ArticleChild and adolescent psychiatry and mental health2018
Internet addiction detection rate among college students in the People's Republic of China: a meta-analysis.
Article in Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exploring the relationship between social media dependence and internet addiction among college students from a bibliometric perspective.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of active video games on mental health among college students: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of different interventions on internet addiction: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- The association between parent-child relationship and problematic internet use among English- and Chinese-language studies: A meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of internet addiction among college students in the Indian setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis.General psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- A Systematic Umbrella Review on the Epidemiology of Modifiable Health Influencing Factors and on Health Promoting Interventions Among University Students.Frontiers in public health · 2020Pooled it
- Problematic Internet Use as a Predictor of Eating Disorders in Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study.Nutrients · 2019Pooled it
- Behavioral and cognitive gains from digital game-based psychological intervention for at-risk Chinese university EFL learners with internet addiction.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- Impact of Short-Term Intensive-Type Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention on Internet Addiction among Chinese College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Mindfulness exercise and quality of life among nursing students: the mediating roles of self-control and internet addiction.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- The relationship between social support, e-Health literacy, sleep quality and Internet addiction disorder in college students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Internet addiction and appearance anxiety among university students in Shanghai: upward social comparison as a mediator and autonomous participation in physical activity as a moderator.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The association between perceived social support and internet addiction among Chinese civil aviation male flight students: chain mediating effects of positive coping strategies and basic psychological need satisfaction.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Risk level prediction for problematic internet use: A digital health perspective.Internet interventions · 2025Article
- Impact of daily activity allocation on problematic internet use among university students: A compositional perspective.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
- The Longitudinal Effect of Psychological Distress on Internet Addiction Symptoms Among Chinese College Students: Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic status and internet addiction: double-mediated moderation.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A Multi- Mediation Analysis on the Impact of Social Media and Internet Addiction on University and High School Students' Mental Health Through Social Capital and Mindfulness.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- From stress to screen: relationship between negative life events and short video addiction among college students: a chain-mediated effect of depression and experiential avoidance.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Negative life events and internet addiction among college students: role of physical exercise and prosocial behavior.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWith the development of economy and technology, the Internet is becoming more and more popular. Internet addiction has gradually become a serious issue in public health worldwide. The number of Internet users in China has reached 731 million, with an estimated 24 million adolescents determined as having Internet addiction. In this meta-analysis, we attempted to estimate the prevalence of Internet addiction among College Students in the People's Republic of China in order to improve the mental health level of college students and provide evidence for the prevention of Internet addiction.
methodsEligible articles about the prevalence of Internet addiction among college students in China published between 2006 and 2017 were retrieved from online Chinese periodicals, the full-text databases of Wan Fang, VIP, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, as well as PubMed. Stata 11.0 was used to perform the analyses.
resultsA total of 26 papers were included in the analyses. The overall sample size was 38,245, with 4573 diagnosed with Internet addiction. The pooled detection rate of Internet addiction was 11% (95% confidence interval [CI] 9-13%) among college students in China. The detection rate was higher in male students (16%) than female students (8%). The Internet addiction detection rate was 11% (95% CI 8-14%) in southern areas, 11% (95% CI 7-14%) in northern areas, 13% (95% CI 8-18%) in eastern areas and 9% (95% CI 8-11%) in the mid-western areas. According to different scales, the Internet addiction detection rate was 11% (95% CI 8-15%) using the Young scale and 9% (95% CI 6-11%) using the Chen scale respectively. Cumulative meta analysis showed that the detection rate had a slight upward trend and gradually stabilized in the last 3 years.
conclusionThe pooled Internet addiction detection rate of Chinese college students in out study was 11%, which is higher than in some other countries and strongly demonstrates a worrisome situation. Effective measures should be taken to prevent further Internet addiction and improve the current situation.
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