internet usage thesis

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

INTERNET ACCESS AND USAGE: IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SOCIAL STUDIES

2018, European Journal of Education Studies

Abstract: The study investigated the impact of Internet access and usage on students’ academic performance in Social Studies. The study adopted a correlational research design. The population consisted of 55,303 male and female JSS II students from which 576 students were selected. The instrument for the study was the questionnaire and students’ academic records. The data collected were analysed using correlational statistics. The result of the study revealed that there is significant relationship between internet usage for academic work and students’ academic performance; there is significant relationship between internet access and usage and students’ assignment submission; there was significant relationship between time spent on the internet and students’ academic performance. It was recommended that students should use the internet to enhance their academic performance of which they should restrict themselves from non-academic purposes; teachers should evolve regulations to guide the extent of Internet usage to avert over dependency among students.

Related Papers

Conference Proceedings of the 4th International Conference for Science Educators and Teachers, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, THAILAND

Dharel Acut

This study was carried out to determine if the students' academic performance is affected by their Internet usage. The study was conducted among three hundred eighty six (386) undergraduate students within Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology. The researchers framed a structured interview and a questionnaire yearning to gather all the information needed. The data collected from the respondents pointed out that there was no significant relationship between the respondents' academic performance and their Internet usage. Findings of the study also reveal that there was no significant relationship between the respondents' academic performance and the place where they have accessed the Internet. Another finding shows that there was no significant relationship between the respondents' academic performance and their purposes in using the Internet such as for Gaming, Social Networking, News, and Entertainment. There was, however, a significant relationship between the respondents' academic performance and their usage of Internet for academic purposes. From the results, the researchers recommend that Educators may encourage students to use the Internet by giving them assignments, projects, and online quizzes.

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Sazili Shahibi

Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences

Gregory ONWODI

This study investigates the impact of internet use on tertiary institution students’ academic performance (AP). The objectives of the study are to ascertain the impact of internet usage on the AP of students in tertiary institutions, find out some of the difficulties encountered in the utilization of the internet by students in tertiary institutions, and determine some of the benefits of internet usage to students in tertiary institutions. The sample size for this research consists of 300 students whose data were collected through the administration of questionnaires. The study employed the survey research method and the Chi-square (X2) method to analyse and test the various hypotheses formulated. Findings from the study show that there is a significant relationship between internet usage and the AP of students in tertiary institutions. Even though internet usage makes work faster and easier, there are various difficulties encountered in the utilization of the internet by students ...

IOSR Journals

Internet is one of the greatest recent advancement in the world of information technology which helps students to increase their academic knowledge, research and assignments by accessing to the information world and also by easy communication to their academic community.Though there are countless benefits of using internet but at the same time there has been a growing concern regarding the overuse of internet among students. The purpose of this study was to find the relationship between internet uses both in study and non-study purposes and academic performances among university students. Survey on 250 undergraduate students of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University (MBSTU), Tangail, shows that there is a positive correlation between average study hours and their academic performance measured by CGPA; a positive correlation between time spent on internet for study purpose and CGPA and a negative correlation between time spent on internet for non-study purpose and CGPA. The result shows no significant differences in the usage of internet across different gender in MBSTU.

CANDIA DOUGLAS

Karim Ansary

Sohail Farooq

The present study explores students’ perception regarding internet usage and its impact on their academic performance at elementary level in district Peshawar, KP. The study was quantitative in nature. The population includes both (male and female) elementary schools of district Peshawar, KP. Purposive sampling technique was used. The data was collected from (141) students through close-ended questionnaire based on five point Likert’s scale. The collected data was tabulated and analyzed by using MS word, SPSS software and Chi-square. The major conclusions show that both male and female students were having same views about using internet and agree that using internet makes their study more convenient, useful and improve their learning skills. It helps in improving their grades. The study concludes that while using internet, the students are also facing some problems such as shortage of power, affects eyesight and critical thinking and pain in shoulders etc. Some recommendations made...

Jolita Vveinhardt , Dr Nawaz Ahmad

Problem Statement: Internet is a useful tool for in a technologically advanced world. Internet use for education is very important; in this research we evaluate the usage of Internet in Universities students as advanced technology, and its impacts on students' academic performance. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Internet usage and university students' performance, it further identify the attitude of students towards information technology, and also evaluate that whether the use of Internet improve the academic performance of the students or not. Advancement in technology brings major impacts on education (Underwood 2003). Methodology: Data is collected through 10 closed ended questions with a sample size of 143 students. In this study the academic performance of student is dependent variable and usage of Internet is independent variable. We use descriptive analysis & linear regression model to check whether the Internet usage affects the students' performance positively or the other way around. Findings and results: Results of the research showed that the Internet is an essential knowledge tool for students, they use the Internet primarily for educational and research purposes and get benefited and also playing a positive role and participation in society. Respondents also expressed great confidence and satisfaction in using Internet for educational purposes. Recommendations: It is recommended that basic Internet tools may be introduced to students in their early stages of education. Universities should provide better infrastructure and organize courses that build up internal capacity of students, which enhance the efficiency and effectiveness for Internet Usage.

International journal of scientific research in computer science, engineering and information technology

Farah Quraishi

Danish yousafzai

Internet is among the magnificent technological advancements. It is a useful instrument of information technology that shapes the world as a global village. This is a universal fact that the use of internet has a great impact on the student's academic achievement, educational behavior and social life. The study was conducted to analyze the impact of Internet use on the educational behavior of students in different public-sector universities of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The quantitative research method was used. The primary objective of the study explores and analyzes the impact of internet on the educational behavior of students. The study will be helpful for the university students, researchers and curriculum developers in order to find out the correlation of use of internet in educational behavior. The study is significant for the university teachers to analyze the effective of use of internet on educational behavior of the students. Conclusions were derived in the light of explored impacts on the educational behavior of the students (if you mean to say this). Seventy (70) university students, selected from various universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were surveyed. The study discloses that majority of the respondents were the users of internet. The study reveals that internet usage has both good and adverse impacts on the internet users.

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

Impact of Internet Usage on the Academic

Sunday Nyeche Okoro

Venkateswar Meher

Kasun Kodithuwakku

PAKISTAN LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES REVIEW

Dr. Muhammad Asghar Ali

Unknown Server

European Scientific Journal, ESJ

NIMRA NAWAZ

NURHILYANA ANUAR

Harlina Siraj

Yestin Johnson , Ian Sanders

DrManoj K Pandey

Oluwafemi Ekundayo

Social Sciences

Purnima Banik

Online Submission

ERDAL TOPRAKCI

Arts and Social Sciences Journal

Ali Hossain

Muhammad Musaud Asdaque

Kefa Gichira

Mohammad Ali

Jurnal Aplikasi IPTEK Indonesia

Sapran Efendi

Bikram Maiti

Janessa Mae Granada

International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology

Bryle Berdera

Journal of Information System and Technology Management

shakiroh khamis

Journal of Educational Media and Library Science

Tella Adeyinka

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• My Shodhganga
• Receive email updates
• Edit Profile

Shodhganga : a reservoir of Indian theses @ INFLIBNET

• Shodhganga@INFLIBNET
• Gauhati University
• Department of Education

Items in Shodhganga are licensed under Creative Commons Licence Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

• The Internet and the Pandemic

90% of Americans say the internet has been essential or important to them, many made video calls and 40% used technology in new ways. But while tech was a lifeline for some, others faced struggles

Table of contents.

