A Study of the Relationship between Internet Dependence and Social Skills of Students of Medical Sciences

Introduction- Internet dependence is a topic of interest that has been discussed as a behavior-based addiction in recent years and has become a growing issue in the information technology era. This addiction has caused many problems for college students. In this regard, the current study aimed to investigate the relationship between Internet addiction and social skills of students of Medical Sciences. Methods- This is a descriptive-correlational study. The sample included 354 medical students who were selected through applying stratified random sampling method and were tested using two questionnaires of Internet Addiction and Social Skills. Data were analyzed applying the Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis. Results- The findings indicated that there were significant positive relationships between Internet dependence and social skills. Internet dependence has a reversed relation with initiation and termination, assertiveness, social reinforcement, empathy, and cooperation. Increasing Internet dependence, these skills weakened. However, no significant correlation was found between Internet dependence and orientation skills. Moreover, the results of the regression analysis showed that these five variables predicted about 66% of the criterion variable (internet dependence). Conclusion- Since Internet addiction can falter students’ social skills and has strong negative effects on interpersonal communication and social interaction, it is essential to make efforts to give students’ use of the Internet a specific direction to avoid its probable adverse effects.