Internet Addiction, is it a Disorder?

Internet addiction is a disorder that still requires a lot of investigation. Many believe that internet addiction disorder should be listed  as a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V).  Many also disagree that internet addiction is a diagnosis.  They argue that internet addiction is caused by another underlying condition.

Internet addiction is defined by Dr. Weinstein and Dr .Lejoyeux as excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges, or behavior regarding the internet use that leads to impairment or distress.  There are at least three subtypes of internet addiction: gaming, cybersex, and email or text messaging.  Internet addiction and all three of its subtypes have the features of withdrawal, tolerance, and negative repercussions.  Withdrawal systems that are associated with internet addiction are sweating, nausea, anger, and irritability.  People with internet addiction will show signs of tolerance by justifying the purchase of  the latest and greatest computer equipment or finding more time to spend on the internet.  Some of the negative repercussions may be social isolation, poor performance at work or at school, inability to keep appointments, and fatigue. 

There are three different proposed models for classifying internet addiction.  Those who think that internet addiction should be included as a separate disorder believe that it should be listed as a separate disorder under the non specified impulse-control disorder.  Some researchers believe that internet addiction should not be listed as a separate disorder and that it is an impulse-control disorder that is on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum.  Brain imaging and pharmacological treatment studies support this argument.  The third proposed model would be that internet addiction is a behavioral addiction.  Psychiatrists believe that it is part of a behavioral addiction because of the adverse consequences, withdrawal, and tolerance that are typical attributes of a behavioral addiction.

I think it will be interesting when more information and studies are done on internet addiction.  From the information that I have read, internet addiction is a lot like a drug addiction.  I thought it was very strange that people who have an internet addiction suffer from withdrawal symptoms like nausea, sweating, and anger.  Before my research on the topic, I assumed that internet addiction was just caused by a misuse of time.  I thought that it would only cause social problems and issues with school and work.  I did not realize that some suffer physical symptoms from internet addiction.


1.  Pies, R. (2009). Should DSM-V designate "Internet addiction" a mental disorder?. Psychiatry (1550-5952), 6(2), 31-37.

2.  Weinstein, A., & Lejoyeux, M. (2010). Internet Addiction or Excessive Internet Use. American Journal Of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 277-283.

Are Social Media Networks Addictive?

            The introduction of Web 2.0 internet services is enabling people to collaborate and interact with each other by creating and transferring user-generated content online. This has paved the way for exponential growth in the use of social media. Many advocates of social networking will say that it enriches peoples’ lives by giving them the opportunity to sustain or improve current relationships as well as help create new relationships. Social networking is known to help shy people make friends and also help the elderly stay connected. Social media has profoundly benefited business and customer relationships as well as the healthcare and patient relationship.

There are, as a result, studies which have noted addictions to social media sites. One such study conducted in Mexico, for example, linked low self-esteem and depression with social networking addiction, noting that individuals with an inability to interact socially in the real world are enabled virtually to socialize through social media. The socially inept are therefore thought to have an increased vulnerability to addictions involving social networking.

Social media addictions are also known to inhibit employee activity. Facebook Taiwan is king of social networking in Taiwan, largely due to the introduction of “Happy Farm”, a social network game. Firms now deny access to Facebook Taiwan at work, yet there are still instances of workers losing their jobs regarding banned Facebook usage. This indicates a social networking addiction so intense, employees are willing to disregard work ethics and compromise their jobs.

            It would be easy to assume that people would inevitably fall victim to an addiction to these social media networks. Research on the matter has, however, been deemed insufficient for inclusion into the DSM V (fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

With the rapid expansion of social media usage, researchers will certainly have plenty of data to record regarding social networking addiction. It is a matter of time until this addiction is accepted as a behavioral addiction in the DSM. American usage of social media networks nearly doubled to 50% between 2008 and 2011, ensuring the U.S. will have no shortage of new social networking addicts in the future.

 

Cheng, JMS, et al. “Social Media Usage and Work Values: The Example of Facebook in    Taiwan.” Social Behavior and Personality 40.2 (2012): 195-200. Social Sciences Citation Index. Web. 28 Feb 2013. http://ehis.ebscohost.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/eds/pdfviewer?sid=a2c55eda-ef64-4e48-9c72-66dba0c9cfd2%40sessionmgr10&vid=4&hid=17

Pamoukaghlian, Veronica. “Social Network Addiction-A Scientific No Man’s Land?” Brain Blogger. (7 Jan 2011): Web. 25 Feb. 2013. http://brainblogger.com/2011/01/07/social-network-addiction-a-scientific-no-mans-land/

ProCon.org.”Are Social Networking Sites Good For Our Society?” ProCon.org. (12 Dec. 2012): Web. 2 Mar. 2013. http://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005134

How addicted to the internet are you?

Other than the fact that we have certain addictions, who thought that we would be capable of being addicted to the internet? We’ll look at you now when you are mid way through the day at work in your office, not even knowing how much of your time you have been on the internet.
   
Now, sometimes being on the internet at an employer is for good reason, such as communicating to other branches of the business or suppliers, retailers, etc via email. Maybe, some of the transactions that must be done is through the internet.

The internet does have its advantages for a business. Everything is done faster than ever before. Businesses can pretty much connect worldwide for a business. However, this privilege can have its nasty downturn on a business because there is so much out there.

It can come to a time, you are on the computer at work and then your boss comes in to drop off something and you immediately hit the exit button on the page you had pulled up to look like you were working, or you might be too slow and get caught. Imagine if the business had visitor such as stock holders come by, they would say to hell with putting my money for this company if this is how things run here.