• 1. How the internet and technology shaped Americans’ personal experiences amid COVID-19
• 2. Parents, their children and school during the pandemic
• 3. Navigating technological challenges
• 4. The role of technology in COVID-19 vaccine registration
• Acknowledgments
• Methodology

Pew Research Center has a long history of studying technology adoption trends and the impact of digital technology on society. This report focuses on American adults’ experiences with and attitudes about their internet and technology use during the COVID-19 outbreak. For this analysis, we surveyed 4,623 U.S. adults from April 12-18, 2021. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the  ATP’s methodology .

Chapter 1 of this report includes responses to an open-ended question and the overall report includes a number of quotations to help illustrate themes and add nuance to the survey findings. Quotations may have been lightly edited for grammar, spelling and clarity. The first three themes mentioned in each open-ended response, according to a researcher-developed codebook, were coded into categories for analysis. 

Here are the questions used for this report , along with responses, and its methodology .

The  coronavirus  has transformed many aspects of Americans’ lives. It  shut down  schools, businesses and workplaces and forced millions to  stay at home  for extended lengths of time. Public health authorities recommended  limits on social contact  to try to contain the spread of the virus, and these profoundly altered the way many worked, learned, connected with loved ones, carried out basic daily tasks, celebrated and mourned. For some, technology played a role in this transformation.  

Results from a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted April 12-18, 2021, reveal the extent to which people’s use of the internet has changed, their views about how helpful technology has been for them and the struggles some have faced. 

The vast majority of adults (90%) say the internet has been at least important to them personally during the pandemic, the survey finds. The share who say it has been  essential  – 58% – is up slightly from 53% in April 2020. There have also been upticks in the shares who say the internet has been essential in the past year among those with a bachelor’s degree or more formal education, adults under 30, and those 65 and older. 

A large majority of Americans (81%) also say they talked with others via video calls at some point since the pandemic’s onset. And for 40% of Americans, digital tools have taken on new relevance: They report they used technology or the internet in ways that were new or different to them. Some also sought upgrades to their service as the pandemic unfolded: 29% of broadband users did something to improve the speed, reliability or quality of their high-speed internet connection at home since the beginning of the outbreak.

Still, tech use has not been an unmitigated boon for everyone. “ Zoom fatigue ” was widely speculated to be a problem in the pandemic, and some Americans report related experiences in the new survey: 40% of those who have ever talked with others via video calls since the beginning of the pandemic say they have felt worn out or fatigued often or sometimes by the time they spend on them. Moreover,  changes in screen time  occurred for  Americans generally  and for  parents of young children . The survey finds that a third of all adults say they tried to cut back on time spent on their smartphone or the internet at some point during the pandemic. In addition, 72% of parents of children in grades K-12 say their kids are spending more time on screens compared with before the outbreak. 1

For many, digital interactions could only do so much as a stand-in for in-person communication. About two-thirds of Americans (68%) say the interactions they would have had in person, but instead had online or over the phone, have generally been useful – but not a replacement for in-person contact. Another 15% say these tools haven’t been of much use in their interactions. Still, 17% report that these digital interactions have been just as good as in-person contact.

Some types of technology have been more helpful than others for Americans. For example, 44% say text messages or group messaging apps have helped them a lot to stay connected with family and friends, 38% say the same about voice calls and 30% say this about video calls. Smaller shares say social media sites (20%) and email (19%) have helped them in this way.

The survey offers a snapshot of Americans’ lives just over one year into the pandemic as they reflected back on what had happened. It is important to note the findings were gathered in April 2021, just before  all U.S. adults became eligible for coronavirus vaccine s. At the time, some states were  beginning to loosen restrictions  on businesses and social encounters. This survey also was fielded before the delta variant  became prominent  in the United States,  raising concerns  about new and  evolving variants . 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey.

Americans’ tech experiences in the pandemic are linked to digital divides, tech readiness 

Some Americans’ experiences with technology haven’t been smooth or easy during the pandemic. The digital divides related to  internet use  and  affordability  were highlighted by the pandemic and also emerged in new ways as life moved online.

For all Americans relying on screens during the pandemic,  connection quality  has been important for school assignments, meetings and virtual social encounters alike. The new survey highlights difficulties for some: Roughly half of those who have a high-speed internet connection at home (48%) say they have problems with the speed, reliability or quality of their home connection often or sometimes. 2

Beyond that, affordability  remained a persistent concern  for a portion of digital tech users as the pandemic continued – about a quarter of home broadband users (26%) and smartphone owners (24%) said in the April 2021 survey that they worried a lot or some about paying their internet and cellphone bills over the next few months. 

From parents of children facing the “ homework gap ” to Americans struggling to  afford home internet , those with lower incomes have been particularly likely to struggle. At the same time, some of those with higher incomes have been affected as well.

Affordability and connection problems have hit broadband users with lower incomes especially hard. Nearly half of broadband users with lower incomes, and about a quarter of those with midrange incomes, say that as of April they were at least somewhat worried about paying their internet bill over the next few months. 3 And home broadband users with lower incomes are roughly 20 points more likely to say they often or sometimes experience problems with their connection than those with relatively high incomes. Still, 55% of those with lower incomes say the internet has been essential to them personally in the pandemic.

At the same time, Americans’ levels of formal education are associated with their experiences turning to tech during the pandemic. 

Those with a bachelor’s or advanced degree are about twice as likely as those with a high school diploma or less formal education to have used tech in new or different ways during the pandemic. There is also roughly a 20 percentage point gap between these two groups in the shares who have made video calls about once a day or more often and who say these calls have helped at least a little to stay connected with family and friends. And 71% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more education say the internet has been essential, compared with 45% of those with a high school diploma or less.

More broadly, not all Americans believe they have key tech skills. In this survey, about a quarter of adults (26%) say they usually need someone else’s help to set up or show them how to use a new computer, smartphone or other electronic device. And one-in-ten report they have little to no confidence in their ability to use these types of devices to do the things they need to do online. This report refers to those who say they experience either or both of these issues as having “lower tech readiness.” Some 30% of adults fall in this category. (A full description of how this group was identified can be found in  Chapter 3. )

These struggles are particularly acute for older adults, some of whom have had to  learn new tech skills  over the course of the pandemic. Roughly two-thirds of adults 75 and older fall into the group having lower tech readiness – that is, they either have little or no confidence in their ability to use their devices, or generally need help setting up and learning how to use new devices. Some 54% of Americans ages 65 to 74 are also in this group. 

