Health Implications of Internet Addiction among In-School Adolescents in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The Internet has positive impacts on modern day society despite its link to societal concerns about pornography, sexual laxity, sleeping problem and occurrence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Its easy accessibility poses greater risks and dangers to adolescents as compared to other forms of media. The study is on health implication of Internet addiction among in-school adolescents in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. The study was carried out using descriptive survey research design. One thousand and eighty (1,080) respondents were selected as sample for the study using simple random sampling technique. Self-developed questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.74 was used as an instrument for data collection. Four hypotheses were raised and analysed using inferential statistics of Chi-square at 0.05 level of significance. All the four hypotheses were rejected. The result of the study shows that Internet addiction significantly influences occurrence of teenage pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted infection and sleep disorder. The study therefore recommended that the government, NGOs, educators and religious groups should intensify efforts to educate the youths and the adolescents on the positive use of Internet through workshops, symposia, conferences, and health talks.