Comparative Analysis of Internet Addiction, Loneliness, and Depression Between Indian & Indian-International Students

Abstract

Many changes have occurred in our lives because of the advancement of technology and changes in lifestyle. Internet addiction refers to the inability to control the preoccupation with using the internet. Loneliness is described as an unpleasant emotion associated with the notion that one's social interactions, particularly their quality, are insufficient to meet one's social needs. Factors such as technology and moving to another country for higher education have bought gigantic changes in the lives of international students. The present study focuses on understanding if there is any difference in internet addiction, loneliness, and depression levels of Indian and Indian- international students. We also aimed to study the correlation between internet addiction and loneliness; depression and loneliness; depression and internet addiction. The mediating role of internet addiction was also analyzed between internet addiction and depression. To investigate the differences between the two groups, a t-test was computed, and a Pearson correlation was calculated to determine the relationship between loneliness and internet addiction. A significant difference was seen in the internet addiction and depression levels of Indian and Indian International students whereas, no difference was seen in the loneliness levels of the two groups. A positive correlation was found between loneliness and internet Addiction; loneliness and depression and internet addiction and depression.