Americans with lower tech readiness have had different experiences with technology during the pandemic. While 82% of the Americans with lower tech readiness say the internet has been at least important to them personally during the pandemic, they are less likely than those with higher tech readiness to say the internet has been essential (39% vs. 66%). Some 21% of those with lower tech readiness say digital interactions haven’t been of much use in standing in for in-person contact, compared with 12% of those with higher tech readiness. 

46% of parents with lower incomes whose children faced school closures say their children had at least one problem related to the ‘homework gap’

As school moved online for many families, parents and their children experienced profound changes. Fully 93% of parents with K-12 children at home say these children had some online instruction during the pandemic. Among these parents, 62% report that online learning has gone very or somewhat well, and 70% say it has been very or somewhat easy for them to help their children use technology for online instruction.

Still, 30% of the parents whose children have had online instruction during the pandemic say it has been very or somewhat difficult for them to help their children use technology or the internet for this. 

The survey also shows that children from households with lower incomes who faced school closures in the pandemic have been especially likely to encounter tech-related obstacles in completing their schoolwork – a phenomenon contributing to the “ homework gap .”

Overall, about a third (34%) of all parents whose children’s schools closed at some point say their children have encountered at least one of the tech-related issues we asked about amid COVID-19: having to do schoolwork on a cellphone, being unable to complete schoolwork because of lack of computer access at home, or having to use public Wi-Fi to finish schoolwork because there was no reliable connection at home. 

This share is higher among parents with lower incomes whose children’s schools closed. Nearly half (46%) say their children have faced at least one of these issues. Some with higher incomes were affected as well – about three-in-ten (31%) of these parents with midrange incomes say their children faced one or more of these issues, as do about one-in-five of these parents with higher household incomes.

Prior Center work has documented this “ homework gap ” in other contexts – both  before the coronavirus outbreak  and  near the beginning of the pandemic . In April 2020, for example, parents with lower incomes were particularly likely to think their children would face these struggles amid the outbreak.

Besides issues related to remote schooling, other changes were afoot in families as the pandemic forced many families to shelter in place. For instance, parents’ estimates of their children’s screen time – and family rules around this – changed in some homes. About seven-in-ten parents with children in kindergarten through 12th grade (72%) say their children were spending more time on screens as of the April survey compared with before the outbreak. Some 39% of parents with school-age children say they have become less strict about screen time rules during the outbreak. About one-in-five (18%) say they have become more strict, while 43% have kept screen time rules about the same. 

More adults now favor the idea that schools should provide digital technology to all students during the pandemic than did in April 2020

Americans’ tech struggles related to digital divides gained attention from policymakers and news organizations as the pandemic progressed.

On some policy issues, public attitudes changed over the course of the outbreak – for example, views on what K-12 schools should provide to students shifted. Some 49% now say K-12 schools have a responsibility to provide all students with laptop or tablet computers in order to help them complete their schoolwork during the pandemic, up 12 percentage points from a year ago.

The shares of those who say so have increased for both major political parties over the past year: This view shifted 15 points for Republicans and those who lean toward the GOP, and there was a 9-point increase for Democrats and Democratic leaners.

However, when it comes to views of policy solutions for internet access more generally, not much has changed. Some 37% of Americans say that the government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans have high-speed internet access during the outbreak, and the overall share is unchanged from April 2020 – the first time Americans were asked this specific question about the government’s pandemic responsibility to provide internet access. 4

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the government has this responsibility, and within the Republican Party, those with lower incomes are more likely to say this than their counterparts earning more money. 

Video calls and conferencing have been part of everyday life

Americans’ own words provide insight into exactly how their lives changed amid COVID-19. When asked to describe the new or different ways they had used technology, some Americans mention video calls and conferencing facilitating a variety of virtual interactions – including attending events like weddings, family holidays and funerals or transforming where and how they worked. 5 From family calls, shopping for groceries and placing takeout orders online to having telehealth visits with medical professionals or participating in online learning activities, some aspects of life have been virtually transformed: 

“I’ve gone from not even knowing remote programs like Zoom even existed, to using them nearly every day.” – Man, 54

“[I’ve been] h andling … deaths of family and friends remotely, attending and sharing classical music concerts and recitals with other professionals, viewing [my] own church services and Bible classes, shopping. … Basically, [the internet has been] a lifeline.”  – Woman, 69

“I … use Zoom for church youth activities. [I] use Zoom for meetings. I order groceries and takeout food online. We arranged for a ‘digital reception’ for my daughter’s wedding as well as live streaming the event.” – Woman, 44

When asked about video calls specifically, half of Americans report they have talked with others in this way at least once a week since the beginning of the outbreak; one-in-five have used these platforms daily. But how often people have experienced this type of digital connectedness varies by age. For example, about a quarter of adults ages 18 to 49 (27%) say they have connected with others on video calls about once a day or more often, compared with 16% of those 50 to 64 and just 7% of those 65 and older. 

Even as video technology became a part of life for users, many  accounts of burnout  surfaced and some speculated that “Zoom fatigue” was setting in as Americans grew weary of this type of screen time. The survey finds that some 40% of those who participated in video calls since the beginning of the pandemic – a third of all Americans – say they feel worn out or fatigued often or sometimes from the time they spend on video calls. About three-quarters of those who have been on these calls several times a day in the pandemic say this.

Fatigue is not limited to frequent users, however: For example, about a third (34%) of those who have made video calls about once a week say they feel worn out at least sometimes.

These are among the main findings from the survey. Other key results include:

Some Americans’ personal lives and social relationships have changed during the pandemic:  Some 36% of Americans say their own personal lives changed in a major way as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Another 47% say their personal lives changed, but only a little bit.   About half (52%) of those who say major change has occurred in their personal lives due to the pandemic also say they have used tech in new ways, compared with about four-in-ten (38%) of those whose personal lives changed a little bit and roughly one-in-five (19%) of those who say their personal lives stayed about the same.

Even as tech helped some to stay connected, a quarter of Americans say they feel less close to close family members now compared with before the pandemic, and about four-in-ten (38%) say the same about friends they know well. Roughly half (53%) say this about casual acquaintances.

The majority of those who tried to sign up for vaccine appointments in the first part of the year went online to do so:  Despite early problems with  vaccine rollout  and  online registration systems , in the April survey tech problems did  not  appear to be major struggles for most adults who had tried to sign up online for COVID-19 vaccines. The survey explored Americans’ experiences getting these vaccine appointments and reveals that in April 57% of adults had tried to sign themselves up and 25% had tried to sign someone else up. Fully 78% of those who tried to sign themselves up and 87% of those who tried to sign others up were online registrants. 

