TITLE:
Internet Addiction in Malaysia Causes and Effects
AUTHORS:
Ashish Kapahi, Choo Siow Ling, Sureswaran Ramadass, Nibras Abdullah
KEYWORDS:
Internet Use; Internet Addiction; Addictive Behavior; Surfing Addiction; Malaysian; Youth
JOURNAL NAME:
iBusiness,
Vol.5 No.2,
June
27,
2013
ABSTRACT: The Internet started as a divine gift
to the human society, it was meant to enlighten the human society by transferring
knowledge, making available all the information needed for human well being,
growth and prosperity. But as the Internet grew, it created its own set of
problems—one of the key ones being Internet Addiction.
According to Dr. Jerald J. Block, from the Center for Internet Addiction,
“Internet addiction” affects as many as one in eight Americans. Block also
defined Internet addiction as a compulsive activity involving excessive use,
withdrawal and negative repercussions including social isolation, lying, low
achievement and fatigue. As the Internet grows in Malaysia, Internet addiction
is surfacing as a key problem, particularly amongst the younger generation
here. This research outlines a method to examine the level of Internet addiction amongst
Malaysian youth. The purpose of our study is to identify the use of Internet
among Malaysian youth and the relation of excessive use to the addictive level.
We have devised an online survey to study the Internet use among the youth; the
findings of this study indicate that the youth are indeed susceptible to Internet addiction.