OPEN ACCESS
PEER-REVIEWED
Comparative Study
| Published: June 25, 2018
Mental Health and Emotional Intelligence of Internet Users and Non-Users
Department of Psychology, Yashwantrao Chavan Mahavidyalaya, Pachwad Google Scholar More about the auther
Counsellor & Soft Skills Trainer Google Scholar More about the auther
DIP: 18.01.243/20180602
DOI: 10.25215/0602.243
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Since its introduction, internet has changed the way humans are relating with their environment. Few are using internet as a leisure time activity (for developing and maintaining social connections, shopping, entertainments, etc.) and also getting benefitted with its use. Nowadays, people striving for constructing, developing and enhancing their ‘Digital Identity’ which increased their dependences on internet. Thus, it become the need of time to study the effects of internet use on the mental health and emotional intelligence of its users. Method: The aim of this study was to identify and explain differences, if any, among internet users and non-users on (i) mental health parameters such as Anxiety, Deression and Stress; and (ii) emotional intelligences components; namely, intra-personal awareness, inter-personal awareness, intra-personal management and inter-personal management. The study was carried on 102 undergraduate students selected through purposive sampling method using three standardized psychological tools – (a) Internet Addiction Test by Young, (b) Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and (c) Emotional Intelligence Scale by Mangal and Mangal. Results & Discussion: The results revealed that internet users differ from non-internet users on three mental health variables – Depression, Anxiety and Stress – where the mean score of internet users was lower than mean score on non-users. Similarly, differences among the internet users and nonunsers was also noted in terms of inter-personal management. Whereas no differences was found on emotional intelligence measures of intra-personal awareness, inter-personal awareness, and intra-personal management. Conclusions: Healthy internet use not only improves the mental health by reducing the anxiety, depression and stress but also promote the inter-personal management skills.
Keywords
Internet use, Mental Health, Emotional Intelligence, Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Undergraduate students
This is an Open Access Research distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
2018 © Shaikh E A & Shaikh N A
Received: March 25, 2018; Revision Received: May 15, 2018; Accepted: June 25, 2018
Article Overview
ISSN 2348-5396
ISSN 2349-3429
18.01.243/20180602
10.25215/0602.243
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Published in Volume 06, Issue 5, April-June, 2018