Prevalence ofInternet Addiction and Its Association with Psychological Distress Among University Students in Karachi

Objective: In this 21st century, the usage of the internet has been increased among students leading towards irrational use of internet which is the main cause of internet addiction.The motive of this study is to assess the prevalence of internet addiction (IA) and its association with psychological distress (PD) among the university students in Karachi.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was designed with a sample of 200 university students selected randomly.Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was carried out to explore internet addiction among students whereas Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure stress.SPSS 25 was used for data input and analysis; chi-square test was applied to evaluate the association between variables.Results: Data represents significant association was found between the year of study and psychological distress among university students.The data also demonstrated the predominance of internet use over house hold activities.A significant association was also reported between loss of sleep and late-night internet usage.Data revealed that with the increase in internet use, there is a decrease in the performance of students. Conclusion:This study would raise awareness about high prevalence of internet addiction leading to psychological distress among students which is a point of concern.Students should be motivated to participate in extracurricular activities and should spend minimal time to internet.