Internet overuse and its impact on deviant behavior and attitudes
Abstract
The Internet is the fastest growing technological advancement of the past twenty-five
years. As the Internet has grown, so has the number of individuals who use it for daily tasks. The
Internet provides conveniences in the everyday lives of individuals who use it; however, those
who overuse online conveniences develop a dependency on the Internet, a dependency called
Internet Addiction. The number of individuals that are addicted to the Internet today is unknown;
however, the consequences of this new disorder are beginning to emerge. The purpose of this
study was to explore what demographic factors influence the likelihood of someone becoming
addicted to the Internet, and how this addiction impacts two behaviors and two attitudes found to
be salient throughout the literature. The measured behaviors are acceptance of deviant behaviors
online, fear-based xenophobia, problematic lay health behavior, and non-suicidal self-injuring
behavior.
Participants (n = 310) were recruited through convenience sampling to participate in an
anonymous survey which measured perceptions and beliefs regarding the attitudes and incidents
of the behavioral measurements as a result of Internet Overuse. Results indicated that Internet
Overuse did impact individuals? levels of acceptance toward computer mediated deviant
behaviors, fear-based xenophobia and their incidents of problematic lay health behavior. An
unexpected finding was the majority of the sample population (n = 246, 82%) was addicted to
the Internet. The results showed there was an association between levels of Internet Addiction
and acceptance of online deviance, fear-based xenophobia, and problematic lay health behaviors.
Thus, interventions are needed to address Internet Addiction. Future direction may include
conducting a confirmatory study.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)-- Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology