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Jackson Steiger
Dr. Bianca C. Reisdorf
COMM 2089
20 October 2014
Internet Addiction
The Internet is an extremely valuable resource. There is an inconceivable amount of
information accessible through it, and it facilitates many aspects of life including school, work,
and entertainment. However, excessive Internet use, especially in non-productive ways, can lead
to what is known as Internet addiction. Most known addictions such as alcoholism have been
studied and defined sufficiently to be included in the American Psychiatric Associations
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Internet addiction, however, is an
emergent disorder with less research and understanding than other disorders and was therefore
not included in the most recent DSM, DSM-5. Even so, Internet addiction is a legitimate problem
that needs continuous study in order to better understand it and better treat diagnosed and
affected individuals.
What is Internet addiction? How is it defined? A way to define any addiction is by
describing the addict, as Dr. Maressa Hecht Orzack does in her cited study from 1999: Internet
addicts demonstrate a loss of impulse control where life has become unmanageable for the online
user, yet despite these problems, the addict cannot give up the Internet. The computer becomes
the primary relationship in the addicts life (Young 20). So, a person has Internet addiction
when using the Internet becomes the most important thing in their life, despite making their life
worse. This is a common theme among all addictions: no matter how bad the consequences, the
abused activity or substance is the addicts top priority in life. How severe can cases of Internet

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addiction be? Very. For example: A young couple in Korea [] spent so much time raising a
virtual daughter online that they neglected their own actual daughter, who eventually died
(Wallace 12). Another: In China, two students from Chongqing who had been playing an online
game for 2 days straight passed out on railroad tracks and were killed by an oncoming train (12)
These are extreme cases, but they demonstrate how dangerous addiction can be; an addict may
place their addiction above their own lives, or even the lives of their own children.
For many addictions, there is a simple treatment solution: abstinence. An alcoholic should
stop drinking; a compulsive gambler should stop gambling; etc. Internet addiction cannot be
treated in this way. In the year 2014, it is very challenging to abstain completely from the
Internet, as its use is legitimate in business and home practice such as in electronic
correspondence to vendors or electronic banking (Young 24). Instead, it is best overall instill the
importance of moderation. Internet use can be regulated to only work-related activities, for
example. Abstinence from certain parts of the Internet may be necessary, as evaluations have
found that a specific application such as a chat room, an interactive game, or a certain set of
adult web sites will trigger Internet binges (Young 24).
How big of a problem is Internet addiction? How many people are Internet addicts? In
1999, a survey conducted on ABCNews.com found that of the 17,000 responders, 6% could be
considered Internet addicts. Another study concluded, one in eight Americans suffered from one
or more signs of Internet addiction (Aboujaoude, Koran, Gamel, Large, & Serpe, 2006) (Young
4). Amongst American college students, addiction rates have been found significantly higher.
Three separate studies produced the following rates: 13% of students at the University of Texas
in 1997, 14% of students at Bryant College in Rhode Island in 1999, and 10% of students at the
University of Taiwan in 2001 (Young 4). It is important to note that these studies are quite old; in

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2001 it would be rare to find people with a Wi-Fi connection or a smartphone. The vast majority
of Internet addicts in the late 90s/early 00s were confined to desktop computers. To stop using
the Internet, a person living in this time period would simply leave the room in which they kept
their computer (although, a severe addict may have had a computer for every room in their
home). Today, however, anyone with a smartphone or a tablet computer can be connected to the
Internet anytime, anywhere. It is therefore estimated that rates of Internet addiction have
increased in the past decade. Patricia Wallace notes that young people are spending more and
more time online studying, learning, communicating, creating, and entertaining themselves
but warns for a small number it may be a slippery slope when combined with psychological and
environmental variables that increase risk for addictive behavior (16). In 2010 it was estimated
that among Internet users, 4.6 to 4.7% of adolescents, 6 to 15% of the general population, and 13
to 18.4% of college students are Internet addicts. These numbers estimate the scope of the
problem and suggest that a significant proportion of online users may suffer one or more signs of
Internet addiction (Young 6).
Internet addiction has been associated with several psychiatric disorders. A literature
review conducted by C.-H. Ko et al. found that Internet addiction is associated with substance
use disorder, ADHD, depressive disorder, social phobia, and hostility. Furthermore, ADHD,
depressive disorder, social phobia, and hostility would predict the emergence of Internet
addiction (Ko et al. 6-7). This means that people with these disorders are more likely than the
general population to be Internet addicts or become such addicts. Therefore, it is important that
Internet usage of such individuals be evaluated or monitored in order to treat or prevent Internet
addiction from developing. It has been speculated that Internet addiction and the above disorders
bi-directional; they affect each other (Ko et al. 3). For example, a person with social phobia

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may spend unhealthy amounts of time secluded in their room using the Internet, replacing stimuli
of real-world social interaction with stimuli of online social networks, forums, games, etc.
Conversely, a person may develop an Internet addiction and consequently prefer using the
Internet rather than being with people. Substance abuse is another example. Ko et al. found that
adolescents with alcohol addiction were more likely to be Internet addicts as well. Common
factors between both addictions are high behavior activation, low self-esteem, low family
function, and low life satisfaction (Ko et al. 3). These findings allow psychiatrists to better
diagnose Internet addicts, as substance dependence models can be applied to the development of
Internet addiction models, that is, the factors that cause the addiction and the stages exhibited by
the addict.
Is it really the Internet that is addictive? Whereas alcohol is made of one thing: alcohol,
the Internet has news, forums, journals, databases, encyclopedias, movies, games, TV shows,
social networks, and pornography. Is it possible to be addicted to the act of using the Internet
itself? No one really knows. However, Internet addicts may switch between many kinds of
content in one session. It is no surprise that ADHD is associated with Internet addiction (Ko et al.
6). The Internet seems made for people with an attention deficit. Sites such as Reddit, Facebook,
Buzzfeed, and Twitter display a plethora of content, all new and stimulating to the user, and all
within one mouse click. No matter what site a person visits, they can immediately switch to
something else, a news site, an article, a game, a movie, a forum, a movie, or pornography. It is
possible that the Internets addictiveness comes from the ability to instantly find content that
suits the whims of the user, facilitating instant gratification.
In conclusion, Internet addiction is an ongoing problem that should continue to be
researched, modeled, evaluated, and addressed by psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, and the

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general public, in order to improve the lives of people dealing with this addiction, and
subsequently improve the lives of their families and peers.

Works Cited
C.-H. Ko, J.-Y. Yen, C.-F. Yen, C.-S. Chen, C.-C. Chen. "The association between Internet
addiction and psychiatric disorder: A review of the literature." European Psychiatry 27.1
(2012): 1-8.
Wallace, Patricia. "Internet addiction disorder and youth." EMBO reports 15.1 (2014): 12-16.
Young, Kimberly S. Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment. Ed.
Cristiano Nabuco de Abreu. 1. Hoboken: Wiley, 2010.