Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Internet Addiction

Definition, Assessment, Epidemiology and Clinical Managemen

  • Leading Article
  • Published:
CNS Drugs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Internet addiction is characterized by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding computer use and internet access that lead to impairment or distress. The condition has attracted increasing attention in the popular media and among researchers, and this attention has paralleled the growth in computer (and Internet) access.

Prevalence estimates vary widely, although a recent random telephone survey of the general US population reported an estimate of 0.3–0.7%.

The disorder occurs worldwide, but mainly in countries where computer access and technology are widespread. Clinical samples and a majority of relevant surveys report a male preponderance. Onset is reported to occur in the late 20s or early 30s age group, and there is often a lag of a decade or more from initial to problematic computer usage.

Internet addiction has been associated with dimensionally measured depression and indicators of social isolation. Psychiatric co-morbidity is common, particularly mood, anxiety, impulse control and substance use disorders. Aetiology is unknown, but probably involves psychological, neurobiological and cultural factors.

There are no evidence-based treatments for internet addiction. Cognitive behavioural approaches may be helpful. There is no proven role for psychotropic medication. Marital and family therapy may help in selected cases, and online self-help books and tapes are available. Lastly, a self-imposed ban on computer use and Internet access may be necessary in some cases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Table I

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. US Census Bureau. Computer and internet use in the United States: 2003. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau, 2005 Oct 2

    Google Scholar 

  2. Aboujaoude E, Koran LM, Gamel N, et al. Potential markers for problematic internet use: a telephone survey of 2,513 adults. CNS Spectrums 2006; 11(10): 750–5

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Weizenbaum J. Computer power and human reason. San Francisco (CA): W.H. Freeman, 1976

    Google Scholar 

  4. Zimbardo PG. The age of indifference. Psychol Today 1980; August: 71–6

  5. Boden MA. The meeting of man and the machine. In: Jones KP, Taylor H, editors. The design of information systems for human beings. London: Association for Information Management, 1981

    Google Scholar 

  6. Shallis M. The silicon idol: the micro revolution and its social implications. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984

    Google Scholar 

  7. Griffiths MD. Internet addiction: fact or fiction? Psychologist 1999; 12: 246–51

    Google Scholar 

  8. Keepers GA. Pathological preoccupation with video games. J Am Acad Child Adolesc 1990; 29: 48–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Shotton MA. The cost and benefits of ‘computer addiction’. Behaviour Inform Technol 1991; 10: 219–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Sussman N. Session with Eric Hollander, MD: interview February 7, 2005, New York City [online]. Available from URL: http://www.primarypsychiatry.com/aspx/article_pf.aspx?.article=260 [Accessed 2007 24 Aug]

  11. Shapira N, Goldsmith T, Keck Jr P, et al. Psychiatric features of individuals with problematic internet use. J Affect Disord 2000; 57: 267–72

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Treuer T, Fabian Z, Furedi J. Internet addiction associated with features of impulse control disorder: is it a real psychiatric disorder [letter]? J Affect Disord 2001; 66: 283

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Young K. Internet addiction: the emergence of a new clinical disorder. Cyberpsychol Behav 1998; 3: 237–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Black DW, Belsare G, Schlosser S. Clinical features, psychiatric comorbidity, and health-related quality of life in persons reporting compulsive computer use behavior. J Clin Psychiatry 1999; 60: 839–43

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Davis R. A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological internet use. Comput Human Behav 2001; 17: 187–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Caplan SE. Preference for online social interaction: a theory of problematic internet use and psychosocial well-being. Comm Research 2003; 30: 625–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Scherer K. College life on-line: healthy and unhealthy internet use. J College Student Dev 1997; 38: 655–65

    Google Scholar 

  18. Goldberg I. Internet addiction disorder 1996 [online]. Available from URL: http://www.cog.brown.edu/brochure/people/duchon/humor/internet.addiction.html [Accessed 2007 May 7]

  19. “Internetomania” sign of psychiatric illness [online]. Available from URL: http://www.personalmd.com/news/al998060503.shtml [Accessed 2007 Aug 27]

