THE ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF STUDENTS’ INVOLVEMENT IN THE INTERNET DURING THE QUARANTINE RESTRICTIONS RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate and evaluate the change in the level of university students’ daily involvement of in the Internet during periods of full-time and distance learning related to the quarantine restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods. During the research there were used general and special methods: the medical-statistical and the method of comparative analysis. The study was based on the sociological method, which involved an anonymous survey with the original questionnaire, so called Google-form, of full-time students of 5 faculties of Uzhhorod National University as well as the statistical processing of the results.
Results. In the course of the study it was found that during full-time study, most of the surveyed students spent less than 3 hours a day on the Internet (58.7% of surveyed students). The group of respondents who spent more than 7 hours online during face-to-face training was 7.8% of respondents. During online learning, the distribution of respondents by groups differs significantly. Thus, group 1 made up only 10.3% of respondents, which is a reflection of the transition of a significant proportion (38.2%) of all respondents in groups 2 and 3. At the same time 42.8% of surveyed students spend 7 and more hours per day on the Internet during the period of distance learning.
Conclusion. In the current conditions of the long periods of distance learning and quarantine restrictions there are risks of Internet addiction in this category of students. Such significant changes in the distribution of time for various forms of activities during the day can lead to the formation of harmful behavioral patterns that can become sustainable even after the students come back to the full-time form of studying.