INTERNET ADDICTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: ROLE OF GENDER AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE EKITI

Abstract

This study investigates internet addiction and psychological well-being: role of gender among undergraduates of Federal University Oye Ekiti. The study was guided by two research questions and two research hypotheses. The study employed a descriptive survey design and a multistage sampling technique to select 600 undergraduates. The instrument that was adopted for the study was a questionnaire titled “Internet Addiction and Psychological Well-being of University Undergraduates”. The data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, percentages, t-test, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The findings showed that undergraduates' psychological well-being was high (Grand mean = 2.51), while internet addiction was also high (Grand mean = 2.94). Also, the results showed that internet addiction is significantly related to psychological well-being among undergraduates (r (600) = -0.569 and p = 0.001). Moreover, the results showed that gender differences in internet addiction among Federal University Oye Ekiti undergraduates are not significant (t(598) = 1.86, p = 0.064). The study concluded that there is no significant gender difference in internet addiction and a negative correlation between internet addiction and psychological well-being among undergraduates of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.