocular and mental health, 11 and 10 questions were framed respectively. The presence of symptoms was scored as one. The Mean was calculated; and anyone who scored above the mean was considered having a negative impact on the ocular and mental health. The association between internet addiction and its effects on ocular & mental health was calculated using the Odds Ratio. Results: The prevalence of internet addiction was found to be 49%. Mental health problems were present in 45% of the participants. Ocular problems were present in 40% of the participants. Internet addiction was found to be associated with poor mental and ocular health. Conclusions: 49% of students were addicted to the internet. Internet addiction was found to be associated with poor mental & ocular health.