The level of awareness of digital drugs and their effects: A case study for some Egyptian and Saudi private universities

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the concepts and types of digital drugs, the reasons that drive many young people to their addiction, the Internet sites that contain information about them, and the methods of their abuse. The study also aimed to identify the level of awareness of students of some Egyptian and Saudi private universities about the negative effects of digital drugs on individual health, social life, the economic aspect of the individual and society, and academic achievement. Finally, it developed a set of proposals to strengthen the role of society, educational institutions and families to protect young people from the dangers of these drugs. A purposive sample was chosen from private Egyptian universities (Valley Higher Institutes in El-Obour), and another purposive sample from Saudi private universities (Buraidah Private Colleges and Ainza Private Colleges). A two-part questionnaire was prepared, and the validity and reliability of all its items were confirmed. The results of the study are:

1. The level of awareness of the concept of digital drugs, their types, methods of use, and their impact on the health of the individual, social life, the economic aspect of the individual and society, and academic achievement was at a moderate degree from the point of view of the study sample from the Egyptian and Saudi private universities.


2. There are no differences in the level of awareness of the negative effects of digital drugs between the point of view of students of Egyptian private universities and private Saudi universities.


3. There are differences in the level of awareness of Egyptian and Saudi university students of digital drugs and their effects according to the variable of academic specialization, and the differences were in favor of scientific disciplines.

The study recommended the need for all countries of the world to cooperate to monitor and control websites that offer the content of these drugs and work to block them completely from the network.

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Keywords: Drugs, Digital Drugs, Binaural beats