Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional study
Background: Globally, internet use has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and internet addiction (IA) has become a severe public health issue. Therefore, this study aimed to assess IA prevalence among adults and identify its determinants during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022012555 |
| _version_ | 1818163277966868480 |
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| author | Poly Rani Biswas Benojir Ahammed Md. Shiafur Rahman Byazid Mahin Nirob Md. Tanvir Hossain |
| author_facet | Poly Rani Biswas Benojir Ahammed Md. Shiafur Rahman Byazid Mahin Nirob Md. Tanvir Hossain |
| author_sort | Poly Rani Biswas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Globally, internet use has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and internet addiction (IA) has become a severe public health issue. Therefore, this study aimed to assess IA prevalence among adults and identify its determinants during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, this study recruited 608 participants through a self-administered online-based e-questionnaire. Young’s internet addiction test (YIAT) of 20 items was used to assess the prevalence of IA among adults in Bangladesh. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses explored the factors influencing IA. Results: The overall prevalence of IA was 29.4% among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the addiction rate was 34.7% among participants under 20 years old. Tobacco smoking (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.15–3.07) and spending more time on the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.08–3.94) were likely the reasons for IA among Bangladeshi adults. Participants aged over 24 years (AOR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.17–0.91), living in rural areas (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.32–0.81), living away from family (AOR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.26–0.79), attached to physical activity (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.24–0.52), and sleeping less than or equal 6 hours (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.42–0.93) had a lower chance of IA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: This study has shown that the prevalence of IA was comparatively higher among younger participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smoking, long-time use of the internet, physical activity status, and sleeping duration were the most significant determinants of IA. Thus, raising awareness among the younger generation is the most important strategy to reduce IA. The findings of this study can be used to support health and educational organizations to design their programs, which will help prevent IA in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:47:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-103732c6cee547aabee76ab340d3b169 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:47:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-103732c6cee547aabee76ab340d3b1692022-12-22T00:58:11ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402022-07-0187e09967Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional studyPoly Rani Biswas0Benojir Ahammed1Md. Shiafur Rahman2Byazid Mahin Nirob3Md. Tanvir Hossain4Statistics Discipline, Science, Engineering & Technology School, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, BangladeshStatistics Discipline, Science, Engineering & Technology School, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh; Corresponding author.Statistics Discipline, Science, Engineering & Technology School, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, BangladeshStatistics Discipline, Science, Engineering & Technology School, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, BangladeshSociology Discipline, Social Science School, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, BangladeshBackground: Globally, internet use has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and internet addiction (IA) has become a severe public health issue. Therefore, this study aimed to assess IA prevalence among adults and identify its determinants during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, this study recruited 608 participants through a self-administered online-based e-questionnaire. Young’s internet addiction test (YIAT) of 20 items was used to assess the prevalence of IA among adults in Bangladesh. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses explored the factors influencing IA. Results: The overall prevalence of IA was 29.4% among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the addiction rate was 34.7% among participants under 20 years old. Tobacco smoking (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.15–3.07) and spending more time on the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.08–3.94) were likely the reasons for IA among Bangladeshi adults. Participants aged over 24 years (AOR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.17–0.91), living in rural areas (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.32–0.81), living away from family (AOR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.26–0.79), attached to physical activity (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.24–0.52), and sleeping less than or equal 6 hours (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.42–0.93) had a lower chance of IA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: This study has shown that the prevalence of IA was comparatively higher among younger participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smoking, long-time use of the internet, physical activity status, and sleeping duration were the most significant determinants of IA. Thus, raising awareness among the younger generation is the most important strategy to reduce IA. The findings of this study can be used to support health and educational organizations to design their programs, which will help prevent IA in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022012555COVID-19Internet addictionPrevalenceAdultBangladesh |
| spellingShingle | Poly Rani Biswas Benojir Ahammed Md. Shiafur Rahman Byazid Mahin Nirob Md. Tanvir Hossain Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional study Heliyon COVID-19 Internet addiction Prevalence Adult Bangladesh |
| title | Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: An online cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | prevalence and determinants of internet addiction among adults during the covid 19 pandemic in bangladesh an online cross sectional study |
| topic | COVID-19 Internet addiction Prevalence Adult Bangladesh |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022012555 |
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