The Relationship between Internet Addiction and Lifestyle among Nursing and Midwifery Students

Background and Objectives: Internet addiction is an emerging problem that can affect social aspects of one’s life in negative ways. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between internet addiction and students’ lifestyle. Material and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional analytic study. Research population consisted of all university students of the faculty of nursing and midwifery of Iran University of Medical Sciences which was carried out in 2017. Data collecting tools used in the present research were Young's Internet Addiction questionnaire and Lifestyle Questionnaire. Results: The current study suggested that 206 (68.6%) of the participants had no addiction, 86 (28.8%) were susceptible to addiction, and 8 (2.6%) were addicted to the internet. Also, internet addiction was related to the aspects of lifestyle including mental health, spiritual health and avoidance of drugs and narcotics. Conclusion: There is a relationship between internet addiction and aspects of lifestyle. The students had low performance in fitness, weight control and nutrition, and environmental health, but no relationship was founded between the total score of lifestyle and internet addiction which could be due to differences among groups. We suggest educational programs to promote healthy lifestyle among nursing, midwifery and healthcare management students including expanding community sports culture, morning exercise, and nutrition improvement consisting of fruits and reduced consumption of saturated fat. Further studies are recommended to be conducted among the students of the aforementioned disciplines.