Assessment of the relationship between internet addiction ans self-esteem among university students

The purpose of this current study is to determine if there is relationship between levels of internet addiction and self-esteem and some variables like gender, education level of a father and mother, number of siblings and place whom they live with.The study sample includes 200 volunteer participants from İstanbul, 100 males and 100 females University studens. Demographic variables of the participants were obtained by collecting 'Demographic Information Form' developed by the researcher. Internet Addiciton levels of the participants were measured by ' Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS)' and self-esteem levels of the participants were measured by 'Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)'. The result of study indicated that a positive correlation emerged between internet addiction and self-esteem. It was observed that as RSES test scores of university students increased, YIAS test scores increased as well. This study revealed the significant relationship between internet addiction and gender. According o this examination, male students scores were higher than female ones in the aspect of internet addiction. In addition, this study also revealed the significant relationship between self-esteem and gender. Higher RSES test score was observed in female students as compared to male ones. The findings obtained from this study were discussed in the light of relevant literature.