Sampath, et al.: WhatsApp attitudes patterns dependence 5. Dhir A. On the Nature of Internet Addiction: What is it and how is it 11. Montag C, Błaszkiewicz K, Sariyska R, Lachmann B, Andone I, measured? Academic Dissertation-study 5. Faculty of Behavioural Trendafilov B, et al. Smartphone usage in the 21st century: Who is active Sciences: University of Helsinki; 2015. on WhatsApp? BMC Res Notes 2015;8:331. 6. Widyanto L, Griffiths M. ‘Internet addiction’: A critical review. Int J 12. Ahad AD, Lim SM. Convenience or nuisance? The ‘WhatsApp’ Ment Health Addict 2006;4:31-51. dilemma. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 2014;155:189-96. 7. Rosenbaum MS, Wong IA. The effect of instant messaging services on 13. Sultan AJ. Addiction to mobile text messaging applications is nothing to society’s mental health. J Serv Mark 2012;26:124-36. “lol” about. Soc Sci J 2014;51:57-69. 8. Sheer VC. Hong Kong adolescents’ use of MSN vs. ICQ for developing 14. Roy SK. Internet uses and gratifications: A survey in the Indian context. friendships online: Considering media richness and presentational Comput Human Behav 2009;25:878-86. control. Chin J Commun 2010;3:223-40. 15. Dhir A. On the Nature of Internet Addiction: What is it and how is it 9. Wellman B. An electronic group is virtually a social network. In: measured? Academic Dissertation-study 1. Faculty of Behavioural Kiesler S, editor. Research Milestones on the Information Highway. Sciences: University of Helsinki; 2015. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; 1996. p. 179-205. 16. Singh N, Chopra N, Kaur J. A Study to analyze relationship between 10. Andreassen CS, Torsheim T, Brunborg GS, Pallesen S. Development of psychological behavioral factors on WhatsApp addiction among Youth a Facebook addiction scale. Psychol Rep 2012;110:501-17. in Jalandhar District in Punjab. Eur J Bus Manage 2014;6:269-73. APPENDIX A WhatsApp use patterns questionnaire PTNR1. Why do you use Whatsapp A. Easy-to-use/user-friendly = 1 B. Easy to communicate = 2 C. Time-saving = 3 D. Saves money = 4 E. Speed of information retrieval and transfer = 5. PTNR2. How many hours you normally spend on using WhatsApp? A. 1–2 h/day = 1 B. 3–5 h/day = 2 C. 6–7 h/day D. Over 8/day. PTNR3. How many years have you been using WhatsApp? PTNR4. How many days have you continuously not checked WhatsApp in the last 1 month? PTNR5. How many times in an hour do you generally check on your WhatsApp status at work/class? A. Every time I hear an incoming message tone B. Less than 3 times C. 3–6 times D. More than 6 times. PTNR6. How many times in an hour do you generally check on your WhatsApp status at home/leisure time? A. Every time I hear an incoming message tone B. Less than 3 times C. 3–6 times D. More than 6 times. PTNR7. What current features of Whatsapp you mostly use? (arrange in order of frequency-more to less) A. Text messages B. Photos C. Videos D. Forwarding information (i.e., news, events, etc.) E. Voice messages. PTNR8. How many groups are you a member of in WhatsApp? PTNR9. In how many of these groups do you check for messages regularly every day? PTNR10. What percentage of information you send from your WhatsApp account is forwarded content (Please consider the messages you sent for the last 2 days) A. All of my messages are forwarded from elsewhere B. Most of the messages are forwarded from elsewhere 114 Journal of Mental Health and Human Behaviour ¦ Volume 22 ¦ Issue 2 ¦ July-December 2017 Sampath, et al.: WhatsApp attitudes patterns dependence C. Some of my messages are forwarded from elsewhere D. None of my messages are forwarded from elsewhere. PTNR11. What type of information do you usually forward on WhatsApp group (Please arrange in order of frequency-more to less). A. News B. Jokes/Humor C. Inspirational quotes D. Puzzles E. Advertisements/Promotional F. Comments on other peoples messages G. Academic/Professional H. Others. PTNR12. Would you still continue to use WhatsApp even if it becomes a paid app (no longer free) No = 0 Yes = 1 PTNR13. Which social networking platform do you use most? A. Facebook B. WhatsApp C. Twitter D. Others (mention name). PTNR14. Has your use of other social media apps come down after you have installed WhatsApp on your mobile? A. Yes. 1 B. No. 0 APPENDIX B Attitude towards WhatsApp use questionnaire 1. WhatsApp has become an indispensable part of my life 2. The information on WhatsApp has helped me professionally 3. It has helped me to keep in touch with my friends 4. If I couldn’t use WhatsApp I would feel “out of loop” with my friends 5. WhatsApp has helped me in making new friends 6. WhatsApp has served as a cure for my boredom 7. WA has become a great source of entertainment for me 8. It has helped me to organize meetings/gatherings among friends, relatives, colleagues in a better way 9. I use WhatsApp to improve my social status/popularity 10. I use WhatsApp only because everybody uses it and I would look old fashioned if I didn’t 11. WhatsApp is Addictive (i.e. Can’t help but to constantly chat, reply and share information/content/media all the time) 12. Interferes with my Academic activities (i.e. lectures, assignments, studies) 13. Interferes with my physical activity (i.e. Excercise, Sports) 14. Has interfered in face-to-face conversations with people 15. Felt more stressed/pressured psychologically after installing WhatsApp. Items are rated on a 5 point Likert type scale ranging from ‘agree strongly’ to “disagree strongly.” Journal of Mental Health and Human Behaviour ¦ Volume 22 ¦ Issue 2 ¦ July-December 2017 115.