Understanding the Relationship Between Empathy and Problematic Internet Use Among College Students in Coimbatore

Digital tech's fast rise is changing how college students live and learn. Because the web opens doors to knowledge, chat, and fun, spending too much time online might cause trouble - especially when it starts harming mental health or real-life connections. Feeling what others feel, known as empathy, helps people build stronger bonds and make better choices online. Yet few studies have looked at how this emotional skill links to unhealthy internet habits among young adults in India, even though cities like Coimbatore are growing quickly. With that in mind, this work looks into how empathy ties to intense online use in student circles there, while also checking if age, gender, or background makes a difference.
This investigation uses numbers to explore connections through a structured observation method. From different schools in Coimbatore, three hundred young adults - between eighteen and twenty-five - are included based on accessibility. Information comes from established written surveys filled out by participants themselves. The sense of understanding others shows up via the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, created by Davis, capturing several sides of empathy. How intensely someone gets caught in online activity appears through the PIUQ tool designed by Pramod and Raju. A form gathers details like gender, age, student level, where someone lives, sibling count, alongside household earnings each year. Data from that form get studied through basic summaries, checks for links between traits, comparisons across separate groups, also tests looking at differences in three or more clusters.
Findings show college learners have average empathy along with some issues around internet habits. When one goes up - empathy - the other tends to go down: heavy online activity links to less empathetic responses. Females score higher on care for others’ feelings, whereas males lean toward more intense web use patterns. Those still earning bachelor's degrees engage more intensely online than those in advanced study programs. Living in cities nudges internet usage upward just a bit when compared to countryside peers. Age does not shift these patterns much;neither do how many brothers or sisters someone has nor household earnings. Empathy and screen time stay steady regardless of years lived, sibling count, or financial background.
One thing stands clear. Socio-emotional skills matter when it comes to how young adults act online. This work adds to what we already know about mental aspects tied to heavy internet use. Empathy should be part of any effort aimed at better web routines in university settings.
Finding less empathy tied to heavier online struggles in university youth.

Empathy, Problematic Internet Use, College Students, Digital Behavior, Psychological Well-Being

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