Sociodemographic characteristics of young people using internet cafés
Publication details
| Year: | 2019 |
| DOI: | 10.7197/223.vi.542983 |
| Issued: | 2019 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 41 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Start Page: | 335 |
| End Page: | 340 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Özsöy F.; Kulu M. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | Cumhuriyet Medical Journal |
| Publisher: | Cumhuriyet Medical Journal |
| Topics: | Internet usage, practices and engagement |
| Sample: | About 160 individuals were interviewed and informed about the study. Fifty-two of them were under 18 years of age and were excluded from the study, while 38 were excluded since they were not willing to participate and 10 were excluded since they did not complete the data scales given to them. Thus, the study included 60 individuals. All participants and individuals interviewed were male. Age of the participants varied from 18 to 24, and the mean age was 20.1±2.34. |
| Implications For Policy Makers About: | Creating a safe environment for children online |
Abstract
Objective: The internet is a major phenomenon of today’s society since it gives easy access to information. Internet use is becoming increasingly widespread, and area of use has been expanding. Based on figures from
the Turkish Statistical Institute, home internet access was 41.6% in 2010 and increased to 83.8% in 2018. Despite increases in household internet access, use of internet cafés is also on the increase. The aim of the present study was to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of young people using internet cafés and the reasons why they prefer using internet cafes.
Method: The study was carried out on internet cafés registered by Tokat Health Provincial Directorate. Written consent was taken from participants, and sociodemographic data questionnaire prepared by the investigators was completed by all subjects.
Results: All participants and interviewed people were male. The average age of the participants was 20.1±2.34. Forty-two of them (70%) had home internet access, while 18 (30%) did not. The main reason for using internet café was playing online games (42 participants, 70%). The participants mentioned that they used internet cafés 2-30 days in a month and 1-16
hours on a day.
Conclusions: In the present study dealing with the sociodemographic data of young people using internet cafés, it was found that people younger than 24 years prefer using these cafes and they could spend a considerable amount of time and money there. In addition, which web sites were visited and which online games were played by young people, how often and how long they used these public places were also questioned.
Outcome
In terms of education level, 14 (23.33%) were high school students, 34 (56.66%) were high school graduates, and 12 (20%) were college graduates. For economic status, 20 (33%) had a low level of income, while 16 (26.66%) had moderate and 24 (40%) had high-level income. Thirteen participants (21.66%) had a job with regular income, eight (13.33%) had a job with irregular income such as part-time jobs or seasonal works, and 35 (58.33%) were students while four (6.66%) were unemployed. In terms of websites visited most by participants 24 of them (40%) reported mentioned online game sites, nine (15%) websites for movie watching, 6 (5%) websites for chatting, three (5%) web sites for sports/newspapers, two (3.33%) websites for politics, eight (13.33%) pornographic websites and one (1.66%) scientific websites.