How Adolescent’s Self-Esteem Affects Internet Addiction Tendency During COVID-19 Pandemic in Takengon, Central Aceh

Abstract

During COVID-19 pandemic, most people do their activities at home by using the internet. Adolescents who are in identity formation stage also use the internet for education, entertainment, and other activities. The usage of the internet may cause negative effects, one of which is addiction. There are no studies about internet use in adolescents in Takengon, one of the cities in Central Aceh. This research aims to discover the effect of adolescent's self-esteem on internet addiction tendency during COVID-19 pandemic in Takengon. This study is conducted on 215 students of X High School Takengon with the age range of 14-18 years old. This research used quantitative method, in that a questionnaire is shared online to the participants. The instruments used for this research are Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Internet Addiction Test (IAT). The results of this research show that self-esteem has a negative impact on internet addiction tendency. The effect of self-esteem on internet addiction tendecy is 14.1%. This indicates that individuals with high self-esteem have a lower level of internet addiction tendency.