Profiles of Internet Use among College Students during COVID-19

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic - Technology, Media & Child Development

Abstract

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to all students. In universities and colleges, many classes and school events are conducted online. Opportunities for engagement in in-person events have been limited. Under such circumstances, there is an increased need for students to spend more time on internet than usual for academic, social, or entertainment purposes. How do students spend time on internet for these various purposes? How do the patterns of internet use relate to mental health and psychosocial development? Are there any patterns have a particular strong association with internet dependence? These are important questions as many concerns regarding the impact of elevated internet use on the younger generation have been raised. This study aims to identify the internet use patterns among a sample of university students and examine how these patterns are linked to psychosocial characteristics.

Method
Self-reported data used in this study was collected from 564 undergraduate students from a midwestern university during the first month of the 2020 Fall semester. Internet use for (1) study, (2) social connection, and (3) entertainment were measured using 18 items adapted or modified from Internet Usage Types instrument (Van Deursen, 2018). Internet dependence, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, grit, and perceived support from friends were assessed by Internet Addiction Scale (Young, 1998), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977), Self-Esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965), Short Grit Scale (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009), and a sub-scale of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet & Farley, 1988), respectively.

Results
The reliability of all scales were supported (Cronbach alphas: 0.62 – 0.83). Latent class analysis on internet use for (1) study, (2) social connection and (3) entertainment suggested the four-class solution as optimal. Each class were labelled according to its characteristics: Study High, Study and Social Connection High, All Low, and All High groups. Preliminary analyses also found that the Study High and Study and Social Connection High groups had significantly higher self-esteem and grit but lower levels of internet dependence tendency and depressive symptoms than the All High group. The All Low group has significantly lower perceived support from friends than the Study and Social Connect and the All High groups.

Conclusion
Distinct latent class groups in internet use were found in college students. Significant differences in concurrent psychosocial characteristics among the groups were found. Follow-up studies which aim to examine the longitudinal relationship among internet use patterns and psychosocial development of the students are warranted.

Authors

• Angela Chow, Indiana University - Bloomington
  Presenting Author

• Charlotte Agger, Indiana University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hsien-Chang Lin, Indiana University-Bloomington
  Non-Presenting Author