Internet Addiction Disorder Essay -- Internet Addiction Essays

The World Wide Web is an intriguing information highway. Its beginnings only date back to the 1990’s, but it has quickly become a major staple in our lives. As with anything there is a good and bad side. Americans and people around the world are becoming more and more reliant on using the internet for their informational, academic, social, entertainment, organizational, and connectional needs. Along with all of the good that this has brought a new disorder is arising, internet addiction disorder. Although internet addiction disorder has not been added as of yet to the DSM hopes by the researchers are high that it will be added in the future editions. Much research has been done to understand the complexities of the disorder. Most of the research has been done on youth and young, college age adults because they seem to be the most vulnerable. Our young people are growing up with the internet and rely on it much more than older adults at the present. They seem to have more of an interest in things of a technological nature (Chou, Condron & Belland, 2005). Through the research predictors of internet addiction disorder are being examined. Scales are being developed to help in diagnosis. Diagnosis criteria are being formulated. Patterns in and researched. There has been an international congress to discuss the disorder and what is being done for treatment around the world. This paper will review the information on research findings, diagnostics, and the treatments that are being used. It will also examine information as to the very nature of the internet what seems to give it the power to pull people into addiction. Explaining Internet Addiction Some researchers say that internet addiction is similar to gambling addiction (Chou... ...2010). Internet addiction or excessive internet use. American Journal Of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 277-283. doi:10.3109/00952990.2010.491880 Yen, J., Yen, C., Wu, H., Huang, C., & Ko, C. (2011). Hostility in the real world and online: The effect of internet addiction, depression, and online activity. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 14(11), 649-655. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.0393 Young, K. (2014). Reflections on the first international congress on internet addiction disorders- cultural and clinical perspectives. Retrieved from http://netaddictionrecovery.blogspot.com/ Zhang, H., Jiang, W., Lin, Z., Du, Y., & Vance, A. (2013). Comparison of psychological symptoms and serum levels of neurotransmitters in shanghai adolescents with and without internet addiction disorder: A case-control study. Plos ONE, 8(5), 1-4. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063089