When it comes to difficulties with the online vaccine signup process, 29% of those who had tried to sign up online – 13% of all Americans – say it was very or somewhat difficult to sign themselves up for vaccines at that time. Among five reasons for this that the survey asked about, the most common  major  reason was lack of available appointments, rather than tech-related problems. Adults 65 and older who tried to sign themselves up for the vaccine online were the most likely age group to experience at least some difficulty when they tried to get a vaccine appointment.

Tech struggles and usefulness alike vary by race and ethnicity.  Americans’ experiences also have varied across racial and ethnic groups. For example, Black Americans are more likely than White or Hispanic adults to meet the criteria for having “lower tech readiness.” 6 Among broadband users, Black and Hispanic adults were also more likely than White adults to be worried about paying their bills for their high-speed internet access at home as of April, though the share of Hispanic Americans who say this declined sharply since April 2020. And a majority of Black and Hispanic broadband users say they at least sometimes have experienced problems with their internet connection. 

Still, Black adults and Hispanic adults are more likely than White adults to say various technologies – text messages, voice calls, video calls, social media sites and email – have helped them a lot to stay connected with family and friends amid the pandemic.

Tech has helped some adults under 30 to connect with friends, but tech fatigue also set in for some.  Only about one-in-five adults ages 18 to 29 say they feel closer to friends they know well compared with before the pandemic. This share is twice as high as that among adults 50 and older. Adults under 30 are also more likely than any other age group to say social media sites have helped a lot in staying connected with family and friends (30% say so), and about four-in-ten of those ages 18 to 29 say this about video calls. 

Screen time affected some negatively, however. About six-in-ten adults under 30 (57%) who have ever made video calls in the pandemic say they at least sometimes feel worn out or fatigued from spending time on video calls, and about half (49%) of young adults say they have tried to cut back on time spent on the internet or their smartphone.

• Throughout this report, “parents” refers to those who said they were the parent or guardian of any children who were enrolled in elementary, middle or high school and who lived in their household at the time of the survey. ↩
• People with a high-speed internet connection at home also are referred to as “home broadband users” or “broadband users” throughout this report. ↩
• Family incomes are based on 2019 earnings and adjusted for differences in purchasing power by geographic region and for household sizes. Middle income is defined here as two-thirds to double the median annual family income for all panelists on the American Trends Panel. Lower income falls below that range; upper income falls above it. ↩
• A separate  Center study  also fielded in April 2021 asked Americans what the government is responsible for on a number of topics, but did not mention the coronavirus outbreak. Some 43% of Americans said in that survey that the federal government has a responsibility to provide high-speed internet for all Americans. This was a significant increase from 2019, the last time the Center had asked that more general question, when 28% said the same. ↩
• Quotations in this report may have been lightly edited for grammar, spelling and clarity. ↩
• There were not enough Asian American respondents in the sample to be broken out into a separate analysis. As always, their responses are incorporated into the general population figures throughout this report. ↩

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivery Saturday mornings

Sign up for The Briefing

Weekly updates on the world of news & information

• Business & Workplace
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• COVID-19 & Technology
• Digital Divide
• Education & Learning Online

A look at small businesses in the U.S.

A look at black-owned businesses in the u.s., 2023 saw some of the biggest, hardest-fought labor disputes in recent decades, do you tip more or less often than the average american, diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, most popular, report materials.

• American Trends Panel Wave 88

901 E St. NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20004 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

© 2024 Pew Research Center

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• J Med Internet Res
• v.24(1); 2022 Jan

The Contribution of the Internet to Reducing Social Isolation in Individuals Aged 50 Years and Older: Quantitative Study of Data From the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe

Patrícia silva.

1 Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

Alice Delerue Matos

2 Department of Sociology, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

Roberto Martinez-Pecino

3 Departamento de Psicología Social, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad Sevilla, Seville, Spain

Social isolation has a negative impact on the quality of life of older people; therefore, studies have focused on identifying its sociodemographic, economic, and health determinants. In view of the growing importance of the internet as a means of communication, it is essential to assess whether internet use interferes with social isolation.

This study specifically aims to clarify the relationship between internet use and social isolation of individuals aged ≥50 years, for which other surveys present contradictory results.

We performed logistic regression analysis with social isolation as the dependent variable, internet use as the interest variable, and several other sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of the individuals as control variables. The sample size was 67,173 individuals aged 50 years and older from 17 European countries (Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, and Croatia) plus Israel, who were interviewed in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), wave 6.

The results show that countries differ in the level of social isolation and rate of internet use by individuals aged 50 years and older. They also evidence that in most of the countries analyzed, social isolation of internet users was lower compared to that of nonusers after controlling for a set of sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of the individuals that have been previously described in the literature as determinants of social isolation. Indeed, on average, although 31.4% of individuals in the nonuser group experienced high social isolation, only 12.9% of individuals who used the internet experienced this condition.

Conclusions

Internet users show lower social isolation. This result underlines the importance of promoting e-inclusion in Europe as a way to counter social isolation of individuals aged 50 years and older.

Introduction

Social isolation has been defined as the objective situation of individuals with small social networks and reduced frequency of contact who do not take part in social activities [ 1 - 4 ]. According to the literature, social isolation is associated with an increased risk of mortality [ 2 , 5 - 7 ]. In terms of health, it has been associated with a greater risk of developing chronic diseases [ 8 ] and cardiovascular disease [ 3 , 7 ], as well as increased risk of physical inactivity, tobacco consumption, and various other risk behaviors [ 3 , 9 ]. Furthermore, in old age, social isolation is associated with increased feelings of loneliness [ 3 ].

According to the literature, social isolation tends to increase as individuals age [ 3 , 10 , 11 ]. Indeed, some events that are more frequent at an older age, such as retirement, the development or worsening of health and mobility limitations, or a change in residence of the individuals with whom they socialize [ 2 , 12 - 16 ], tend to affect older people’s ability to maintain their social networks and may also cause cognitive decline [ 17 ] and increase social isolation [ 2 ].

Social isolation is determined by a set of sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of individuals [ 3 , 10 , 13 , 18 , 19 ]. In addition to these determinants, the role of the internet in reducing social isolation is increasingly being discussed [ 20 ] because, as an important means of communication, this technology can facilitate interpersonal contact at a stage of life when social networks tend to be restructured [ 12 , 21 - 24 ]. There are often obstacles to the use of the internet by people of advanced age [ 25 - 31 ]. However, internet use by older adults has been associated with feelings of well-being and social support [ 32 - 35 ], as well as with improved quality of life [ 36 ]. Nevertheless, the relationship between internet use and social isolation is unclear, and there is open debate in the literature. On the one hand, some studies conclude that internet use is associated with a decrease in social isolation [ 11 , 20 , 37 , 38 ]. In this regard, they claim that the internet has been conducive to successful interactions [ 39 - 41 ] and contributes to maintaining social ties [ 41 - 44 ] and increasing the frequency of contact [ 45 ], as well as optimizing the effect of social networks on the quality of life of older people [ 36 ]. On the other hand, other studies conclude that using this technology does not reduce social isolation [ 46 ]. Furthermore, in some specific cases, its use is actually associated with a greater risk of social isolation. In this regard, problematic and addictive uses of the internet may be related to social isolation [ 47 ]. Similarly, some studies support the “time displacement” thesis, which states that the longer individuals surf the internet, the less time they interact with family and friends, as the time spent on one activity cannot be spent on another [ 48 ].

