Student Teachers Socio-Demographic Variables, Internet Addiction and their Loneliness in the Digital Age

This study investigated student teachers’ demographic variables and their internet addiction as possible predictors of their loneliness, given that the youth are increasingly becoming lonely resulting in mental health problems. The sample size comprised 600 (mean age = 19.69, SD = 3.17) student teachers. Findings showed that male undergraduate students had a non-significant higher mean score in loneliness than their female counterparts; while significant differences occurred as a result of gender in students’ internet addiction. Students whose primary residence was in the urban area had a non-significant higher mean score in loneliness than students from rural areas; while primary residence accounted for significant differences in mean scores in internet addiction. Regression analysis revealed that age, gender, primary place of residence, number of social media sites used and internet addiction jointly contributed 10.3% to explain the variances in response and the corresponding F (5, 567) = 13.051, was statistically significant (p<.05). However, only internet addiction showed a significant individual contribution in accounting for the variances in student teachers’ loneliness. Discussion was based on the findings, leading to the conclusion that factors associated with loneliness may be linked to those that impede the respondents’ interpersonal relationships. This study has implications for the university education given that ensuring student teachers’ good mental health will lead to the training of students who can self-regulate their emotions and interact effectively with others.