Levent DENİZ
Asst.
Prof., Ataturk Education Faculty, Department of Educational Science
ldeniz@marmara.edu.tr
Aylin TUTGUN
Lecturer (M.A),
Education Faculty, Department of Computer and Instructional Technologies
aylintutgun@maltepe.edu.tr
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to
examine the relationship between problematic Internet usage and loneliness
levels of prospective teachers. Two hundred twenty four prospective teachers
were recruited from one teacher-training faculty in İstanbul, Turkey .
Participants were asked to complete Problematic Internet Usage Scale and UCLA
Loneliness Scale. The results indicated that positive correlations were found
between problematic internet usage and loneliness levels of prospective teachers.
As it was understood from the results, the higher problematic internet usage
was correlated with higher level of loneliness. The results were discussed in
the scope of teacher training programs.
INTRODUCTION
Internet usage, with
the developments in technology, frequently appears in every field of life in Turkey , as in
the whole world, for several purposes. While the internet gets widespread
rapidly, it also becomes more accessible in many places such as houses,
offices, schools and internet cafes. Studies indicate that vast
majority of the students have the opportunity to easily access to computers and
the internet (Ceyhan, Ceyhan
& Gürcan, 2007; Deniz, 2001, 2007; Deniz & Coşkun, 2004). On the
other hand, a number of studies were conducted on failure of controlling
internet usage and the problems it caused and the studies show that concepts
such as internet addiction, cyber addiction, internet dependence, problematic
internet usage, pathological internet usage and excessive internet usage
emerged. Young (1996), preferred to use the term “internet addiction” and he
argued that internet addiction has similarities with alcohol addiction since it
leads to academic, social and occupational damages. According to Caplan (2005),
who considers problematic internet usage to be a multi-dimensional syndrome, people
who are addicted to the internet prefer to perform face to face communication
on the internet and they tend to show themselves off by getting into
interaction on the internet. It is seen that social isolation and loneliness
lead people to prefer social interaction via internet (Kraut et. al, 2002; Young, 2002). When
the demographic structure of internet users is examined, it is seen that the internet
usage is common among especially university students and it is used by these
people for various purposes. The tendency of university students to have close
relationships with people of the opposite sex makes the internet attractive for
them. According to Erikson (1998), the basic developmental assignment of the university
youth is to achieve having close relationships with their peers of the same or
the opposite sex. Social isolation is inevitable for the university students
who have poor social abilities. The internet is an appropriate platform for
these students to show themselves off. Problematic internet usage in university
years may lead to social and academic problems and loneliness/social isolation
and also problems in their work and family lives in the following years. It is
inevitable for these people to have problems especially in occupations such as
teaching, which requires social communication abilities. A teacher who has
occupational and social problems as a result of problematic internet usage is
not expected to convey healthy knowledge to his students and act as a good role
model for them. Therefore, this study aims at examining the relationship
between problematic internet usage and loneliness level of prospective teachers
in faculties of education.
METHOD
Participants
The sample
of the study consists of 224 prospective teachers who are the students of seven
different departments, including social studies and science departments, of
Boğaziçi University Faculty of Education, Istanbul ,
Turkey . 46,4
% (n=104) of the prospective teachers
are freshmen and 53,6% (n=120) are seniors. %67,9 (n=152) of the participants
are female and 32,1% (n=72) are male students.
Measurements
Data collection
tools used in the study are; Problematic Internet Use Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale.
Problematic Internet
Use Scale. Problematic Internet Use Scale is a measurement
tool used to determine the problematic internet usage by university students which
is developed by Ceyhan, Ceyhan and
Gürcan (2007). The scale consists of three factors: “negative consequences of
the internet”, “social benefit/social comfort” and “excessive usage”. The
studies to test reliability of the scale concluded that cronbach α internal
consistency coefficient was 0.95 for the scale, 0.94 for negative consequences
of the internet, 0.85 for social benefit/social comfort and 0.75 for excessive
usage. In this study, cronbach α internal consistency coefficient is 0.93 for
the scale, 0.91 for negative consequences of the internet, 0.85 for social
benefit/social comfort and 0.77 for
excessive usage.
The Problematic
Internet Usage Scale is a five-level Likert scale consisting of 33 items. The
items are scored between “Completely appropriate” (5 points) and “Is not
appropriate at all” (1 point). Getting a high score from the scale is
considered as a sign indicating that internet usage by the students is getting
more unhealthy, the internet effect their lives negatively and they may have
pathological tendencies like addiction.