The inconsistent results in the literature underscore the need for more research into the relationship between internet use and social isolation [ 20 , 49 ], in which this concept is clearly defined [ 50 ] and which draws on large samples [ 38 , 51 ]. This study specifically aims to contribute to this goal by focusing on the relationship between internet use and social isolation after controlling for sociodemographic, economic, and health variables and selecting a target population of individuals aged 50 years or older residing in 17 European countries and Israel.

Data and Sample

This study focuses on 67,173 individuals aged 50 years and older who were interviewed in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Project (wave 6) in Austria (n=3358), Germany (n=4347), Sweden (n=3881), Spain (n=5560), Italy (n=5211), France (n=3870), Denmark (n=3661), Greece (n=4814), Switzerland (n=2772), Belgium (n=5700), Israel (n=2013), Czech Republic (n=4793), Poland (n=1802), Luxembourg (n=1543), Portugal (n=1662), Slovenia (n=4186), Estonia (n=5557), and Croatia (n=2443). Details of the SHARE study in Europe have been described elsewhere [ 52 ]. Briefly, in wave 6 (2015), a survey of a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized population aged 50 years or older was conducted. Interviews were face-to-face and took place in the household. Trained interviewers conducted the interviews using a computer-assisted personal interviewing program.

The SHARE project, coordinated internationally by the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy (Germany), has been approved by the Ethics Council of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science.

Dependent Variable: Social Isolation

As in other research [ 3 , 4 , 53 ], social isolation was computed using a 5-item index. Individuals scored 1 point if they did not live with a partner; 1 point if they did not belong to any organizations, clubs, or religious groups; and 1 point for having less than monthly contact with friends, family, or children. Scores on the index ranged from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating a greater degree of isolation. Adopting the criteria of previous studies [ 2 , 54 - 56 ], we dichotomized the social isolation index to distinguish between low (score <2) and high (score ≥2) levels of social isolation.

Low social isolation was coded as 0, and high social isolation was coded as 1.

Independent Variable: Internet Use

This is a dichotomous variable relating to use of the internet at least once in the last 7 days to send and receive emails, to search for information, to shop, or for any other purpose. This variable distinguishes individuals who use the internet (1) from individuals who do not use it (0).

Covariables: Sociodemographic and Economic Variables

The following covariables were considered in this research:

• Age; gender: female (1) and male (0); years of schooling; self-perception of financial stress: “great difficulty” or “some difficulty” in coping with monthly expenses (0), “easy” or “very easy” to cover monthly expenses (1).
• Geographical distance from social network: scores ranged from ”in the same household” (1) to “more than 500 km away” (8).
• Loneliness: assessed through a short version of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (R-UCLA) [ 57 ]. The scale includes 3 questions: “How much of the time do you feel you lack companionship?” “How much of the time do you feel left out?” and “How much of the time do you feel isolated from others?” The answer options range from 1 (hardly ever) to 3 (often). The 3 items form a scale that ranges from 3 to 9 points, in which high values represent higher levels of loneliness.

We also considered health variables:

• Depressive symptoms, evaluated by the EURO-D scale [ 58 ]. The EURO-D scale ranges from 0 to 12 points, which refer to the presence or absence of 12 symptoms of depression, such as suicidal thoughts [ 58 ]; as in previous studies [ 59 ], we distinguished between more symptoms (1) and individuals with lower scores (0). A score of 4 or more symptoms is considered as a cutoff point to identify major depression [ 60 ].
• Limitations in activities of daily living [ 61 , 62 ], which refer to the presence-absence of difficulties performing on one’s own any of 6 daily living activities, such as bathing, dressing, and toileting; we distinguished between individuals who reported 1 or more limitations (1) and individuals who reported no limitations (0).
• Physical inactivity: Two items were used to assess the level of physical activity. The first item assessed vigorous physical activity (“We would like to know about the type and amount of physical activity you do in your daily life. How often do you engage in vigorous physical activity, such as sports, heavy housework, or a job that involves physical labor?”). The second item assessed moderate physical activity (“How often do you engage in activities that require a low or moderate level of energy such as gardening, cleaning the car, or doing a walk?”). Participants answered both items by using a 4-point rating scale (1, more than once a week; 2, once a week; 3, 1 to 3 times a month; 4, hardly ever or never). Participants who did not perform any of these activities (never engaged in vigorous or moderate physical activity) were classified as “physically inactive” (1), and individuals who performed at least one vigorous or moderate physical activity were classified as “physically active” (0).

Statistical Analysis

Given that the SHARE project includes national samples from different countries and the sample design is not uniform among them, calibrated individual weights were used in the descriptive statistical analysis (for further details, see [ 63 , 64 ]). To compare sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics between individuals who experience high levels of social isolation and individuals with low levels of social isolation, the chi-square test and Student t test were performed. We used the chi-square test to assess the interdependence between two nominal variables (eg, differences between gender according to their degree of social isolation). The sample means were also compared using Student t tests for independent samples (eg, differences in mean age according to their degree of social isolation). Statistical test results with P <.05 were considered to be significant. The results from these tests were complemented with effect size measures (Cohen d / φ ). The interpretation of the results was based on Cohen [ 65 ].

To analyze the relationship between internet use and social isolation, logistic regressions were conducted by country using the Enter method (in which all the dependent variables are inserted in the statistical model simultaneously). The logistic regression is a mathematical model that give odds ratios (ORs) that are adjusted for other covariates (including confounders) [ 66 ]. Thus, 18 separate analyses were performed (1 for each country). Weights were not used in the logistic regressions. These analyses were performed using SPSS software (version 25; IBM Corp).

Eastern and Southern Europe are the opposite of Northern and Central Europe in terms of social isolation ( Table 1 ). In fact, the percentage of individuals aged 50 years and older who are socially isolated is higher in Eastern and Southern Europe (with the exception of Portugal) compared to the two other European regions. An analysis by country confirmed that the highest weighted percentage of people who experience a high level of social isolation is found in Poland (n=463; 36.8%), and the lowest is found in Denmark (n=321; 11.8%).

Individuals in the high isolation group (n=11,614) and internet users (n=32,399) by country (N unweighted). Source: Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe wave 6, version 7.0.0; weighted data.

With regard to internet use, the countries of Northern and Central Europe also stand out in terms of recording the highest percentages of users, with Denmark once again showing the highest rate of use of technology (n=3053; 81.9%). In contrast, the countries of Eastern and Southern Europe have the lowest rates of internet use, with Croatia standing out as a country where fewer individuals use the internet (n=715; 27.2%).

