Abstract

Past research has studied peoples’ addiction to the radio and television. Today some media scholars suggest that one can become addicted to or dependent on the Internet. The present study compares Internet use among college students and full-time employees to determine differences between those who are dependent and non-dependent Internet users, their motivations for Web sites visited and the effect of dependency on work productivity. The present study discovered that dependent Internet users are more likely to report that Internet use negatively affected their work productivity at both school and work and also reported higher levels of motivation for going online than non-dependents. No significant difference was found between students and full-time employees and their reported levels of Internet dependency. Keywords: Addiction, Internet, Dependency, Motivations, Productivity

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Internet addiction--Economic aspects; Labor productivity; Psychology, Industrial

Publication Date

6-1-2008

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

Department of Communication (CLA)

Advisor

Pugliese, Rudy

Advisor/Committee Member

Barry, Brian

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: RC569.5.I54 H45 2008

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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