  20. Shapira NA, Lessig MC, Goldsmith TD, et al. Problematic internet use: proposed classification and diagnostic criteria. Depress Anxiety 2003; 17: 207–16

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. McElroy SL, Keck PE, Harrison PG, et al. Compulsive buying: a report of 20 cases. J Clin Psychiatry 1994; 55: 242–8

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed., text rev. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000

    Google Scholar 

  23. Young K, Pistner M, O’Mara J, et al. Cyber-disorders: the mental health concern for the new millennium. Cyberpsychol Behav 2000; 3: 475–9

    Google Scholar 

  24. Stein DJ. Internet addiction, internet psychotherapy [letter]. Am J Psychiatry 1997; 153: 890

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hollander E, Allen A. Is compulsive buying a real disorder, and is it really compulsive? Am J Psychiatry 2006; 163: 1670–2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Holden C. Behavioral addictions: do they exist? Science 2001; 294: 980–2

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Griffiths M. Does internet and computer “addiction” exist? Some case study evidence. Cyberpsychol Behav 2000; 3(2): 211–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Huisman A, van den Eijnden R, Garretsen H. ‘Internet addiction’: a call for systematic research. J Subst Use 2001; 6: 7–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Egger O, Rauterberg M. Internet behavior and addiction. Zurich: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  30. Brenner V. Psychology of computer use: XLVII. Parameters of internet use, abuse, and addiction: the first 90 days of the Internet Usage Survey. Psych Rep 1997; 80: 879–82

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Young K. Caught in the net: how to recognize the signs of internet addiction and a winning strategy for recovery. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998

    Google Scholar 

  32. Widyanto L, McMurran M. The psychometric properties of the internet addiction test. Cyberpsychol Behav 2004; 7: 443–50

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Morahan-Martin J, Schumacher P. Incidence and correlates of pathological internet use among college students. Comput Human Behav 2000; 16: 13–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Yoo HJ, Cho SC, Ha J, et al. Attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms and internet addiction. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2004; 58: 487–94

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Leung L. Net-generation attributes and seductive properties of the internet as predictors of online activities and internet addiction. Cyberpsychcol Behav 2004; 7: 333–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Greenfield DN. Psychological characteristics of compulsive internet use: a preliminary analysis. Cyberpsychol Behav 1999; 2: 403–12

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Whang LS-M, Lee S, Chang G. Internet over-users’ psychological profiles: a behavior sampling analysis on internet addiction. Cyberpsychol Behav 2003; 6: 143–50

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Niemz K, Griffiths M, Banyard P. Prevalence of pathological internet use among university students and correlations with self-esteem, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and disinhibition. Cyberpsychol Behav 2005; 8: 562–70

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Chou C, Hsiao M-C. Internet addiction, usage, gratification, and pleasure experience: the Taiwan college students’ case. Comput Educ 2000; 35: 65–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Kaltiala-Heino R, Lintonen T, Rimpela A. Internet addiction? Potentially problematic use of the internet in a population of 12–18 year old adolescents. Addict Res Theory 2004; 12: 89–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Johansson A, Gotestam K. Internet addiction: characteristics of a questionnaire and prevalence in Norwegian youth (12–18 years). Scand J Psych 2004; 45: 223–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Kim K, Ryu E, Chon M-Y, et al. Internet addiction in Korean adolescents and its relationship to depression and suicidal ideation: a questionnaire survey. Int J Nurs Stud 2006; 43: 185–92

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Pallanti S, Bernardi S Leonardo Q. The shorter PROMIS questionnaire and the internet addiction scale in the assessment of multiple addictions in a high-school population: prevalence and related disability. CNS Spectrums 2006; 11(12): 966–74

