INTERNET ADDICTION

WHAT IS INTERNET ADDICTION?

Internet addiction is a term that any layman can understand. That is because excessive internet usage is a
common experience in daily life. The difficulty is in finding a clear technical definition that everyone can agree
on. A blog on the American Psychiatric Association’s website titled “Can You Be Addicted to the Internet?”
explains the ambiguity: “There is still much uncertainty and disagreement among experts about overuse of the
internet, the symptoms, how to measure it and even the language used to describe it.”

Many psychiatric professionals have been pushing for the term to be recognized in the “Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.” But it was not included as an entry in the fifth edition of the publication,
referred to as DSM-V, which came out in 2013.
Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist in Portland, Oregon, wrote a 2008 editorial for The American Journal of
Psychiatry proposing its inclusion in DSM-V. He said that internet addiction is generally of three types:
excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations, and email/text messaging. Further, he said all three types share
four components: excessive use, withdrawal, tolerance (for the costs of the activity) and negative
repercussions.
Video game addiction is a related malady. A quick online search of video game deaths yields the sad results of
those who got lost in the game they were playing. Hours, days, even weeks later, they died from their
preoccupation. Multiple causes of death have been proposed.
Researchers continue to study the problem of internet addiction. A 2015 Pew study reported that one-fifth of
Americans go online “almost constantly.” The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) is now considered by some as a
valid test of internet addiction. However, a 2016 European College of Neuropsychopharmacology survey
suggests that those with internet addiction may have underlying mental problems, such as depression and
anxiety.

q WHAT IS DSM-V?
The new edition will be the fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
The DSM-V is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health and other health
professionals, and is used for diagnostic and research purposes.Feb 11, 2010

Q 2 TYPES OF INTERNET ADDICTION?

1. Social Media Addiction

If you find yourself compulsively checking social media every spare moment and prioritizing Facebook over
actual time spent with family and friends, you might be addicted. Social media users may become consumed
with what other people are doing that they check up on them for hours on end. Symptoms can include feelings
of jealousy and anxiety over a lack of “likes”. For example, they post a Facebook status and check 20 times
that day in hopes that a significant amount of people have liked or commented on it, which creates feelings of
validation and self-esteem.

Scientists have proven one physiological reason we constantly check emails or social networks is when we
find something interesting or that challenges us to respond, our brains release a burst of dopamine. Although
social media isn’t a chemical substance, you can stillbecome hooked on this stimulus overtime. This
compulsion leads to checking of mobile devices even when it isn’t safe or appropriate, such as driving a car or
during a movie at the theatre. People who neglect real-life relationships for online friends have a serious
Internet addiction.
2. Net Compulsions
Net compulsions include things like obsessive online gambling, gaming, shopping, auctions, and stock trading.
The Internet makes these activities available day or night without the limitations experienced in real life and the
risk of being caught. Accomplishments such as beating high game scores, peer admiration, and purchasing
sale items online can add fuel to the fire and lead to obsessive behavior.

The International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction cites a gaming addiction where a boy spent 80 hours
a week and 10-14 hours a day playing World of Warcraft. His entire social life existed online while his actual
relationships suffered. He admitted that gaming increased his self-esteem.Net Compulsions promise
immediate gratification, but result in negative consequences instead like maxed out credit cards, failed
relationships, and job-related struggles.

3. Information Overload
The Internet gives access to all the information we could want or need at our fingertips, but in some cases,
people become obsessed with staying up-to-date on the latest economic news, celebrity gossip, or technology.

Information overload is a compulsive habit of web surfing, browsing, and researching. It isn’t unusual for
people addicted to information to stay up to the wee hours of the night surfing the net. This behavior negatively
affects daily activities, such as diminishing quality thinking time, becoming less productive, experiencing a
breakdown in organizational processes, and a deterioration of interpersonal communication

Q WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF INTERNET ADDICTION?

People who are addicted to the internet may experience some of the following effects:

-Poor impulse control: being unable to stop visiting websites, clicking links or checking emails.
-Procrastination: a person may regularly perform activities such as website browsing or online gaming to
avoid doing important tasks such as starting an essay or making a difficult phone call.
-Avoiding family and friends (reduction in social life): people who become addicted to the internet often go
out less frequently and interact with their friends and family less and less overtime.
-Lower productivity: this links with procrastination. People who are addicted to the internet are likely to have
lower rates of productivity as they put off doing their work and are unable to focus on the work at hand,
becoming easily distracted.
-Time distortion: aimless web surfing or play online games is common among internet addicts who may find
that time passes rapidly whilst doing these activities. Internet addicts become so wrapped up in what they are
doing online they fail to notice all the time that has gone by.
-Escapism and dissociation: becoming heavily involved in an online community or videogame may be used
as a way to escape the problems that users are currently facing. For example, someone might become
excessively involved in an internet community based around a videogame, or an online social network and
they use this as a crutch to avoid having to deal with face to face interactions in the ‘real world’.
-Depression and anxiety: this relates to escapism and dissociation. People who are depressed may use the
internet as a type of ‘self medication’ allowing themselves to escape and ignore the problems they are currently
facing by immersing themselves in the online world. This can lead to further depression or anxiety when they
‘log off’ as they still have yet to face their problems and putting off problems often only makes them worse.
Other effects of internet addiction include:

-a reduction in personal hygiene and caring for how one looks

-feeling ‘zoned out’ after several hours of internet usage
-back pain as users spend long periods of time hunched forward looking at a computer screen.