INTERNET ADDICTION, SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, CYBER VICTIMIZATION AND SELF-ESTEEM AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

The study was carried out to assess the relationship between internet addiction, self-objectification, cyber victimization and self-esteem among university students. A purposive sample of 300 students, from private and public universities (age range 18-25 years) was collected through standardized questionnaire which included Internet Addiction Test, Surveillance subscale of Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, Online Victimization Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale along with demographic information. Pearson correlation, independent sample t-test, simple linear regression and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze data using IBM SPSS 26.0. Results indicated significant positive relationship among internet addiction, self-objectification and cyber victimization and significant inverse relationship of self-esteem with internet addiction, self-objectification and cyber victimization. Gender differences showed that boys had higher scores on cyber victimization and internet addiction than girls. Cyber victimization, especially vicarious online racial discrimination was higher in urban as compared to rural areas. Self-esteem was significantly higher in public as compared to private universities. Findings indicated that internet addiction is a significant predictor of cyber victimization, self-objectification and self-esteem. Cyber victimization is significantly higher in humanities as compared to social sciences, natural sciences, mathematical and physical sciences and medical sciences. This study has wide implications in the area of cyber psychology as it highlights the need for a digital literacy program to educate students about the potential risks of excessive internet usage. It also stresses upon the need for gender-specific intervention, considering the exacerbating rate of internet addiction and cyber victimization among males.