Internet addiction among Iranian medical students: a systematic review

Today, Internet addiction is considered one of the most important challenges of the young generation worldwide, such that determining its intensity and magnitude has become recognized as an important prerequisite for better management of this phenomenon. This study has been conducted with the aim of investigating the prevalence of Internet addiction among Iranian students. In this meta-analysis and systematic review study, national and international databanks were searched with the keywords of "Internet addiction", "students", and "Iran". In the final stage, 30 studies which had been conducted on 9161 students were introduced into the meta-analysis. The results suggested that the total prevalence of Internet addiction at moderate level is 25.32% and at severe level is 4.67%. Considering this high prevalence especially at the moderate level, it is suggested that screening tests are conducted nationally in a more purposeful way, and presentation of the necessary education for preventing and reducing Internet addiction seems to be essential.