In all the countries analyzed, high levels of social isolation are clearly more common among individuals who do not use the internet as compared to those using this technology ( Figure 1 ). Indeed, while on average, in the group of internet users, only 12.9% experience high levels of social isolation, in the group of nonusers, 31.4% are in this situation.

Percentages of users and non–internet users in the high isolation group by country.

In Table 2 , we can observe the sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of the individuals who participated in this study, according to their degree of social isolation. The group of individuals who experience high levels of social isolation includes a majority of older female adults, who have on average fewer years of schooling in relation to their counterparts experiencing low levels of social isolation. Similarly, a higher percentage of the more socially isolated individuals reported having a negative financial situation.

Descriptive statistics of the variables studied according to degree of social isolation (N=67,173). Source: Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe wave 6, version 7.0.0; weighted data.

With regard to social networks, the more isolated individuals are more geographically distant from members of their network than their less isolated counterparts. Likewise, more socially isolated individuals also experience greater feelings of loneliness.

Finally, with regard to mental and physical health, individuals experiencing high levels of social isolation also report more depressive symptoms and physical inactivity than their less isolated peers.

In Table 3 , we can observe a negative association between internet use and social isolation, after controlling for a set of sociodemographic, economic, and health characteristics of the individuals, described in the literature as determinants of social isolation. Indeed, in most of the countries analyzed, internet use relates to a decreased likelihood of high levels of social isolation.

Statistics related to the importance of the internet as a determinant of a high level of isolation in individuals aged ≥50 years. Data source: Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe wave 6, version 7.0.0 (unweighted).

a Unweighted n values: Austria, 2523; Germany, 3853; Sweden, 3205; Spain, 4079; Italy, 3297; France, 2904; Denmark, 3110; Greece, 4128; Switzerland, 2329; Belgium, 3999; Israel, 1242; Czech Republic, 3941; Poland, 1161; Luxembourg, 1394; Portugal, 1284; Slovenia, 2523; Estonia, 4154; Croatia, 2274.

b B: Standardized Coefficients

c aOR: adjusted odds ratio from the logistic regression with adjustment for age, gender, years of schooling, self-perception of financial stress, limitations to activities of daily life, EURO-D score, physical inactivity, geographical distance from social network, and loneliness.

Denmark is the country where internet users are less likely to experience high levels of social isolation compared to nonusers. In this country, internet users are 72.2% less likely (OR 0.278, 95% CI 0.196-0.396) to be in a situation of high social isolation. Similarly, in France, Sweden, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Republic, Estonia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain, internet users are less likely to experience high levels of social isolation than nonusers. In Portugal, Poland, Greece, and Croatia, internet users were not less likely to experience high social isolation. Outside the European context, more specifically in Israel, internet users were 42.7% less likely (OR 0.573, 95% CI 0.383 to 0.856) to experience high levels of social isolation.

Principal Findings

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between internet use and social isolation of individuals aged ≥50 years. The results evidence that in most of the European countries analyzed, as well as in Israel, use of the internet by adults aged ≥50 years is related to a decreased likelihood of high levels of social isolation. Thus, this study contributes to the open debate in literature [ 37 , 50 ] for which other surveys present contradictory results. This could be related to the results of other studies [ 11 , 20 , 67 ] that suggest that the internet may facilitate communication and therefore enable individuals to maintain important contacts [ 36 , 39 , 68 ]. The internet may therefore contribute to less social isolation, even in less favorable contexts [ 12 ], such as when older people live at a greater geographical distance from elements of their social networks following retirement, migration, or a change in residence for other reasons [ 2 , 12 - 15 ]. However, the impact of ICT cannot be explained solely in terms of the fact that it creates opportunities for communication. The literature reveals that it counters social isolation by enabling people to obtain social support and motivating individuals to participate more in activities that interest them, because it contributes to self-confidence [ 37 ] and facilitates access to services [ 69 ].

In this study, it was also possible to verify that in the European context, countries in Eastern and Southern Europe had the highest percentages of individuals experiencing high levels of social isolation. This result is consistent with results in other studies comparing the northern European countries with southern European countries, which indicate the existence of greater social isolation in the southern countries [ 70 ]. In line with other research [ 3 , 10 , 11 ], this study concludes that high levels of social isolation are more common in older female individuals [ 71 ]. This finding contradicts the results of other research that identifies men as being more isolated than women [ 13 , 18 ]. The results also reveal that the most isolated individuals also have more financial difficulties, as noted in other research [ 3 , 13 , 18 ], and they experience higher levels of loneliness, as also noted in other research [ 19 ]. In this study, individuals in situations of high social isolation also reported being more geographically distant from their social network. The impact of increased geographical distance on establishing social interactions at an older age was previously underlined by other surveys showing that one of the main reasons for losing elements of adult social networks is a change in residence of these individuals [ 72 ]. In terms of health, people experiencing high levels of social isolation also report being frailer, both physically and mentally [ 3 , 18 ].

However, as previously mentioned, the main contribution of the study is that after controlling for the impact of these variables, internet use is associated with lower risk of social isolation.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. The main limitation is that a single item was used to measure overall internet use. Nevertheless, a yes/no response to whether someone regularly uses the internet has frequently been used to assess internet use by older people [ 25 , 45 , 51 , 67 ]. In the same vein, this measure was used in the SHARE project. Nonetheless, considering that the impact of the internet in the social sphere depends on the type of activities conducted on the web [ 73 - 75 ], it is important for future studies to consider the impact that different uses of the internet may have on social isolation. Furthermore, future research should consider longitudinal analyses to explore causality.

The results of this research contribute to the scientific debate about the relationship between internet use and social isolation, showing that even after controlling for the main determinants of social isolation, the use of the internet is related to lower levels of isolation in several countries.

These results indicate the importance of developing public policies in Europe aimed at increasing rates of internet use as a way to ensure e-inclusion and prevent social isolation at an older age.

Abbreviations

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Negative Impact of Internet on Society Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Thesis statement about internet, literature review, works cited.

Today it is eminent that the role of computers has a huge impact on every person. Computerization has taken over the majority of the societal roles and has dramatically improved lives. The battle with technology is dynamic and a continuous process expected to bring about new challenges each day.

This primary influence comes from Internet usage, which seems to be very vibrant, particularly among the youth, due to the stable and anticipated creativity. That’s why the author will explore the negative impact of the Internet on society in the essay.

Society is dependent on technology today. Having computers in the workplace, homes, and mobility enable effectiveness and efficiency. Today’s technology has advanced to a point where there is massive support for security intelligence. The Internet, therefore, enables resourceful communication and sharing of any form of information, whether it is useful or abusive.

“The Internet technology is affecting an individual’s life in a negative way.” This paper examines the real situational effects of internet technology on users and forms an analysis of how the Internet can cause depression. This negative effects of the Internet essay also focuses on the intellectual behavior of people regarding effects and other cyber-related crimes.

