Impact of Cyber Relational Addiction on Undergraduates’ Interpersonal Relationship in Nigeria
Abstract
Abstract: The upsurge in the use of cyberspace in recent years has led to pathological use for some individuals especially in the area of cyber relational addiction. This study aimed to investigate the influence of cyber relational addiction on interpersonal relationships and how variables of age, religion, levels of study, and gender of respondents moderate the influence of cyber relational addiction on their interpersonal relationships. This study employed a descriptive survey research design and administered a self-designed questionnaire on 420 randomly selected undergraduates from seven faculties at the University of Ilorin. A research question was answered in this study, while the hypotheses were also tested at 0.05 levels of significance. The varying collected data were analyzed using t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical methods. Undergraduate students’ sources of information were mostly from the Internet than interacting with people, and they believed gaining more academically online than interacting with people. Meanwhile, the results were not varied based on the respondents’ age, levels of study, religion, and gender. It is necessary to develop a sound and wide range of activities that will reduce cyber relation addiction, which in turn promote psychological wellbeing among undergraduates. Interpersonal relationship skills training should be conducted for cyber-addicted adolescents to observe its impacts on cyber relational addiction.
Abstrak: Meningkatnya penggunaan ruang siber dalam beberapa tahun terakhir mengakibatkan tingginya penggunaan patologis ruang siber, terutama pada area kecanduan untuk berinteraksi melalui ruang siber. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menyelidiki dampak dari kecanduan untuk berhubungan melalui ruang siber terhadap hubungan interpersonal, serta bagaimana variable usia, agama, tingkat pendidikan, dan jenis kelamin memoderasi hubungan kecanduan ruang siber dan hubungan interpersonal. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain survei deskriptif dan kuesioner yang dirancang sendiri lalu disebarkan kepada 420 mahasiswa sarjana dari tujuh fakultas dari University of Ilorin, secara acak. Penelitian ini berfokus untuk menjawab sebuah rumusan masalah yang telah diuji pada 0.05 tingkat signifikansi. Data-data yang telah terkumpul diuji menggunakan beberapa uji statistik berupa Uji t dan Analisis of Variance (ANOVA). Hasil dari analisis data menunjukkan bahwa kebanyakan mahasiswa mencari informasi melalui interaksi pada ruang siber. Sedangkan hasil dari analisis pada variabel usia, tingkat pendidikan, agama, dan jenis kelamin menunjukkan hasil yang sama. Sehingga kita perlu mengembangkan berbagai kegiatan untuk mengurangi kecanduan berinteraksi menggunakan ruang siber, yang nantinya akan meningkatkan kondisi psikologis para mahasiswa. Selain itu, pelatihan keterampilan yang berhubungan dengan hubungan interpersonal harus juga diselenggarakan untuk mengetahui dampaknya pada para remaja dengan kecanduan untuk berinteraksi di ruang siber.
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