SynthesisGeneral psychiatry2021
Prevalence of internet addiction among college students in the Indian setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in General psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nomophobia in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Pooled it
- Relationship between loneliness and internet addiction: a meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Internet Addiction and Its Associated Factors Among African High School and University Students: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Problematic Social Media Use and Depressive Outcomes among College Students in China: Observational and Experimental Findings.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Psychological determinants and coping mechanisms associated with internet addiction disorder among university students in Bhubaneswar, India.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Protocol for AI-based prediction of problematic digital technology use among Indian youth: a Centre for Advanced Research on Addictive Behaviours initiative.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- A Narrative Review of Digital Addiction and Health: A New Challenge for Modern Medicine.Cureus · 2025Review
- The impact of perceived social support on anxiety and depression: the chain mediating effect of internet addiction and insomnia.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Impaired Interference Control in Individuals With Internet Addiction: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials and Brain Oscillations.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Alexithymia and Internet Addiction: Mediating Role of Social Connectedness, Impulsivity, and Moderation by Depression.Europe's journal of psychology · 2025Article
- Centre for Advanced Research on Addictive Behaviors: a national framework for digital wellness and youth mental health targeting behavioral addictions in India.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The Prevalence and Correlates of Internet Addiction in India as Assessed by Young's Internet Addiction Test: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Indian journal of psychological medicine · 2024Review
- Internet addiction - A silent scourge of public health concern.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Unveiling the YouTube addiction: Understanding the spectrum of digital dependency.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Does psychoeducation module-based community intervention address Internet addiction among school-going adolescents? A quasi-experimental study from Mangalore, India.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Sleep Quality in Medical Students and its Association with Internet Usage- A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences · 2024Article
- The fear of smartphone notifications and calls among medical students: The phone ring phobia syndrome or telephobia.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- TikTok content as a source of health education regarding epicondylitis: a content analysis.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2024Article
- Internet addiction among MBBS students at a New Delhi medical college: Prevalence and determinants of a silent pandemic.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe internet is an integral part of everyone's life. College going adolescents are highly vulnerable to the misuse of the internet.
aimsTo estimate the pooled prevalence of internet addiction (IA) among college students in India.
methodsLiterature databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Google Scholar) were searched for studies assessing IA using the Young Internet Addiction Test (Y-IAT) among adolescents from India, published in the English language up to December 2020. We included studies from 2010 to 2020 as this is the marked era of momentum in wireless internet connectivity in India. The methodological quality of each study was scored, and data were extracted from the published reports. Pooled prevalence was estimated using the fixed-effects model. Publication bias was evaluated using Egger's test and visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots.
resultsFifty studies conducted in 19 states of India estimated the prevalence of IA and the overall prevalence of IA as 19.9% (95% CI: 19.3% to 20.5%) and 40.7% (95% CI: 38.7% to 42.8%) based on the Y-IAT cut-off scores of 50 and 40, respectively. The estimated prevalence of severe IA was significantly higher in the Y-IAT cut-off points of 70 than 80 (12.7% (95% CI: 11.2% to 14.3%) vs 4.6% (95% CI: 4.1% to 5.2%)). The sampling method and quality of included studies had a significant effect on the estimation of prevalence in which studies using non-probability sampling and low risk of bias (total quality score ≥7) reported lower prevalence. The overall quality of evidence was rated as 'moderate' based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria.
conclusionsOur nationally representative data suggest that about 20% to 40% of college students in India are at risk for IA. There is a need for further research in the reconsideration of Y-IAT cut-off points among Indian college students. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020219511.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.