Washington: Young adults who are heavy users of the Internet may also exhibit signs of addiction, scientists, including Indian-origin researchers, have found.

Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology, Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Institute of Brain Sciences compared Internet usage with measures of addiction.

The research, presented on December 18 at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Advanced Networks and Telecommunications Systems in Chennai, India, tracked the Internet usage of 69 college students over two months.

It revealed a correlation between certain types of Internet usage and addictive behaviours.

"The findings provide significant new insights into the association between Internet use and addictive behaviour," said Dr Sriram Chellappan, an assistant professor of computer science at Missouri S&T and the lead researcher of the study.

At the beginning of the study, the 69 students completed a 20-question survey called the Internet-Related Problem Scale (IRPS). The IRPS measures the level of problem a person is having due to Internet usage, on a scale of 0 to 200.

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