Addictions:The Internet
Internet addiction is a psychological disorder according to Oliver Seemann of Ludwig-Maximilians University Psychiatric Clinic (Munich, Germany).
A 1996 study by Kimberly Young of the University of Pittsburgh reported that 396 out of 496 selfselected regular internet users were dependent on the internet [1].
Addictions expert Maressa Hecht Orzack, a clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School (MA, USA) says that she is seeing several new patients with internet addiction each week, and that the addiction can exacerbate existing, more conventional, mental problems. All her patients have at least one other problem. “Depression, social phobia, impulse control disorder, and attention deficit disorder are commonest. Several of my patients have a history of another addiction or of substance abuse. A few are bipolar, suicidal, or prone to violent outbreaks”, she notes[2].
However in a survey of 809 internet users, Seemann, Ulrich Hegerl, and colleagues found only 20 people who fulfilled the ICD-10 criteria of an addiction syndrome (such as withdrawal symptoms, increasing tolerance, and loss of control)[3].
Writing in The Lancet Peter Mitchell concludes:
- Even though there is still disagreement about whether internet addiction is a real diagnosis, there is no doubt that the compulsive use of the internet, like other dependencies, has material as well as psychological dangers. “Addicts” can lose their jobs as they become unable to limit their time spent online, either because they fail to turn up for work or because they misuse their office computer facilities, says Orzack. And there is no doubt that the opportunities for compulsive internet use are broadening. Today, a computer is no longer necessary—services like WebTV mean a television will do just as well. And added “attractions” such as internet gambling sites and internet shopping may be the bait that will draw yet more potential addicts into the internet's web.
Resources
- Adam Gabbatt, Excessive internet use linked to depression, research shows, The Guardian, 3-February-2010
- Kinberley S. Young, Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction - A Sure-fire Strategy for Recovery, 1998, Jossey Bass:
Notes
- ↑ KIMBERLY S. YOUNG, Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder, CyberPsychology & Behavior. FALL 1998, 1(3): 237-244. doi:10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237.
- ↑ Peter Mitchell, Internet addiction: genuine diagnosis or not?, The Lancet, Volume 355, Issue 9204, Page 632, 19 February 2000 <Previous Article|Next Article>doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)72500-9
- ↑ Peter Mitchell, Internet addiction: genuine diagnosis or not?, The Lancet, Volume 355, Issue 9204, Page 632, 19 February 2000 <Previous Article|Next Article>doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)72500-9
