The purpose of the study was to internet use pattern, personal and environmental characteristics on internet addiction of elementary school students.
Internet use pattern is consisted of internet friendliness, service types of use duration & locati...
The purpose of the study was to internet use pattern, personal and environmental characteristics on internet addiction of elementary school students.
Internet use pattern is consisted of internet friendliness, service types of use duration & location of internet access, etc.
Personal Factors were measured by self-efficacy & self-control while environmental factors were parental supervision, school satisfaction, peer pressure and teachers' attitude toward internet use.
Research questions were :
1. Is elementary school students' level of internet addiction different depending upon general characteristics?
2. Is the students' level of internet addiction different depending upon Internet use patterns?
3. What influence do the students' personal and environmental characteristics have upon Internet addiction?
Subject of this study involved total of 489 students from elementary school in Cheongju province. Data were analyzed with frequency, t-test, ANOVA with Scheffe post-hoc test, correlation, multiple-regression analysis using SPSS(10.0) program.
The findings were as follows :
Firstly, the students' level of internet addiction had significant difference depending upon their gender, grade, number of extra curricular involved, father's job and mother's educational background, etc.
Secondly, the students' level of internet addiction based on Internet use patterns had significant difference depending upon a variety of factors, for instance, internet use time in a day, internet use place, parent Internet use, reasons of Internet use, service types such as online game use and chatting, messenger services, etc, having internet friends and valuing of online friend over off-line friends.
Thirdly, the students' personal and environmental characteristics had influence upon internet addiction as follow: Personal characteristics such as self-efficacy and self-control had significant influence on Internet addiction, environmental characteristics such as school satisfactions, peer pressure Internet addiction. Each variable of personal and environmental characteristics accounted for 38.7% of boy students' internet addiction and 30.3% of girl students's internet addiction. Self-efficacy and self-control that were personal characteristics of boy students had significant influence upon internet addiction. And, school satisfactions and peer pressure that were environmental characteristics of boy students had influence upon internet addiction. Self-control that was personal characteristics of girl students had influence upon internet addiction, and school satisfactions and peer pressure that were environmental characteristics of girl students had significant influence upon internet addiction: Therefore, parents' control and teachers' attitude on internet had not significant influence upon internet addiction. Each variable of personal and environmental characteristics accounted for 39.8% of the 5th year students' internet addiction and 31.4% of the 6th year students' internet addiction. Self-efficacy and Self- control that were personal characteristics of the 5th and 6th year students had significant influence upon internet addiction : And, school satisfactions and peer pressure that were environmental characteristics had significant influence upon internet addiction.