Internet Addiction

Kimberly S. Young made a website to help anyone with an addiction to the internet (Young, 2006). On it, there's a video about how she got involved in the subject, a blog about the addiction, and a test for visitors to take to see if they've got a problem. Although the internet is probably a strange place to give advice on internet addiction, I can see why it works. People who need the help will be more comfortable starting to help themselves through the internet as it's what they're used to, and also gives them anonymity.

Also on the site is a test for people to take to see how addicted to the internet you are. Whilst it may be a good idea in theory, I don't think that internet addiction (or possibly any addiction) can be diagnosed through a simple test. For example, there is not a 'never' option for any of the questions. All the questions are qualitative also, which can make them hard to answer. One persons 'frequently' may be another persons 'often'. There are many other things that could have been asked as well in my opinion, such as the amount of time spent online, and also why they spend time online.

Generally, I think that internet addiction does happen, but only because they're attached to the content that can be found. For example, a socially disadvantaged person may find it easier to make friends online, so would then return to that regularly. I also believe that for someone to be a true internet addict, they must show similar symptoms to conventional addictions when the internet is removed from them.

Young, K. (2006) Center for net addiction recovery (IHEI) [Internet]. London, IHEI. Available from: http://www.netaddiction.com/ [Accessed 07 November 2006].