UCLA Loneliness Scale. UCLA Loneliness Scale, which is developed by
Russel, Peplau and Cutrona (1980). in order to measure individuals’
general loneliness level, is a four-level Likert Scale consisting of 20 items; 10 items worded in a negative
direction and 10 items worded in a positive direction. In each item of the scale, a situation which denotes a feeling or
thought related to social relationships and the person is expected to tell how
often he experiences that situation. Getting a high score from the scale
indicates that the loneliness level is high. The scale was adapted to Turkish
by Demir (1989). During the adaptation studies, cronbach α internal consistency
coefficient of the scale was attained as .96. In this study, cronbach α
internal consistency coefficient of the scale was attained as .91.
RESULTS
Arithmetical averages and standard
deviations of the scores of prospective teachers in the Problematic Internet Usage
Scale and the UCLA Loneliness Scale are given in Table 1.
Table 1. Means and standard deviations of Problematic Internet Usage
Scale and the UCLA Loneliness Scale
Mean
|
||
Negative consequences of the
Internet
|
28,01
|
10,93
|
Social
benefit/social comfort
|
17,83
|
6,71
|
Excessive
usage
|
18,04
|
5,37
|
Problematic
Internet Usage
|
63,89
|
19,79
|
UCLA
Loneliness Scale
|
31,95
|
9,89
|
As it can be seen in Table 1, the
average of the scores of prospective teachers in the problematic internet usage
scale (=63,89) and negative consequences of
the internet (=28,01) and social benefit/social comfort (=17,83) sub-scales show that they have
moderate problematic internet usage. When the average score in excessive usage scale (=18,04) is examined, it is clear that excessive usage is a little below the
moderate level. The average of the scores of participants in the UCLA Loneliness
Scale indicates that their loneliness level is moderate (=31,95).
Table 2. Correlations between Problematic Internet Usage Scale and the
UCLA Loneliness Scale
Problematic Internet Usage Scale/sub scales
|
r
|
p
|
Negative consequences of the
Internet
|
.465
|
.000
|
Social
benefit/social comfort
|
.506
|
.000
|
Excessive
usage
|
.204
|
.002
|
Problematic
Internet Usage
|
.484
|
.000
|
When Table 2 is examined, according
to the correlation between each sub-scales and loneliness, it is seen that
there is a positive and meaningful relationship between loneliness and negative
consequences of the internet (r=.465, p<.01), social benefit/social comfort (r=.506, p<.01) excessive usage (r=.204, p<.01). When
the total scores achieved in the problematic internet usage scale and the UCLA loneliness
scales are compared, it is determined that there is a positive and meaningful
relationship between problematic internet usage and loneliness level. As a
result, we can say that problematic internet usage by prospective teachers
increases as loneliness level gets higher.
DISCUSSION
In this study, the relationship between
problematic internet usage and loneliness level of prospective teachers is
examined, taking the scores achieved in the problematic internet usage scale
and its sub-scales (negative consequences of the internet, social benefit/social comfort, excessive
usage) into consideration in accordance with the scores achieved in the UCLA
loneliness scale. According to the results, it is determined that there are
positive and meaningful relationships between loneliness and problematic
internet usage (r=0.484, p<0,01), negative consequences of the internet (r=.465,
p<.01); social benefit/social
comfort (r=.506, p<.01) and excessive
usage (r=.204, p<.01). This result indicates that as the loneliness
level gets higher, internet usage for social
benefit/social comfort and excessive internet usage increases. According
to Young (2002), problematic internet
users who allocate little time for real people prefer to spend their time alone
using a computer. The reason is that, as Caplan (2005) mentioned in his research,
people who have poor social interaction skills in real life prefer online
social interaction to face-to-face communication and they tend to show
themselves off getting into social interaction on the internet. According to Kraut et. al. (2002),
isolation and loneliness lead individuals to prefer social interaction on the
internet. On the other hand, in a study
conducted by Kubey, Lavin and Barrows (2002), a group of participant students were identified to be addicted to the
internet and according to the results of the study, it was concluded
that these students are academically disadvantaged because of internet usage
and they are “lonelier” compared to the other group. Another finding of the
research is that students who are addicted to the internet and mention that
they are academically disadvantaged prefer real time applications (MUDs and
IRC/chat programs) on the internet. According to the researchers, these interactive
applications form an important escape way for lonely people. We can say that
this conclusion also supports the research findings related to social benefit/social comfort and excessive
internet usage.
