Trends of Internet Use and Its Psychosocial and Physical Impacts among Medical Students

In today's world, use of Internet has become indispensable. It has revolutionised the medical field. However, its adverse effects on health have been increasing rapidly.

The aims of the study were to find out the knowledge, practice and pattern of Internet use among the medical students and to study the adverse effects on the physical and psychosocial welfare of students due to overuse of Internet.

A cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 1000 medical students from different constituent colleges of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Punjab, 600 were undergraduates and 400 were postgraduates. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and data analysis was done using a chi-square test.

A significant relationship was demonstrated between year of study and the purpose of computer/Internet use and also between time spent on computer and adverse effects on health due to overuse of computer.

Besides the positive role of computer in increasing the medical knowledge around the world, its overuse also shows negative impact on body and mind if not used judiciously. Hence, students need to be guided for effective and efficient use of computer and Internet for betterment of society.