The role of academic procrastination on Internet addiction among Thai university students: A cross-sectional study

Background: The internet has become an inevitable tool for information-seeking and
communication in today’s modern era. However, ironically it has driven humankind to become
more dependent, leading to addiction. Internet addiction has increased exponentially at all
levels of society, especially university students, impeding their physical, psychological, and
social well-being.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between academic procrastination
and internet addiction and determine the influence of academic procrastination on internet
addiction among Thai university students.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 470 participants selected through
multi-stage cluster random sampling from a university in eastern Thailand. The data collection
was conducted between 29 November 2022 and 27 January 2023. The data were gathered
using a demographic data form, an internet addiction test, and a procrastination assessment
scale for the students’ questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient,
and simple linear regression were employed for data analysis.
Results: The results revealed that academic procrastination (M = 49.68, SD = 12.61) and
internet addiction (M = 65.26, SD = 5.60) were at a moderate level. A positive correlation was
identified between academic procrastination and internet addiction (r = 0.33, p <0.01),
indicating a low relationship. Academic procrastination also had a significant predictive power
on internet addiction, accounting for 11.3% of the variance (R2 adjusted = 0.113, F (1, 468) =
59.583, p <0.001).
Conclusion: The findings indicated the significant role of academic procrastination on internet
addiction. Therefore, it is crucial that nurses should formulate interventions by considering this
factor and emphasize self-regulatory and time-management skills and practical ways to limit
internet dependence. Furthermore, the findings suggest that nurses could assess the
procrastination level among students, devise prevention strategies, and organize awareness
campaigns to instill information about rational internet use that aids in mitigating the risks and
preventing them from getting addicted.