When the relationship between the total scores
achieved in the problematic internet usage scale and the UCLA loneliness scale
is examined, the presence of a positive and meaningful relationship between
problematic internet usage and loneliness level (r=0.484, p<0,01) is identified
and it is seen that problematic internet usage increases as the loneliness
level gets higher. In fact, this result supports several researches in the
literature on the relationship between problematic internet usage and
loneliness (Young, 1996; Kraut et. al, 2002; Young, 2002; Kubey, Lavin &
Barrows, 2002; Caplan, 2002, 2003).
On the other hand, it is mentioned in several
studies on lack of face-to-face communication skills that, lack of skills leads
to psycho-social problems such as depression, loneliness and social anxiety,
which is mentioned by Davis (2001) for problematic internet usage we
can say that, having occupational problems would be inevitable for prospective teachers, who should use their
face-to-face communication skills in and out of the classroom. A teacher
in this situation cannot be expected to effectively guide his/her students and
manage learning environment.
According to the research it is clear that the
tendency of prospective teachers to problematic
internet usage because of their loneliness is an indicator of possible problems
they may experience in the future. Therefore, studies can be conducted to
measure the level of problematic internet usage by prospective teachers periodically. Studies on how to control
problematic internet usage by prospective
teachers can also be conducted. In order to prevent excessive internet
usage by university students due to the lack of the ability to adapt to new
social environments and establishing new friendships, the academic staff can
support especially freshmen with group projects and cooperative study
techniques which provide them new opportunities to socialize. On the other hand,
qualitative and in depth studies can be conducted on the relationship between
problematic internet usage and personal and psychological characteristics.
REFERENCES
Caplan,
SE. (2002). Problematic Internet Use and Psychosocial Well-being: Development
of a Theory-based Cognitive-behavioral Measurement Instrument. Computer in Human Behavior, 18: 553–75.
Caplan,
SE. (2003). Preference for Online Social Interaction: A Theory of Problematic
Internet Use and Psychosocial Well-Being. Communication
Research, 30: 625–48.
Caplan,
SE. (2005). A Social Skill Account of Problematic Internet Use. Journal of Communication, 55(4): 721–36.
Ceyhan,
E, Ceyhan, A & Gürcan, A. (2007). Problemli İnternet Kullanımı Ölçeği’nin
Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışmaları [The Validity an Reliability of the
Problematic Internet Usage Scale]. Kuram
ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri Bildiri Kitabı [Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice],
7(1), 387– 416.
Davis,
RA. (2001). A Cognitive-Behavioral Model For Pathological Internet Use (PIU), Computers in Human Behavior, 17(2):
187–95.
Demir,
A. (1989). UCLA Yalnızlık Ölçeğinin Geçerlik ve Güvenirliği. Psikoloji Dergisi, 7(23): 14–28.
Deniz,
L. (2001). Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Öğrencilerinin Bilgisayar
Yaşantılarına Yönelik Bir İzleme Çalışması [A Follow-up Study of Computer Experiences of
Student School Councelors].
Marmara Üniversitesi Atatürk Eğitim Fakültesi
Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 13: 87–110.
Deniz,
L. (2007). Prospective Class Teachers’ Computer Experiences and Computer
Attitudes. International Journal of
Social Sciences, 2(2): 116-22.
Deniz,
L. & Coşkun, Y. (2004). Öğretmen Adaylarının İnternet Kullanımına Yönelik
Yaşantıları [Internet
Experiences of Student Teachers].
Marmara Üniversitesi Atatürk Eğitim
Fakültesi Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 20: 39–52.
Erikson,
E. (1998) Life Cycle Completed: Extended
Version. Newyork: WW Norton & Company.
Kraut,
R., Kiesler, S., Boneva, B., Cummings, J., Helgeson, V. & Crawford, A. (2002).
Internet Paradox Revisited. Journal of
Social Issues, 58: 49–74.
Kubey,
RW., Lavin, MJ. & Barrows, JR. Internet Use and Collegiate Acedemic
Performance Decrements: Early Findings. Journal
of Communication, 51: 366–82.
Russell,
D., Peplau, L.A. & Cutrona, C.E. (1980). The revised UCLA loneliness scale:
concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39:472–80.
Young,
KS. (1996). Internet Addiction: The Emergence of A New Clinical Disorder. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 1(3):
237–44.
Young,
KS. (2002). Psychology of Computer Use: XL. Addictive Use of The Internet: A
Case That Breaks The Stereotype. Psychological
Reports, 79: 899–902.
Cite
· Deniz,
L. & Tutgun, A. (2010). The Relationship Between Problematic Internet Usage
And Loneliness Level Of Prospective Teachers, Uluslar arası Eğitim
Teknolojileri Kongresi (IETC) 2010, Volume III, Page 1563, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, İstanbul.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder