Gender Difference in Internet Use and Internet Problems among Quebec High School Students

Objectives: There are presently no data available concerning Internet addiction (IA) problems among adolescents in Canada and the province of Quebec. The goal of this study is thus to document and compare the influence of gender on Internet use and addiction. Method: The study data were collected from a larger research project on gambling among adolescents. Activities conducted online (applications used and time spent) as well as answers to the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) were collected from 3938 adolescents from grades 9 to 11. The two most often employed cut-off points for the IAT in the literature were documented: (40-69 and 70+) and (50+). Results: Boys spent significantly more time on the Internet than did girls. A greater proportion of the girls made intense use of social networks, whereas a greater proportion of the boys made intense use of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, online games, and adult sites. The proportion of adolescents with a potential IA problem varied according to the cut-off employed. When the cut-off was set at 70+, 1.3% of the adolescents were considered to have an IA, while 41.7% were seen to be at risk. At a 50+ cut-off, 18% of the adolescents were considered to have a problem. There was no significant difference between the genders concerning the proportion of adolescents considered to be at risk or presenting IA problems. Finally, analysis of the percentile ranks would seem to show that a cut-off of 50+ better describes the category of young people at risk. Conclusions: The results of this study make it possible to document Internet use and IA in a large number of Quebec adolescents. Objectifs: Il n'y a presentement pas de donnees disponibles au sujet des problemes de dependance a Internet (DI) chez les adolescents du Canada et de la province de Quebec. Cette etude visait donc a documenter et a comparer l'influence du sexe sur l'utilisation d'Internet et la dependance a Internet. Method: Les donnees de l'etude provenaient d'un vaste projet de recherche sur le jeu de hasard chez les adolescents. Les activites menees en ligne (les applications utilisees et le temps consacre) ainsi que les reponses a un test de dependance a Internet (IAT) ont ete obtenues de 3 938 adolescents, de la 9(e) a la 11(e) annee. Les 2 seuils d'inclusion les plus souvent employes pour l'IAT dans la litterature ont ete documentes (40-69 et 70+) et (50+). Resultats: Les garcons passaient significativement plus de temps que les filles sur Internet. Une plus grande proportion des filles faisait un usage intense des reseaux sociaux, tandis qu'une plus grande proportion des garcons faisait un usage intense des jeux de role en ligne massivement multijoueur (MMORPG), d'autres jeux en ligne et de sites pour adultes. La proportion des adolescents presentant un probleme de DI potentiel variait selon le seuil d'inclusion employe. Quand le seuil d'inclusion etait fixe a 70+, 1,3% des adolescents etaient consideres comme ayant une DI, alors que 41,7% etaient juges a risque. Au seuil d'inclusion de 50+, 18% des adolescents etaient consideres comme ayant un probleme. Il n'y avait pas de differences significatives entre les sexes a l'egard de la proportion des adolescents estimes etre a risque ou presenter des problemes de DI. Enfin, l'analyse des rangs-centiles semble indiquer qu'un seuil d'inclusion de 50+ decrit mieux la categorie des jeunes a risque. Conclusions: Les resultats de cette etude documentent l'utilisation d'Internet et la DI chez un grand nombre d'adolescents quebecois.