A community-based study to estimate the internet usage and its associated factors among elderly residing in an urban slum area in North India
Background There has been tremendous growth in internet usage globally, with an estimated 5 billion users around the world in 2022 (1). In India , there were 840 million internet users in 2022 (2). Internet addiction, defined as the inability to control one's use of the internet desp...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Makhdoomi Printers
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://nicpd.ac.in/ojs-/index.php/gjmedph/article/view/4110 |
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| Summary: | Background
There has been tremendous growth in internet usage globally, with an estimated 5 billion users around the world in
2022 (1). In India , there were 840 million internet users in 2022 (2). Internet addiction, defined as the inability to
control one's use of the internet despite negative consequences, often persists over an extended period (3-5). While
internet addiction has been widely studied in adolescents and young adults, there are limited studies to explore
internet addiction among the elderly.
Aims and Objectives
The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of internet addiction among the elderly and to determine the various
factors associated with internet addiction.
Methods
This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 study participants. A semi-structured
interview schedule was used for data collection. It included the socio-demographic details of the study participants
and a structured schedule for assessing internet addiction using Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Statistical
analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test and logistic regression.
Results
The mean age of the study participants was 66.9 years (SD = 6.8), ranging from 60 to 92 years. The distribution of
categories reveals that 49.5% of participants had no internet addiction, while 36.0% had mild internet addiction.
Moderate internet addiction accounted for 9.5% of the total, and severe internet addiction was found in 5.0% of the
individuals. On multivariable analyses, it was found that gender (adjusted OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.29-4.25), marital
status (adjusted OR = 2.42, 95% CI: 1.23-4.76) and personal income (adjusted OR = 5.49, 95% CI: 2.45-12.32) were
significantly associated with internet addiction.
Conclusion
The high prevalence of internet addiction, along with its significant associations with gender, marital status, and
personal income, suggests a need for targeted interventions focusing on education about healthy internet use
among older adults. It is also recommended to collaborate with local healthcare providers and youth volunteers to
educate the elderly on internet addiction. Future research should consider longitudinal designs to better understand
the causal pathways and the effectiveness of different intervention strategies.
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| ISSN: | 2277-9604 |