Background: The internet is now an integral part of daily life, making it easy to communicate and to share information. However, spending too much online can lead to Internet addiction causing anxiety, functional impairment, and health issues like lack of sleep from extended hours spent chatting, gaming and social media use. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of internet addiction and to assess various factors associated with internet addiction among college students in Chennai. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 110 college going students in a selected college in North Chennai between August to November-2023 (3 months) through simple random sampling using validated pretested structured questionnaire by face-face interview consisting of Standard Young’s Internet Addiction test questionnaire (IAT). Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed in SPSS 23 version. p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: In our study among 110 participants, the mean total score for internet addiction was 49.86±13.38. Only 7.3% of participants showed no signs of internet addiction, while 37.3% had mild addiction, 54.5% had moderate addiction, and 0.9% had severe addiction. Significant associations were found between internet addiction and factors such as gender, mode of internet usage, internet expense and earning money for internet access. Conclusion: The study found high internet addiction prevalence, with significant associations between addiction levels and gender, internet usage mode, expense, and earning own money.

Background: The internet is now an integral part of daily life, making it easy to communicate and to share information. However, spending too much online can lead to Internet addiction causing anxiety, functional impairment, and health issues like lack of sleep from extended hours spent chatting, gaming and social media use. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of internet addiction and to assess various factors associated with internet addiction among college students in Chennai. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 110 college going students in a selected college in North Chennai between August to November-2023 (3 months) through simple random sampling using validated pretested structured questionnaire by face-face interview consisting of Standard Young’s Internet Addiction test questionnaire (IAT). Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed in SPSS 23 version. p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: In our study among 110 participants, the mean total score for internet addiction was 49.86±13.38. Only 7.3% of participants showed no signs of internet addiction, while 37.3% had mild addiction, 54.5% had moderate addiction, and 0.9% had severe addiction. Significant associations were found between internet addiction and factors such as gender, mode of internet usage, internet expense and earning money for internet access. Conclusion: The study found high internet addiction prevalence, with significant associations between addiction levels and gender, internet usage mode, expense, and earning own money.