Effects of Internet usage on the brain and behavioral development

One prominent impact of internet technology is the creation of a democratic media. The broadcast is international and free.

According to McDonnell (p.1) the highly recognized sites that allow a personal view makes the aspect of internet publishing easy and accessible to the majority without the need for technical knowledge. Internet tools in the majority of the search engines such as Google promote democratic media and form a basis for other macro-media such as weblogs, videocasts, wikis and podcasts.

The universal knowledge behind these tools is to enhance knowledge transmission by allowing direct and literal subscription and automatic collection of text, audio or visual data. Internet is thus a good source of peer pressure, particularly among the youth.

Through internet usage, people are putting up with negative information and giving up personal trust and values, and such pressure becomes a form of a negative force. In most cases, it would be invariable to have a link between the development of the brain and the behaviors. The Internet provides high emotional or intense influences, thus leading to a poor decision such as crime related activities.

The brain of a teenager is under some less optimal control mechanisms and thus under higher probability to act from guts or instincts in submitting to internet posting that relates to criminal activities, especially when confronted with stressful, depressing or emotional strains.

Internet users are hastier, insistent, emotionally volatile, high-risk takers, proactive and reactive to strain or stress and are thus at risk of peer influences (McDonnell, p.1). They focus on the short time payoffs, underrate any long-term consequences, and are therefore prone to looking for an alternative course of actions such as cyber crimes.

Psychological Effects of Internet on Young People

Young people are often curious; therefore, their time on the internet is the time of experimenting and seeking newness. The adolescent brain may be more vulnerable to social discomforts due to internet addiction. These social effects can bring about potential social experiences, such as contributing to the feeling of less shyness, more interaction, ability to hack others’ information and discover more from the internet. Some of the unrestricted information on the internet also causes negative behaviors.

Phonographic material causes negative anxiety and inability to make decisions makes them feel the need to explore their sexuality and deal with different emotions concern with uncertain and impulsive activities since human beings have to make decisions based on the challenge at hand.

There are many different reasons why people use the internet, probably to relax, have fun, find rest, forget problems, and mostly to meet friends. The youth mainly engage in internet activities because they easily find their styles. They suffer from external or internal anxieties while trying to be like others. Internet usage is fine as long as it serves the role of determining the right character in a person.

The social interaction on the internet is arguably one of the reasons why American teenagers mimic the same lifestyles and have similar talking style. People in a group network act differently and do some weird activities they would probably not do on their own. This is the identity of a group as opposed to that of an individual. The control placed on these behaviors can easily crumple before the achievement of a valued need.

One of the huge challenges of internet usage among children and teenagers is increased maturity and changes in the lifestyle that easily leads to criminal activities or conflicts. If not controlled, internet usage leads to addiction or continual usage thus a trend that causes solitary usage and depression. In most instances, when solitary use occurs, then the addict has more significant future problems related to chronic addiction and isolation from the rest or even communication problems that may lead to mental-related complications (Kelland, p.1).

If not controlled, internet usage leads to addiction. This form of usage thus causes friendlessness and depression. In most instances, when solitary occurs, then the internet addict has more significant future problems related to other kinds of chronic addictions and communication problems that may lead to mental-related complications.

According to Glor, (p.1), addictive surfing can have a severe impact on mental health, “internet addicts” spent proportionately more time browsing sexually satisfying websites, online gaming sites, and online communities. They replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites and this in time is replacing normal social function, which might have a link to psychological disorders like depression and addiction.

Cyberbullying is also becoming a common trend where we find rude comments and insulting words that one would never use in person. The police explorations of whether cyber intimidation was the root cause of teenage suicide in the New York town of West Islip, is a clear indication of how internet addiction is contributing to depression. That Soccer star Alexis Pilkington, 17, took her own life on March 21, 2010, following social disturbances from social networking sites (Glor, p.1).

Analysis of Internet addiction as a psychological illness

According to Citizen (p.1), when someone is, using the internet, it is possible to suffer from several illnesses or addicted. The illness or condition depends on what you are doing and how long you will be online. When used to cyber cafe visits to read e-mail, one is tempted to take more time to excessive gaming, chatting and text messaging.

This can lead to brain illness because people often neglect essential livelihood requirement such as sleep or food due to internet addiction, they suffering but consciously assume it is a healthy lifestyle. This chronic illness can smoothly go unnoticed unless a therapist intercedes (Citizen, p.1).

The most affected people are those who are educated but socially shy. In line with Citizen (p.1), they are mostly the middle age women. They use computers as an escape route from reality. A computer does affect people’s lives and cause emotional upsets to the person who wants to be pre-occupied online for a long time.

Effects of Internet on Lifestyles

“The Chinese government launched a national wide campaign after a survey found that 14 percent of their teens are vulnerable to becoming addicted to the internet” (Eunjung Cha, p.1). According to the government, they are trying to stamp out what the communist youth league calls “a grave social problem” (Eunjung Cha, p.1).

The state policies focus more on eliminating cybercrime, which seem to ruin lives for instance cases where causes of assassination have a connection to mimicked characters in online entertainments. The internet is equally forming a sequence of suicide-related cases and poor studies, especially among the youth.

Depression and suicidal thoughts are higher among the students deemed “internet-addicts” (Eunjung Cha, p.1). According to self-report questionnaires, gender is not a differential factor. Internet addiction was likely to affect males, as well as females and cause children-major depression disorder.

Eunjung Cha, (p.1) indicated that users are becoming addicted to the internet similarly that individuals become addicted to drugs or alcohol. This internet addiction finally leads to academic, social and occupational impairments. According to Eunjung Cha, (p.1), individuals on chat rooms may use tactics, such as peer pressure to arouse feelings and thus course them to commit suicide.

Effects of internet on schools

Today, digital technology has become completely part of the youth’s life. It has fully incorporated all the social characteristics in their lives. Many students pick up new styles of learning, communicating with new people and formulating creativity. The behaviors are like permanent fixtures into their reasoning styles and operating procedures.

It is common to find a situation where children use knowledge-gathering techniques that appear alien to adults, mainly their parents and teachers. In relation to Lane (p.1), such advancements have severe impacts on the education platform.

People have established ways of harnessing the technological aspects into career settings for decades but failed to implement security and ways of limiting information access. There is some resistance on usage, but implementation is a good indication that educators appreciate the effectiveness and importance of technology.

According to McDonnell (p.1), the education sector is the most affected by internet usage; students can gather techniques of hacking networks and finding illegal ways of accessing information. This is arguably the reason why institutions are also not enthusiastic enough to embrace full technological platforms such as digital networks and incorporation of social networks to education systems. They focus on security matters due to potential threats posed by social network technologies.

Current social settings can give the impression that internet usage is under control, but a closer look at the phenomenon indicates that every day a person starts to use and subsequently becomes addicted to the negative aspects available in the net.

