Internet Addiction and Academic Stress among Students during Covid-19

Naila Firdous and Shah Alam Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh Covid-19 has been putting a severe impact on individual’s life and affecting individuals not only physically but mentally, emotionally, and financially as well. Where everyone is living in this devastating situation, students from all over the world have been facing problems and challenges to their education. They are forced to use the Internet for their online classes and to access information, and there is no alternative except the use of the Internet. But the use of the Internet has also had a negative impact as many students become addicted to it. At the same time, pandemic hampered educational activities, which led to cause stress among students. Studies have shown the impact of internet addiction on an individual’s behavior. The present study aims to see the relationship between internet addiction and academic stress among students during covid-19. The sample was drawn by using the convenient sampling method, which consisted of 81 (N=81) students, where 40 (n=40) boys and 41 (n=41) girls with the age range from 14-20 years. Two tools, such as the Academic Stress Scale, consisted of 40 items which were initially developed by Kim and later adopted by Rajendran and Kaliappan for the Indian Culture and Internet Addiction Scale consisted of 20 items created by Young were used. The research found an insignificant relationship between internet addiction and academic stress. Further, females were found to have higher academic stress than boys; however, no difference was found in internet addiction. To avoid internet addiction and academic stress among students, parents should spend quality time and if needed counselling and therapy should be given.. Keywords: Internet Addiction, Academic Stress, Student, Covid-19