Effectiveness of health promotion intervention on knowledge regarding psychological dependence on the internet and social media among adolescents in South India.

Abstract

The internet is being used extensively worldwide, especially among adolescents and young people. Early detection and creating awareness related to psychological dependence among the adolescent population, along with prompt measures towards sound use of technology, is essential. A randomized control trial was conducted among 100 participants (50 in each group) in secondary schools of the Bidar district. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. Participants were selected using simple random sampling. Data was collected using a self-structured questionnaire and a standardized internet addiction test (IAT). Data was analyzed using SPSS (v. 20, IBM Corporation, New York, United States). The study revealed that all the adolescents (100%) were using the internet and social media (SM), among which 81 (81.0%) adolescents had psychological dependence. There was a significant difference in the score across different points in the experimental group (mean score within groups = 13.15 at <i>P</i> < 0.001). A significant association was found between the level of knowledge and selected socio-demographic variables like age (<i>P</i> = 0.024) and educational status (<i>P</i> = 0.035). Health promotion intervention was found effective in enhancing knowledge regarding psychological dependence on the internet and SM. Thereby reducing the level of psychological dependence among adolescents.