Prevalence of cyber addiction among youngsters in Kerala Bayana Beevi O.M.S1, Menon Sukanya B.2 1Research Scholar, Department of Psychology, Prajyoti Niketan College, Pudukad, Kerala, Email: bayana@prajyotiniketan.edu.in Ph. 9995416312 2Asst. Professor, Department of Psychology, Prajyoti Niketan College, Pudukad, Email: sukanyabmenon@gmail.com Online Published on 22 June, 2023. Abstract The Internet is a widely used tool known to foster addictive behavior, and Internet addiction threatens to develop into a major public health issue in the near future in a rapidly developing country like India. Kerala has become the first state in India to declare Internet access a basic human right. This study intends to estimate the prevalence and evaluate gender differences for Internet addiction among college students in the state of Kerala. The sample consisted of 675 youngsters, in the age range of 18 - 24 years. The Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998) was used to assess cyber addiction. Frequency analysis was utilized for analyzing the results. The result of the study shows a 2% prevalence of Internet addiction among Kerala Youngsters, more commonly men. The need of the hour is to create awareness among the public, plan public health policies with regard to this behavioral addiction. Top Keywords Cyber addiction, Prevalence, Gaming, Social Media, Youngsters, Online shopping. Top |