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Morahan-Martin J, Schumacher P. Incidence and correlates of pathological internet use among college students. Comput Human Behav 2000; 16: 13–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Ware J. Script for personal interview SF-36 administration (appendix C). In: SF-36 health survey manuals and interpretations. Boston (MA): Nimrod Press, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  46. Robins LN, Heizer JE, Cottier L, et al. National Institute of Mental Health diagnostic interview schedule, version III-R. St Louis (MO): Washington University School of Medicine, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  47. Christenson GA, Faber RJ, de Zwaan M, et al. Compulsive buying: descriptive characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity. J Clin Psychiatry 1994; 55: 5–11

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Spitzer RL, Williams JBW, Gibbons M. Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research, 1994

    Google Scholar 

  49. Kraut R, Patterson M, Landmark V, et al. Internet paradox: a social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well being? Am Psychol 1998; 53: 1017–31

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Nie NH, Erbring L. Internet and society: a preliminary report. Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society [online]. Available from URL: http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/Press_Release/press_releasw.html [Accessed 2007 Aug 26]

  51. Young KS, Rodgers RC. The relationship between depression and internet addiction. Cyberpsychol Behav 1998; 1(1): 25–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Petrie H, Gunn D. Internet “addiction”: the effects of sex, age, depression and introversion. British Psychological Society London Conference; 1998 Dec 15–16; London

  53. Beck AT, Steer RA, Brown GK. Beck depression inventory-II manual. San Antonio (TX): Psychological Corporation, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  54. Eysenck H, Eysenck S. Eysenck personality questionnaire. San Diego (CA); Educational and Industrial Testing Service, 1975

    Google Scholar 

  55. Hyler SE, Rieder RO, Spitzer RL. Personality diagnostic questionnaire, revised. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  56. Davis R. A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological internet use. Comput Human Behav 2001; 17: 187–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Caplan SE. Preference for online social interaction: a theory of problematic internet use and psychosocial well-being? Am Psychol 1998; 53: 1017–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Baldwin DS, Anderson IM, Nutt DJ, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders: recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology. J Pharmacol 2005; 19: 567–96

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Treuer T, Fabian Z, Furedi J. Internet addiction associated with features of impulse control disorder: is it a real psychiatric disorder? J Affective Disord 2001; 66: 283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Stein DJ, Black DW, Shapira NA, et al. Hypersexual disorder and preoccupation with internet pornography. Am J Psychiatry 2001; 158: 1590–4

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Shotton MA. The costs and benefits of ‘computer addiction’. Behav Inform Tech 1991; 10(3): 219–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Belsare T, Gaffney GR, Black DW. Compulsive computer use [letter]. Am J Psychiatry 1997; 154: 289

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Hadley SJ, Baker BR, Hollander E. Efficacy of escitalopram in the treatment of compulsive-impulsive computer use disorder [abstract]. Biol Psychiatry 2006; 59: 261S

    Google Scholar 

  64. Sattar P, Ramaswamy S. Internet gaming addiction. Can J Psychiatry 2004; 49: 871–2

    Google Scholar 

  65. Hall AS, Parsons J. Internet addiction: college student case study using best practices in cognitive behavior therapy. J Ment Health Couns 2001; 23(4): 312–27

    Google Scholar 

  66. Young K. A therapist’s guide to assess and treat internet addiction [online]. Available from URL: http://www.netaddiction.com/downloads.html [Accessed y2007 May 16]

  67. Beck AT. Cognitive therapy: a 30-year retrospective. Am Psychol 1991; 46(4): 368–75

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Ang A. China takes unique steps to combat web addiction. USA Today 2005 [online]. Available from URL: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-07-01-china-web-addiction_x.htm [Accessed 2007 Aug 23]

Download references

Acknowledgements

Dr Black has received research support from Shire and Forest Laboratories; speaker’s bureau honoraria from Pfizer; and honoraria for other consulting from Forest Laboratories and Shire. Ms Shaw reports no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to this manuscript. No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this review.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, USA

    Martha Shaw &  Donald W. Black

Authors
  1. Martha Shaw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Donald W. Black
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donald W. Black.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shaw, M., Black, D.W. Internet Addiction. CNS Drugs 22, 353–365 (2008). https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200822050-00001

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200822050-00001

Keywords

Search

Navigation