Excessive Internet use and self-esteem among Internet users in Egypt

Several psychological comorbidities are thought to be associated with excessive Internet use. This study aimed to assess the relation between excessive Internet use and self-esteem among Internet users in Egypt. In this cross-sectional study, a Google form questionnaire, composed of three sections, was used to assess participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and daily Internet use. Self-esteem was evaluated using the Arabic version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Only people ≥18 years who reported having a stable Internet access and were residing in Egypt were included. Our results indicated that 25.3% of the 407 participants reported excessive Internet use (>4 h/day) and 29.5% had low self-esteem. Logistic regression showed that age ≤ 25 years and being unmarried were risk factors of excessive Internet use; (OR 2.85, 95% CI: 1.44–5.66; p value = 0.003) and (OR 2.64, 95% CI: 1.20–5.80; p value = 0.015), respectively. Low self-esteem associated with excessive Internet use by the univariate analysis (OR 1.68, 95% CI: 1.05–2.69; p value = 0.022), yet after adjustment for other covariates, the association attenuated (OR 1.44, 95% CI: 0.86–2.41; p value = 0.162). In participants ≤ 25 years, the association between self-esteem and excessive Internet use remained significant after adjustment for the covariates (Before: OR 2.04, 95% CI: 1.08–3.85; p value = 0.020 vs. After: OR 2.12, 95% CI: 1.11–4.08; p value = 0.015). In conclusion, excessive Internet use is a common finding among Internet users in Egypt. Young and unmarried people are more susceptible to use the Internet excessively. Low self-esteem in young people is associated with excessive Internet use.