Internet addiction disorder: Difference between revisions

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Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is a theorized disorder made by Ivan Goldberg, M.D., in 1995. It is compared to pathological gambling as diagnosed by the DSM-IV. Dr. Goldberg, along with Kimberly Young, Psy.D. are currently lobbying for the inclusion of IAD into the DSM-V, the next edition of the DSM, which would open the doors for insurance companies to pay out for Internet addiction counseling. However many others argue that IAD is not an actual disorder and should not be classified as a mental disorder in DSM-V.

Proposed diagnostic criteria

A pattern of Internet use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by three (or more) of the following, occurring at any time in the same 12-month period:

Tolerance, as defined by either of the following:
- A need for markedly increased amounts of time on Internet to achieve satisfaction.
- Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of time on Internet.
Withdrawal, as manifested by either A or B below:
- (A) the characteristic withdrawal syndrome, 1, 2 and 3 below
  1. Cessation of (or reduction in) Internet use that has been heavy and prolonged.
  2. Two (or more) of the following, developing within several days to a month after Criterion:
    - (a) psychomotor agitation
    - (b) anxiety
    - (c) obsessive thinking about what is happening on the Internet
    - (d) fantasies or dreams about the Internet
    - (e) voluntary or involuntary typing movements of the fingers
  3. The symptoms in Criterion 2 cause distress or impairment in social, occupational or another important area of functioning
- (B) Use of Internet or a similar on-line service is engaged in to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Internet is often accessed more often or for longer periods of time than was intended, causing the untreated addict to neglect responsibilities at work and the needs of the family at home.
There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control Internet use.
A great deal of time is spent in activities related to Internet use (for example, buying Internet books, trying out new WWW browsers, researching Internet vendors, organizing files of downloaded materials, browsing Wikipedia).
Frequent talks about the Internet in daily life.
Important family, social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced in duration and/or frequency because of Internet use.
Internet use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical, family, social, occupational, or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by Internet use (for example, sleep deprivation, marital difficulties, lateness for early morning appointments, neglect of occupational duties, or feelings of abandonment in significant others).

It should be noted however that these criteria were originally posted as a joke by Ivan Goldberg on www.psycom.net as a parody of the strict format of the DSM, Goldberg did not actually believe that IAD existed. Subsequent researchers such as Kimberly Young, Mark Griffiths and John Charlton have investigated the idea of IAD further and attempted to create more accurate diagnostic criteria for Internet Addiction Disorder. (Surrat, 1999)

Criticisms

It has been argued by Internet researchers, including Carol Potera and Jonathan Bishop, that there is no such thing as Internet Addiction. With the Internet being a social medium, it is believed that people cannot be addicted to the medium of the Internet, which is considered to be an environment, but merely to aspects of that medium such as bidding on online auctions or viewing Internet pornography. Also, there are significant differences between internet use and Pathological Gambling, which the IAD theory heavily parallels. The Internet is largely a pro-social, interactive, and informational-driven medium, while gambling is seen as a single, anti-social behavior that has very little social redeeming value.

Teenagers

It has been widely discussed that teenagers are the ones most affected by the Internet^{[citation needed]}.

Examples

Internet pornography
Wikipedia. Some frequent contributors to Wikipedia identify themselves as "Wikipediholics."
Fantasy sports websites such as Yahoo! and ESPN have been known to addict users to their services.
Websites such as MySpace, Friendster, LiveJournal, Xanga, Xuqa, and Facebook are reputed to occupy users for periods in excess of 5 hours.
MMORPGs such as Everquest, RuneScape, and World of Warcraft. (As was the case in the death of Lee Seung Seop)
Social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us, digg.com or webslideshow sites like web2.0slides, webfalls.com occupy users trying to satisfy a non-specific lack of information for hours.
Instant messaging programs such as AIM.
Internet forums and Chat rooms
Slashdot
Digg
MUDs
Neopets

Treatment clinic

In March 2005, a government clinic for Internet addiction was opened at the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital in People's Republic of China. It treats patients, mostly youths between the age of 14 to 24, who suffer from anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep, often due to long hours on online video games and chats. Treatments include Internet "cold turkey", counseling, physical activity, antidepressants, and enforcement of strict regular sleeping patterns.[1]

References

Bishop, J. (2005). "Does Internet Addiction Exist?" available online
Caruso, D. (1998). Critics Pick Apart Study on Internet and Depression. available online.
Hansen, S. (2002). "Excessive Internet usage or 'Internet Addiction'? The implications of diagnostic categories for student users." Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 18(2) pp.232-236.
Potera, C. (1998). "Trapped in the Web?" Psychology Today, Mar/Apr 98, 31(2) pp.66-70.
Surratt, Carla G (1999). Netaholics? : the creation of a pathology Commack, NY : Nova Science Publishers.
Young, K. (1998). Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction – and a Winning Strategy for Recovery. John Wiley, New York.

External links

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 #*# The symptoms in Criterion 2 cause distress or impairment in social, occupational or another important area of functioning
 #* (B) Use of Internet or a similar on-line service is engaged in to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
-#Internet is often accessed more often or for longer periods of time than was intended.
+#Internet is often accessed more often or for longer periods of time than was intended, causing the untreated addict to neglect responsibilities at work and the needs of the family at home.
 #There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control Internet use.
 #A great deal of time is spent in activities related to Internet use (for example, buying Internet books, trying out new WWW browsers, researching Internet vendors, organizing files of downloaded materials, browsing Wikipedia).