Abstract
BACKGROUND: Earlier research on internet addiction (IA) in the adult population in India has concentrated on isolated prevalence surveys conducted nationwide. A systematic grasp of pooled prevalence necessitates a meta-level evaluation of all prior literature. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of IA and its correlates among adults in India. METHODS: We searched EBSCOhost, PubMed, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, and ProQuest for the studies published from 1990 to 2022 and included studies using Young's Internet Addiction Test criteria (age range 18-40 years). The authors obtained a total of 358 non-duplicate records after a thorough search, and they found 10 pertinent epidemiological studies involving 12,286 adults. RESULTS: The pooled prevalence for mild, moderate, severe, and any level of IA was 36.33% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30.72%-42.13%), 18.04% (95% CI: 13.49%-23.08%), 0.88% (95% CI:0.50%-1.36%), and 58.34% (95% CI:49.34%-67.07%), respectively. The review of correlates suggested psychosocial factors like male gender, single-parent families, co-morbidities like depression, stress, anxiety, interpersonal issues, andmediating factors like loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the synthesis of findings, this review underlines the common factors of IA and emphasizes the significance of psycho-social factors in IA; thus, to promote healthy use of technology and to manage IA, a multi-modal psychotherapeutic intervention module for mental health practitioners needs to be developed in line with this review.