Possibly the pressure to resist deception is tremendous and persistent unless there is an intervention, especially by the authorities such as parents when the person involved, is a minor. Sometimes failure to control internet access is due to the current social setting for instance; most of the parents are full-time employees probably looking for the overtime and better remuneration in support of the family.

They may be trying to work out one area while the other collapses. The biggest problem in the majority of the minds lies on the reason why people especially the youth are misusing the internet. The most likely answer is within the family setting. They emulate their parents who are their closest role models.

They embrace the social settings and meet friends who deceive them into engaging in social mischiefs such as pornography, online gambling, and information-hacking activities. They may also suffer from solitary use due to stress. Whichever the case, parents are the most effective cure to the vice. It is the parental responsibility to face the problem and talk out with the teenagers on the dangers involved before things are out of hand.

Citizen, Ottawa. “ Recognize Internet addiction as a mental illness, MD urges that compulsive e-mailing and text messaging could soon become classified as an official brain illness. ” Canada: CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc .2008. Web.

Eunjung Cha, Ariana. “ In China, Stern Treatment For Young Internet ‘Addicts’ .”

Washington, WA: The Washington Post Foreign Service. 2007. Web.

Glor, Jeff. “ Cyberbullying Continued After Teen’s Death. ” New York, NY: CBS Interactive Inc. March 29, 2010. Web.

Kelland, Kate. “ Study links excessive Internet use to depression. ” London, UK: Lane, Reuters Inc. Feb 3, 2010. Web.

Lane, Christopher. “ Side Effects From quirky to serious, trends in psychology and psychiatry .” New York, NY: Sussex Publishers, LLC. 2009. Web.

McDonnell, Dean. “ How does the internet affect the way we mentally behave? ” Hubpages Inc. (n.d.) Web.

• Multi-Occupancy Buildings: Community Safety
• Subculture Theories: Response to the Dominant Culture
• The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth
• Canadian Policy on Structured Intervention Units
• Program to Help Meth Addicts
• Differences in Wages and Benefits at the Workplace
• Technology and Communication Connection: Benefits and Shortcomings
• Racial and Ethnic Inequality
• Status, role, primary groups, and secondary groups in social interactions between different racial and ethnic groups
• How PTSD Affects Veteran Soldiers' Families
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, May 21). Negative Impact of Internet on Society Essay. https://ivypanda.com/essays/negative-effects-of-the-internet/

"Negative Impact of Internet on Society Essay." IvyPanda , 21 May 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/negative-effects-of-the-internet/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Negative Impact of Internet on Society Essay'. 21 May.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Negative Impact of Internet on Society Essay." May 21, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/negative-effects-of-the-internet/.

1. IvyPanda . "Negative Impact of Internet on Society Essay." May 21, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/negative-effects-of-the-internet/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Negative Impact of Internet on Society Essay." May 21, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/negative-effects-of-the-internet/.

We’re fighting to restore access to 500,000+ books in court this week. Join us!

Internet Archive Audio

• This Just In
• Grateful Dead
• Old Time Radio
• 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
• Audio Books & Poetry
• Computers, Technology and Science
• Music, Arts & Culture
• News & Public Affairs
• Spirituality & Religion
• Radio News Archive

• Flickr Commons
• Occupy Wall Street Flickr
• NASA Images
• Solar System Collection
• Ames Research Center

• All Software
• Old School Emulation
• MS-DOS Games
• Historical Software
• Classic PC Games
• Software Library
• Kodi Archive and Support File
• Vintage Software
• CD-ROM Software
• CD-ROM Software Library
• Software Sites
• Tucows Software Library
• Shareware CD-ROMs
• Software Capsules Compilation
• CD-ROM Images
• ZX Spectrum
• DOOM Level CD

• Smithsonian Libraries
• FEDLINK (US)
• Lincoln Collection
• American Libraries
• Canadian Libraries
• Universal Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Children's Library
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Books by Language
• Additional Collections

• Prelinger Archives
• Democracy Now!
• Occupy Wall Street
• TV NSA Clip Library
• Animation & Cartoons
• Arts & Music
• Computers & Technology
• Cultural & Academic Films
• Ephemeral Films
• Sports Videos
• Videogame Videos
• Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

• Wayback Machine (iOS)
• Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

• Explore the Collections
• Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

• Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

A Thesis Of Impact Of Smartphone Usage On Sleep Quality

Bookreader item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

• Graphic Violence
• Explicit Sexual Content
• Hate Speech
• Misinformation/Disinformation
• Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
• Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

Download options, in collections.

Uploaded by Raisul Rafi on July 10, 2024

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

EQS Human Body Communication and Powering: From Theory to Applications for IoB

Reason: Some of the research work has not yet been published.

until file(s) become available

Advanced Electro-Quasistatic Human Body Communication and Powering: From Theory to Application for Internet of Bodies

Decades of semiconductor technology scaling and breakthroughs in communication technology have miniaturized computing, embedding it everywhere, enabling the development of smart things connected to the internet, forming the Internet of Things. Further miniaturization of devices has led to an exponential increase in the number of devices in and around the body in the last decade, forming a subset of IoT which is increasingly becoming popular as the Internet of Bodies (IoB). The gradual shift from the current form of human-electronics coexistence to human-electronics cooperation, is the vision of Internet of Bodies (IoB). This vision of a connected future with devices in and around our body talking to each other to assist their day-to-day functions demands energy efficient means of communication. Electro-Quasistatic Human Body Communication (EQS-HBC) has been proposed as an exciting alternative to traditional Radio Frequency based methodologies for communicating data around the body. In this dissertation, we expand the boundaries of wearable and implantable IoB nodes using Electro-Quasistatic Human Body Communication and Powering by developing advanced channel models and demonstrating novel applications.

Leveraging the advanced channel models developed for wearable EQS-HBC, we demonstrate wearable applications like ToSCom which extend the use cases of touchscreens to beyond touch detection and location to enable high-speed communication strictly through touch. We further demonstrate an application of EQS Resonant Human Body Powering to demonstrate Step-to-Charge, allowing mW-scale wireless power transfer to wearable devices. With increasing connected implanted healthcare devices becoming a part of the IoB space, we benchmark RF-based technologies for In-Body to Out-of-Body (IBOB) communication using novel in-vivo experiments. We then explore EQS-HBC in the realm of IBOB communication using advanced channel modeling, revealing its potential for low-power and physically secure data transfer from implantable devices to wearable nodes on the body, demonstrating its potential in extending the battery life span of implantable nodes. Finally, an overview of the potential of IoB devices is analyzed with the use of EQS-HBC where we propose a human-inspired distributed network of IoB nodes which brings us a step closer to the potential for perpetually operable devices in and around the body.

Degree Type

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Electrical and Computer Engineering

Campus location

• West Lafayette

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Additional committee member 2, additional committee member 3, additional committee member 4, usage metrics.

• Electrostatics and electrodynamics
• Electrical circuits and systems
• Biomedical engineering not elsewhere classified
• Electronic sensors