TY - JOUR
T1 - The Earlier The Better? Tao-Yaun county junior high school students' first use of the internet and internet addiction
AU - Chang, Yao-Chung (Lennon)
AU - Chia-Chiao, Ou
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - In 2007 and 2008, Hou and Jou collected data on Internet usage by 2,864
Tao-Yuan County (Taiwan) junior high school students. This paper reanalyses their
data and finds that the earlier that students first use the Internet, the greater the
possibility that they will become Internet addicted. Even when the variables that
might be highly correlated with Internet addiction- such as sex, academic scores,
family social economic statues, influence of peers- are controlled, the variable of
`age of first use'of the Internet remains highly correlated with Internet addiction.
Nonetheless, the data also show that if a student's first use of the Internet occurs
after grade 5 on average, there will be negative consequences for the student. That is,
whether first use of the Internet was at a young age or later in adolescence there
were negative consequences in the sample of students analysed. This paper suggests
that parents should not force their children to use the Internet at a young age out of a
fear that their children might fall behind other students. On the other hand, it is also
not good to postpone deliberately a child's first use of the Internet. The right time for
a child to use the Internet is after he/she has learnt about the Internet at school, that
is, in a formal educational environment.
AB - In 2007 and 2008, Hou and Jou collected data on Internet usage by 2,864
Tao-Yuan County (Taiwan) junior high school students. This paper reanalyses their
data and finds that the earlier that students first use the Internet, the greater the
possibility that they will become Internet addicted. Even when the variables that
might be highly correlated with Internet addiction- such as sex, academic scores,
family social economic statues, influence of peers- are controlled, the variable of
`age of first use'of the Internet remains highly correlated with Internet addiction.
Nonetheless, the data also show that if a student's first use of the Internet occurs
after grade 5 on average, there will be negative consequences for the student. That is,
whether first use of the Internet was at a young age or later in adolescence there
were negative consequences in the sample of students analysed. This paper suggests
that parents should not force their children to use the Internet at a young age out of a
fear that their children might fall behind other students. On the other hand, it is also
not good to postpone deliberately a child's first use of the Internet. The right time for
a child to use the Internet is after he/she has learnt about the Internet at school, that
is, in a formal educational environment.
M3 - Article
VL - 14
SP - 49
EP - 78
JO - Crime and Criminal Justice International
JF - Crime and Criminal Justice International
IS - March
ER -