Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology

New addictions: internet addiction

Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2013; 23: Supplement S45-S45
Keywords : internet, addiction
Read: 512 Published: 21 March 2021

Internet is involved in many of the people’s routine activities, by facilitating information access and promoting communication; thus, it has been crucial in changes in social development. Internet has developed very fast with a great impact on young people. Among some websites, that is the latter with the largest number of users. Internet has several advantages, but the excessive use of this kind of internet might cause several consequences including misuse, dependence and addiction. Problematic internet use, wherein an individual’s inability to control his or her use of the internet causes marked distress and/or functional impairment, has been described in the psychological literature as ‘internet addiction’ and ‘pathological internet use’, based on the DSM-IV definition for substance dependence and pathological gambling, respectively. Problematic internet use may represent a clinically important syndrome that is associated with distress, functional impairment and psychiatric disorders. A more precise understanding of the psychopathology and psychiatric comorbidity of problematic internet use would help delineate whether it is a distinct disorder, a symptom of an already characterized psychiatric illness, or both. Internet addiction symptoms were observed in clinical practice show a great deal of overlap with the symptoms commonly associated with behavioral addictions. However, it still unclear to this day whether the underlying mechanisms responsible for the addictive behavior are the same in different types of internet addiction (online sexual addiction, gaming, and excessive surfing). The different shapes of internet addiction fit in one category, due to various internet specific commonalities (anonymity and riskless interaction), commonalities in the underlying behavior (avoidance, fear, pleasure and entertainment) and overlapping symptoms (the increased amount of time spent online, preoccupation and other signs of addiction).

EISSN 2475-0581