Are you addicted to the internet?

Audrina Benson

Much has been made recently of internet addiction, the latest in a long line of addictions recognised by the psychiatric community and have become part of the material taught in counseling schools. While many psychologists recognise compulsive internet use as an addictive disorder, others do not. Some believe that internet addiction may, in many cases, be an attempt to cope with underlying mental illness or life problems rather than a true addiction. The ongoing debate over the existence of internet addiction does not, however, mean people aren’t suffering, nor does it mean that treatment isn’t available.

Internet addiction came to the attention of psychiatrists in the mid-1990s, when the Internet first broke into the mainstream. Dr. Kimberly Young first named the phenomena in a 1996 paper “Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Disorder.” Dr. Young specializes in the treatment of internet addiction, and in the treatment of its underlying causes. She believes that internet addiction is an impulse control disorder, and came up with the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ) to aid in its diagnosis.

Symptoms of internet addiction are generally similar to symptoms of other addictions. Key to the syndrome are the feelings of guilt and shame internet addicts feel about their Internet use. Most will try to hide their true usage level from family and friends. They also turn to the Internet for distraction when they’re in a bad mood, facing a personal problem, or coping with anxiety or depression. Addicts may feel themselves preoccupied with the internet when they’re not online, and may feel closer to their online friends than they do to friends and relatives in real life.

Many people use the internet daily, for long periods, for various legitimate reasons. Students, for instance, are among some of the most voracious internet users. Business people and others must use the internet frequently, sometimes almost incessantly, for work purposes. Some may use the Internet to stay in touch with family and friends who live far away. Frequent or even prolonged internet use is not necessarily unhealthy or addictive, in and of itself. It’s when idle non-productive internet use begins to threaten work, family relationships and real-life social activities that addiction is suspected. At this point, the internet addict cares about using the internet more than he or she cares about anything else. The internet subtly changes from a tool, to an end in and of itself.

New York resident Harry Husted considers himself in recovery from internet addiction. He tells The Guardian, “I used to work with computers for eight hours, then get home and go online for seven hours. I would stay up till two or three in the morning until I got so sleepy I had to go to bed. I wouldn't go out to get the groceries and I couldn't have cared less about friends, TV, anything. After a while I realised what was happening and did something about it."

Treatment for internet addiction is available from psychiatric clinics around the world. Internet addiction manifests itself in different ways in different countries, since people in different nations use the internet differently. In South Korea, an estimated 210,000 children may be addicted to internet gaming, while China boasts an estimated 10 million addicted adolescents. In America, social media addiction is prevalent. Gender may also play a role, with men more likely to be addicted to sexual content, and women more likely to seek social interactions.

Internet addiction may not be physiological in the same way that alcohol or drug addiction is, but addicts do experience withdrawal symptoms. These include depression, irritability, sleep problems, anxiety and anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure. Chinese studies suggest that internet addiction causes brain changes in the areas related to impulse control, repetitive action, decision-making, information processing and emotion. It is important to note that these changes were similar to those that occur with substance abuse disorders.

Some psychiatrists aren’t convinced that internet addiction is a true addiction. John M. Grohol, PsyD, doubts the existence of internet addiction. He explains that the criteria for defining internet addiction are basically the same criteria used to define gambling addiction. According to Grohol, the two things are very different. Gambling is a reward-seeking type of behavior, and lacks social value. Internet use, however, is often a means of seeking social contact, whether through email, chat rooms, games or social media platforms. In many ways, our society encourages internet use. It’s healthy and normal, Grohol claims, for humans to seek social interaction in socially (and technologically) supported ways.

Grohol theorizes that many cases of internet addiction may, in fact, be new users acclimating themselves to the online world. It’s normal for people to immerse themselves in new things. Grohol writes, “Since this [online] environment is so much larger than anything we've ever seen before, some people get "stuck" in the acclimation (or enchantment) stage for a longer period of time than is typical for acclimating to new technologies, products, or services.” Eventually, most people will move on to more balanced usage on their own, though a small percentage of people may need help cutting back.

Even Grohol acknowledges that some internet users may become “stuck” at an over-the-top usage level. While internet addiction may lack some of the biological markers of substance abuse, a great many researchers will readily agree that some people do demonstrate the classic “signs” of addiction in regard to the internet. The condition may in fact be a compulsive disorder, but “internet addiction” is a handy reference phrase. As researchers unlock the traits and motivations relating to this new “addiction” they may well develop a deeper understanding and remedial tools for compulsive disorders in general.