AIR UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

TECHNICAL WRITING THESIS TOPIC PROPOSAL

Title of Research

INTERNET ADDICTION IN ADOLESCENTS

Name of Student: Fahad Hussain

Department of Telecom. Engineering

Since in modern era the new media is becoming daily fare, Internet addiction seems to be a
prospective problem in adolescents. From those negative consequences that has been reported, it
give the impression that Internet addiction can have a multiple range of damaging outcomes for
youth that may need professional intervention. Researchers have now pointed out a number of
activities and personality characters allied with Internet addiction. This learning had the intention
to synthesize earlier findings by (i) evaluating the prevalence of prospective Internet addiction in
a considerably large sample or section of adolescents, and (ii) scrutinizing the relations between
personality traits and the habitual usage of different or particular Internet applications as threat
for Internet addiction.

Literature Review:

Overall, in the previously reported researches and studies to date, a variety of measurement
instruments have been tested that didnt allowed for a clear, accurate and comparable estimation
of Internet addiction frequency in both adolescents and adult populations. By the overview of the
engagement of adolescents in definite activities on internet, other than focusing just on Internet
addiction, researchers have now recognized a number of activities that can be engaged in
repeatedly access to internet that may take him to symptoms parallel to substance-related
addictions. Unnecessary online gaming, extreme online gambling, and even the use of social
media, such as online social networks like twitter , face book etc. are included in this regard.
Their continuously increasing range and usage growth among youth is reflected by the
expanding treatment studies .

Research and clinical rehearsals and practices suggest that the perception of Internet addiction
should not be taken lightly carelessly because the number of negative results and consequences
of too much use of Internet in adolescents have been recognized in the literature. For instance, a
latest review of the neuroscientific indication points out that Internet addiction in adolescence
can have a negative influence on identity development and change the structure of developing
brain. Not only this but also, it may have a negative affect on cognitive functioning, which can
lead one to deprived academic performance and poor dietary habits, no interpersonal relations,
and self-injurious behavior. Reported negative consequences also tell, it looks as if that Internet
addiction may have diversity of damaging psychosocial and physical conclusions for adolescents
that may necessitate professional mediation.

These facts also say that, Internet addiction seems to be a cause of scientific disorders and
premorbid indications. Internet addiction especially in adolescents, has been testified to be linked
with the causes of depression and insomnia, schizophrenia, suicidal ideation, hyperactivity ,
obsessivecompulsive disorder, disorder attention-deficit, social phobia, and hostility, drug use,
aggression, and problematical alcohol use. So These comorbidities may be remindful of
multidirectional causality association and related etiology, and greater than before severity of
psychopathology relation to a single giving mental health problem. In consideration of these
reports Internet addiction cannot be terminated as a transient phenomenon. Instead, it look as if
it is important to firstly establish and discover a diagnosis that may turn to be beneficial for
youth who experience these or related problems.

In addition to this, personality characteristics that discriminate addicted gamers and highly
engaged gamers are considered to be negative extraversion, emotional stability, sociability,
negative valence, and attractiveness (regarded as care about outlook, being very well dressed or,
being very well groomed, neat and well-organized, and highly passionate and motivated). Few
Other research has shown that this addiction of online gaming is or can be related to
psychological effects like sensation seeking Neuroticism and anxiety. Apart from gaming, study
indicates that adolescent Internet fanatics score considerably lower on extraversion in
comparison to non-addicted adolescents, have low sentimental 0r emotional permanency, and
low agreeableness. In summary, low emotional stability, low agreeableness, and low extraversion
seem convincing candidates for increasing the risk of Internet addiction as these associations are
found in multiple studies. However, to date, no study has investigated the interactions between
personality and different types of potentially problematic Internet usage in increasing the risk for
being addicted to using the Internet. Assessing the interactions between these variables may
allow discerning both risk as well as protective factors for Internet addiction in adolescents who
use the Internet frequently.

With this study, it is aimed to fill the gap in knowledge in current research by (i) assessing the
prevalence of Internet addiction in a large sample of adolescents, and (ii) for the first time
exploring the interactions between personality traits and the usage of particular Internet
applications as risk factors for Internet addiction. Based on previous research, the hypotheses are
that (i) using online applications that enable social functions (i.e., SNSs, chatting, instant
messaging, and Twitter) and online gaming, and (ii) specific personality traits (i.e., low
emotional stability, low agreeableness, and low extraversion) increase the risk for being addicted
to the Internet, and (iii) there exist interaction effects between the usage of specific Internet
applications and personality traits in elevating or decreasing the chances of Internet addiction,
the precise nature of which still needs to be determined.

Research Methodology

Procedure:

Primary Research will include surveys and interviews conducted specifically for this research
and will identify any key themes which have emerged. The Survey Questionnaire and a simple
instruction sheet that also asks subjects their age and gender, will be prepared. Then the
questionnaire will be replicated on google forms. The questionnaire will be adopted from a
similar research and changes will be made in that or a completely new questionnaire will be
prepared. Prior to their distribution an introductory letter will be placed in each selected subjects
mailbox or mail slot asking for their cooperation. The letters will describe the research and its
importance. Finally, they will provide a telephone number for anyone with questions or who may
need assistance in completing the instruments.

Once the letters are received by participants, survey questionnaire will be sent to them through
email. Any person who has phoned needing clarification will be provided further explanation.
Anyone who phones in a need for assistance in completing the forms will also receive personal
support.

One week after this initial delivery, a follow-up phone call will be made to either thank those
who completed the forms or to remind those who have not yet completed their forms. If fewer
people complete the forms, then the random sampling and distribution will continue until at least
that number of completed forms has been received. It is anticipated that all data collection efforts
will be completed within one month.

Data Analysis:

In Findings and Analysis will look in more detail at the primary research results and apply them
in the context of the existing literature. The data collected from questionnaires will be in the form
of Google Documents Spread Sheet. The online survey result also includes the graph and pie
chart for each question. The research conclusion will be based on findings from these surveys.

References:
1. Aiken and West, 1991 L.S. Aiken, S.G. West
Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions
Sage, Newbury Park (1991)
2. http://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/8422373/120_chapter_10.pdf/2707f2a7-32cc-
43ce-bb15-3a92b7b42f43

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4432783/

4. 1. Lam LT., Peng ZW., Mai JC, et al. Factors associated with Internet addiction among
adolescents. CyberPsychology & Behavior 2009; 12:551555

5. Griffiths MD., Davies MN., Chappell D. Online computer gaming: a comparison of

6. Internet addiction prevalence and quality of (real) life: a meta-analysis of 31 nations