ABSTRACT Objective:

To assess the level of internet addiction and its impact on the academic performance of undergraduate dental students of Bhubaneswar.

Material and Methods:

A cross-sectional descriptive survey was steered among 814 undergraduate dental students (representing first year through internship) in Bhubaneswar, India. Internet addiction was assessed with the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) developed by Young, which consisted of 20 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Google Forms were used to collect the data. Statistical tests like Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation coefficient were used to analyze the qualitative and quantitative variables, respectively, with the significance level set at p ≤ 0.05.

Results:

The prevalence of Internet Addiction was found to be 27.5%. Interns showed the highest mean Internet Addiction (57.91±10.71) score. The proportion of addicted students was higher in males, 74 (31.4%), than in females, 150 (26%). The mean scores for individual domains were overuse (16.31±3.64), non-restraints (7.77±2.66), inhibiting the flow of life (9.52±3.05), emotional state (11.25±2.86), and dependence (10.47±2.53). A correlation coefficient (Spearman's rho value of -.167) indicates a negative correlation between internet addiction and academic scores, which was statistically significant (p=0.001).

Conclusion:

This study revealed that internet use for varying purposes eventually leads to addiction and affects students' academic performance. The affected students need early intervention and control over internet usage.