Imlisongla Longkumer and Hovisiito Khieya and T Toihon Konyak
Nagaland University, Nagaland.
Pages:137-142
Nagaland is a state in the North Eastern corner of India inhabited by a number of tribal
groups who are together known as the Nagas. In recent years, the use of internet in
Nagaland has expanded and there is now a growing perception that a good number of
the population, particularly young people, may have developed PIU. However, no
empirical study report is available to substantiate this perception. Adolescence is a
time when an individual has to accomplish important academic milestones as a student
and PIU can be detrimental to attaining such goals. The current study explored the
prevalence of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) among school students in Nagaland.
There were 580 participants recruited from schools in and around the state capital
city. Of the total sample in the study, 8 students (1.4%) were found in the likely
disordered (PIU) category and 172 students (29.7%) were found to be using internet
at a level that might likely lead to PIU. There was no significant difference between
female and male students on PIU ,t(1,578) = 1.62, p = .105. Significant positive
correlation was observed between PIU and psychological distress distress (r = .516,
p < .001) . A significant positive correlation was also observed between PIU and
loneliness(r = .294, p < .001). Regression analysis indicated that PIU is a significant
predictor of psychological distress and loneliness