Determination of Digital Addiction and Digital Detox Awareness in Nursing Students

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to determine the level of digital addiction, associated factors, and digital detox awareness of nursing students. Methods: The study population of the descriptive-correlational type research consisted of students studying in the nursing department of a state university. The study data were collected online, between April 28th and May 20th, 2021. "Personal Information Form" and "Digital Addiction Scale" were used for data collection. Research data were evaluated by numbers, percentiles, multiple regression, and logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the students, 64.5% was female, 27.5% was sophomore, and 72% was active social media users. Students' Internet usage time was 4.4±2.3 hours/day and social media usage time was 2.1±1.5 hours/day. It was found that 50.7% of the students did not know the concept of digital detox, and after this concept was explained, 50.9% did not want to perform digital detox in the next 6 months. The digital dependence of the students was determined as intermediate level (2.6±1.0). A maternal education level of secondary school and below, high income level, and poor academic achievement were found to be the predictors of digital addiction score, and not being a senior student, a paternal education level of high school and below, and not being aware of the concept of digital detox were found to be the risk factors for not being ready for a digital detox. Conclusion: Nursing students were found to have a moderate level of addiction according to their digital addiction score. The most remarkable finding for the concept of digital detox is that about half of students do not aware of this concept. Therefore, it seems that their awareness of an important measure of self-control in combating addiction is low.