The most popular distraction would have to be social networks. how else would you communicate with someone during work? You could with a cell phone, however, it might be company policy to not use your cellphone at all other than business purposes. So when you have your own desk, you have a computer, so then you have the internet.

Outside the office, it can even get worse, especially in a production floor like one that I worked for after my senior year in high school before I left for UNCC. You would imagine how easy it is to access the internet now and days, especially since technology has progressed so much. There was a time when cell phones were flip phones and now we have cellphones that do almost EVERYTHING! I was working at a plastic recycling plant on the production floor, and there were about 10 occasions that could of resulted in forklift accidents due to the use of a cellphone to check their facebook notifications. Others that did the same would slow down production.

What is being done in the office is the computers would be equipped with content filter software to prevent employees from being able to access certain websites that doesnt relate to work. Where I was at, there are many parts of the building that is designed to block cellphone signal so that the use of a cellphone is diminished. It didnt workout so well since the managers on the floor couldnt communicate with the managers in the office so now the plant is equipped with security cameras.

So a crazy thought of wondering if you’re addicted to the internet, you might want to find out for yourself.

Video Game Addiction in Adults: Is it a Problem or Will It Correct Itself Over Time?

 
Many of the studies that have been done on video game addiction have been conducted on adolescents.  In an Australian study that looked at adolescents classified as pathological video gamers, 84 percent were still addicted to video games 2 years later.  This and other studies suggest that video game addiction in youth and adolescents can last for several months or even years.  Long term gaming addiction in adolescents has been associated with poor mental health, academic, and social outcomes.  A recent study has suggested that video game addiction is very different in adults and it will correct itself overtime, but some news stories still show dire situations when it comes to adult video gaming addiction.  Should video game addiction be a concern in adults?

In Australia a study was done of adults that identify themselves as playing video games for at least one hour every week for the past three months.  Of those video gamers they were split into two categories.  Gamers who identified themselves as having a video gaming problem and those who did not identify themselves as having a problem.  The group that identified themselves as having a video gaming problem had higher baseline scores on the problematic video gaming test than the group that did not identify as having a problem with video gaming.  In both groups the problematic video gaming seems to recede after 6 months and then again after 18 months.  These results may suggest that there may be a natural recovery among all adult gamers.

Even if people suffering from video game addiction will naturally recover over time, I believe that there is still reason for concern.  More research should be done.  In 2010 an English woman is charged with neglecting her three children and two dogs.  Her excuse was that she was playing an online game called “Small Worlds”.  Her children were found malnourished and her dogs were found dead from starvation in her dining room.  In 2005 a Korean man died after playing “Starcraft” for 50 hours.  He only took breaks to go to the bathroom and for very short periods of sleep.  The authorities believe that he died of heart failure stemming from exhaustion.  You also hear reports of people losing their jobs and people who are unable to maintain their responsibilities because of gaming addictions.  While I do think that these stories may be the extreme cases, I do think that continued research should be done. It seems that there are individuals that either have an underlying condition that may make them more venerable to a gaming addiction or that gaming addiction in itself is a mental health problem.

1.        King, DL, PH Delfabbro, and MD Griffiths. "Trajectories Of Problem Video Gaming Among Adult Regular Gamers: An 18-Month Longitudinal Study." Cyberpsychology Behavior And Social Networking 16.1 (n.d.): 72-76.

2.       Martinez, Edecio. “Mother Obsessed with Computer Game Neglects Kids, Starves Dogs” CBS News.  14 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20016322-504083.html

 3.        “South Korean Dies After Gaming Session” BBC News.  10 Aug.  2005. Web.  24 Feb. 2013.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm

 

Internet Junkies...Really?

Who among us believes that the Internet can be addicting?  I do!  I have seen people (including myself) sit for extended periods of time searching different articles on the Net.  The myriad of topics out there in cyberspace fascinates me. 

On a positive note, the Internet (if used productively) can spark ideas and get the creative juices flowing.  Conversely, if one spends hours on end searching the Net or playing mindless electronic games to the detriment of real-life social relationships, it could spell trouble. 

Even though I believe that Internet addiction is real, some experts don’t agree.  Tori DeAngelis, author for the American Psychological Association, writes that just because someone spends too much time doing something doesn’t mean that ‘thing’ should necessarily be classified as an addiction.  She claims that published studies on Internet addiction are scarce.  Further, she states that most studies have taken the form of self-selecting surveys with no control groups.  To substantiate her stance on the issue, Ms. DeAngelis points out that David Greenfield, PhD, founder of Center for Internet Studies, has conducted one of the largest studies in existence.  In 1998, he studied 18,000 Internet users and only 5.7% of the group met the criteria for compulsive Internet use.[1]   

In an opposing view, the American Psychiatric Association says that people with Internet Use Disorder experience preoccupation with the Internet and have shown withdrawal symptoms when the Net is no longer available.  Symptoms include loss of interest in other activities and unsuccessful attempts to stay off the Net.  Some scientific studies have even shown that those who suffer from Internet addiction exhibit abnormal levels of dopamine, a chemical in the brain which enables us to experience pleasure and reward. [2] 

The range of opinions regarding chronic use of the Internet, and the potential for addiction, certainly appears to be expansive.

[1] “Is Internet Addiction Real?: American Psychological Association. n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.  

http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr00/addiction.aspx

2 “Internet Addiction: The New Mental Health Disorder?” Forbes. n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/10/02/the-new-mental-health-disorder-internet-addiction/

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