DETERMINATION OF THE INTERNET ADDICTION AMONG STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF SPORTS SCIENCES AND THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND ITS ASSOCIATION TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Background
The aim of this study was to determine the Internet addiction level of university students and to investigate if there is an association between the Internet addiction and physical activity (PA).

Material and methods
A total of 1419 participants studying at the Faculty of Sports Sciences (n=609) and the Faculty of Health Sciences (n=810) volunteered in the study and filled in the Personal Information Form. Data for the Internet addiction and PA level was collected by using Young’s Internet Addiction Scale and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), respectively.

Results
According to the results of the study, the Internet addiction level of university students was mainly asymptomatic (90.3%), and only (9.7%) of all students showed limited symptoms. None of the students fell into the category of pathological Internet users in both faculties. The results revealed that 64.8% of the participants were found to be inactive, whereas only 35.2% of the students were physically active. According to the results, 92.3% of students who do high levels of PA were asymptomatic, and only 7.7% of them showed limited symptoms.

Conclusions
Although it is believed that young adults use the Internet very actively and are prone to addiction, the results of the study showed that the rate of the Internet addiction symptoms in students is quite low, and none of the students suffer pathological symptoms of using the Internet.