July 2017 Vol.5 No.7

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Najafi H

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Original Research Article

A Study on Damages of Internet and Social Networks on Students' Mental Health

Hossein Najafi

Assistant Professor, Department of educational sciences, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Emails: hossien_najafi@pnu.ac.ir

Accepted July 13, 2017

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the damages induced by internet and social networks on mental health of students of the Payam-Noor University of Khalkhal. The study was conducted through descriptive correlation field study using a questionnaire. Statistical society of the study included all students of Payam-Noor University at Khalkhal in the school year 2015- 16 from among which 235 students were selected via stratified random sampling as the study sample. The data for the study were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire compiled by Poor-Gholami et.al. (2010). Reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Chronbach’s alpha to be 0.93. The data collected were then analyzed via single sample independent t test of Pearson correlation coefficient. Results from Pearson correlation coefficient approved of the positive and significant relationship between mental health and use of internet and social networks in α<0.01 level. Independent t statistical tests revealed that there is a significant relationship between parameters under study including means of variables of mental damages, social control, violence and lack of concentration from the point of view of gender in the subjects under investigation. However, the study failed to find a significant difference in parameters like aggression, lying and sleep disorders. Besides, single sample T test demonstrated that among all parameters of the study, there is a significant relationship between indices of aggression, sleep disorder, lying, and violence with a scale score of 3; therefore, indices of aggression sleep disorder, lying and violence had the highest means in students. Thus, it could be concluded that high levels of internet and social network use could affect mental health in students.

Keywords: Internet, Mental damages, Mental health, Social networks, Students