Internet addiction disorder
Young people are at particular risk of developing internet addiction disorder,[1] with case studies highlighting students whose academic performance declines as they spend more time online.[12] Studies highlighting the possible relationship between COVID-19 and IAD have looked at how forced isolation and its associated stress may have led to higher usage levels of the Internet.[14]A longitudinal study of Chinese high school students (2010) suggests that individuals with moderate to severe risk of Internet addiction are 2.5 times more likely to develop depressive symptoms than their IAD-free counterparts.[15] Another longitudinal study of high school students from Helsinki found that problematic internet usage and depressive symptoms may produce a positive feedback loop.[16] Internet addiction increases the risk of many negative social and health outcomes, including poor academic performance, harmful personality effects, anxiety and depression.[17] The best-documented evidence of Internet addiction so far is time-disruption, which subsequently results in interference with regular social life, including academic, professional performance and daily routines.Mustafa Savci and Ferda Aysan, reviewed existing research on internet addiction and identified a number of social and emotional factors that have been linked to this phenomenon.[1] Physical symptoms include a weakened immune system due to lack of sleep, loss of exercise, and increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome.Escape refers to the ability of users to find solace when faced with difficulty or irritation online because the Internet offers a free virtual environment that entices people away from the actual world.This model proposed that already existing psychosocial problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance abuse) were more likely to lead to the development of excessive and maladaptive behaviors related to the Internet.SPIU behaviors include frequently accessing things such as pornography or other sexually explicit material, stock trading, and online gambling.A study conducted by Nassim Masaeli and Hadi Farhadi found that the prevalence of internet-based addictive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased compared to pre-pandemic levels.The authors also identified several risk factors that contribute to the development of internet-based addictive behaviors during the pandemic, including boredom, stress, anxiety, and social isolation.The social nature of the internet has a reinforcing effect on the individual's consumption habits, as well as normalizing binge-watching behavior for enthusiasts of particular television series.Internet-based relationships offer a safe alternative for people with aforementioned difficulties to escape from the potential rejections and anxieties of interpersonal real-life contact.[57][58] As a matter of fact, the most prevalent applications among Internet addicts are chat rooms, interactive games, instant messaging, or social media.For each specific case, there is a unique combination of inherited characteristics (nervous tissue structure, secretion, degradation, and reception of neuromediators), and many are extra-environment factors (family-related, social, and ethnic-cultural).[64] A study conducted by Aviv Weinstein and Michel Lejoyeux (2020) titled "Neurobiological mechanisms underlying internet gaming disorder" highlights that IGD is associated with alterations in brain regions involved in reward processing, impulse control, decision-making, and executive functioning.[84] Young further extended her eight-question YDQ assessment to the now most widely used Internet Addiction Test (IAT),[82][85][86] which consists of 20 items with each on a five-point Likert scale.[99] Following anecdotal reports and the conclusion by Kimberly S. Young (1998),[83] neuroimaging studies revealed that IAD contributes to structural and functional abnormalities in the human brain, similar to other behavioral and substance additions.The study also discussed the potential negative consequences of internet addiction, such as poor academic performance, disrupted sleep patterns, and social isolation.[56][112] This therapy is a directive, patient-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change through helping patients explore and resolve ambivalence with a respectful therapeutic manner.[120][121][119] Meetings provide a source of live support for people, to share struggles and victories, and to learn to better function in life once less of it is spent on problematic technology use.[147] Frequently, ECT is employed as a punishment method upon patients who breaks any of the center's rules, including "eating chocolate, locking the bathroom door, taking pills before a meal and sitting on Yang's chair without permission".[145] In 2016, after escaping from an Internet addiction rehab center, a 16-year-old girl tied up and starved her mother to death as revenge for being sent to treatment in Heilongjiang Province.[145] In August 2017, an 18-year-old boy, Li Ao, was found dead with 20 external scars and bruises two days after his parents sent him to a military-style boot camp in Fuyang city, Anhui Province.[172] It is believed that due to Internet addiction, many tragic events have happened in South Korea: A mother, tired of playing online games, killed her three-year-old son.[170][174] In 2011, the Korean government introduced the "Shutdown Law", also known as the "Cinderella Act", to prevent children under 16 years old from playing online games from midnight (12:00) to 6 a.m.[171] Many cases of social withdrawal have been occurring in Japan since the late 1990s which inclines people to stay indoors most of the time.Many of the hikikomori people in Japan are reported to have friends in their online games, so they will experience a different kind of social interaction which happens in a virtual space.[175] Numerous lawsuits have been filed in US courts by US states, US school districts and others asserting that social media platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive to minors and seeking damages.
SpecialtyPsychiatryPsychologyinternetsocial mediascrollingAmerican Psychiatric AssociationWorld Health OrganizationICD-11gaming disorderFacebooknarcissismdepressionanxietystressThe Social Dilemmamassive open online courseslongitudinal studypositive feedbackcarpal tunnel syndromeback strainpornography addictionsmartphonessocial cuesCOVID-19 pandemicProblem gamblingVideo game addictionInternet sex addictionsexual addictionsexual activityCompulsive talkingproblematic social media useYouTubeNetflixlivestreamingTwitchbinge-watchingintroversioncomorbidityattention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)social anxiety disordersimpulse control disorderspathological gamblingDSM-IVInternet gaming disorderInternational Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)Likert scaleneuroscienceneuroimagingelectroencephalographyimpulsivityonline gamblingday-tradingInformation overloadComputer addictioncognitive behavioral therapymotivational interviewing approachalcohol abusersReflective listeningantidepressantsselective serotonin reuptake inhibitorsescitalopramatypical antidepressantbupropionpsychostimulantmethylphenidate12-step programbinge watching addictionsocial media addictionbehavioral addictionsOvereaters AnonymousWorkaholics AnonymousSex and Love Addicts Anonymousbottom linesAmerican Psychiatric Association's (APA)Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersMinistry of Healthcorporal punishmentelectroconvulsive therapy (ECT)Yang Yongxinthe Chinese Ministry of Healthequine therapyhikikomoriminorspublic schoolMarylandMeta PlatformsSnapchatByteDanceGooglemass actionplaintiffsclass actionJuul Labselectronic cigarettesWashington DCVirginiaInstagramcity of New YorkCalifornia Superior CourtTikTokpublic nuisanceAddictive personalityCriticism of FacebookCyberslackingDigital addictDigital detoxDigital media use and mental healthEvolutionary mismatchList of repetitive strain injury softwareMedia multitaskingNomophobiaPsychological effects of Internet useSoft addictionTerminally onlineWorkaholicBibcodeWayback MachineCiteSeerXUniversity of Washington PressCounseling TodayRedditReinforcementaddictiondependence