An Exploratory Study about the Use and Patterns of Internet Use among Adolescents in a High School

In the recent decade, there has been a noted transformation in the use of the internet across the globe in all age-groups. With the advent of digitalization, there has been a rapid flux in internet usage patterns and problems of internet addiction among teenagers and young people due to insufficient personal and social maturity, novelty seeking, and a noncritical attitude toward self and others. This study aimed to understand the patterns and prevalence of internet use and factors leading to internet use among adolescents in an urban city in Northeast India. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 480 students from 9th to 12th grades from a private English medium school using a purposive sampling method. The study utilized semistructured questionnaires to collect the data. The majority of the respondents were male (67.3%) and belonged to the age-group of 15-16 years (60.4%). More than two-thirds of the respondents (73.5%) had used the internet for >2 years, and daily usage was the most common (41.9%). The most frequently used online applications were search engines (49%) and social networking (41%). Findings indicate both positive and negative factors leading to increased use of the internet. A significant number used it to learn new things, develop new interests, and update their knowledge, while passing time without any constructive purpose, coping with stress, and becoming socially isolated were negative consequences. Online gaming has been a common factor in internet use, which could become a behavioral addiction if not checked during adolescence.