RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNET ADDICTION AND BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

This paper tried to put up the theoretical framework with review of various constructs on Internet addiction and personality. In this paper, 20 research articles have been reviewed on basis of given construct, namely internet addiction, personality and personality type of most of Internet addict students. With the help of current factual knowledge, it is proclaiming that Internet addiction affects various aspects of life of students; personality type can show Internet addiction level and type of personality is directly related to more consumption of Internet. There are 3 sections in this paper: Initial part is the introduction part which review about Internet addiction and personality. Middle part is related to review of literature findings on Internet addiction, gender differences in Internet addiction and personality. Last section deals with the discussion, future research recommendation and conclusion. Internet usage is so strongly integrated into behavior of every individual, specifically college going student, that symptoms of internet addiction interrupt their daily activities. Signs and symptoms are similar to those of addictive behaviors, leading to the classification of those cases as an addiction disorder. This paper reviews to investigate some aspects of the emerging literature on Internet addiction, which is an emerging area and DSM-5 given the name as “Internet Gaming Disorder” which is also a part of Internet addiction. There are reviews regarding the definition, Internet addiction symptoms, assessment of Internet addiction, negative effect of Internet addiction on college going students and some reviews addressing the personality types of mostly internet addict students. Many studies have been done in this regard using different human behavior. Some studies explored effect of excessive use of Internet mental health of students and others analyzed personality types of internet addicted students. Thus in this article, some of the latest studies are overviewed. Despite the exponential growth of use of Internet among college going students, there is surprisingly little empirical work investigating how it affects overall mental health, personal relations, academic performance as well as its association with different personality traits. Present study thus helps to understand basic trends towards understanding of user’s preferences and usage patterns and effect on their overall well-being as well as their mental and physical health. This review article also critically examines research conducted on personality attributes of those Internet users who have history of long working hours on Internet. Directions are offered for future research and empirical work. Keywords: Internet-Addiction, Personality, youth.