A Study of Internet Addiction among Students of the Four-Year ITEP and B.El. Ed. Programs

The present study compared the levels of internet addiction among students pursuing the Integrated Teacher EducationProgramme (ITEP) and Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) courses. The objective of this study was to determinewhether there were significant differences in the tendency toward excessive internet use among students pursuing bothteacher training courses. A descriptive survey method was used in this study. The study population included students fromcolleges and universities in Jhansi city offering ITEP and B.El.Ed. courses. A total of 100 students were selected as a sampleusing a simple random sampling method: 50 were pursuing B.El.Ed. and 50 were pursuing ITEP. Data on the research variable“Internet Addiction” were collected using a standardized test developed by Gulati, Kurisunkal, and Bakliwal. Mean, standarddeviation, and t-test were used for statistical analysis of the data. Based on the research findings, there was no statisticallysignificant difference in the level of internet addiction among students in ITEP and B.El.Ed. courses. The trend in internet usewas found to be almost identical across students in both groups. Possible reasons for this could be the fact that both coursesare conducted in urban environments, equal availability of internet, and the increasing reliance on the internet for academicand personal needs. This study could be useful in teacher training programs to help teachers understand students’ digitalbehavior and provide guidance on balanced internet use.