Internet Addiction Disorder: Causes, Effects, and Self-Assessment
This paper examines Internet addiction disorder (IAD) as a behavioral addiction with measurable consequences for users' academic, professional, and personal lives. It defines IAD using criteria parallel to other behavioral addictions — such as loss of control, deceptive use, and interference with daily responsibilities — and explores the key drivers of addictive Internet use, including sexual anonymity, social networking, and the opportunity to construct alternative online identities. The paper also weighs the broader benefits of Internet connectivity against the harms of overuse, and presents a 20-question self-assessment inventory developed by the Center for Internet Addiction and Recovery to help users identify problematic patterns. The conclusion situates IAD within the wider landscape of behavioral addictions and considers whether it may diminish as the novelty of the medium fades.
- Introduction: Internet's rise and potential for addictive overuse
- The Nature of Internet Addiction Disorder: Definition, criteria, and subtypes of IAD
- The Significance of Internet Addiction and Its Consequences: Real-world harms of excessive Internet use
- Balancing the Positive and the Negative: Internet's benefits weighed against addiction risks
- Self-Assessment: The Internet Addiction Inventory: Twenty diagnostic questions for identifying IAD
- Conclusion: IAD treatment perspective and long-term outlook
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper frames IAD consistently within the broader behavioral addiction literature, using parallel criteria (loss of control, deception, interference with daily life) to legitimize its subject without overstating clinical consensus.
- It balances criticism with nuance, acknowledging that Internet use is itself innocuous and that addiction consequences mirror those of other benign activities taken to excess.
- The inclusion of the full 20-question self-assessment inventory adds concrete, practical value and grounds the theoretical discussion in an actionable diagnostic tool.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of analogy as a rhetorical and analytical strategy. By repeatedly drawing parallels between IAD and other well-recognized behavioral addictions (shopping, exercise, sex, television), the author normalizes the disorder within an established framework while avoiding sensationalism. This comparative approach helps readers evaluate IAD on its own merits rather than dismissing it as a novel or trivial concern.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a classic five-part expository structure: an introduction establishing the cultural context of the Internet, a definitional section on IAD's nature and subtypes, a section on real-world consequences, a balanced section weighing Internet benefits against addiction risks, and a practical self-assessment tool followed by a forward-looking conclusion. Each section builds logically on the last, moving from definition to impact to response.
Introduction
Since the Internet first became widely available in the late 1990s, it has been responsible for numerous cultural changes and phenomena. Almost immediately, the online medium became an avenue through which users pursued private interests kept separate from their regular offline lives (Grohol, 1999; Macionis, 2003). That is particularly true in connection with so-called "prurient" interests, precisely because of the anonymity the Internet medium provides.
More recently, the Internet has become an integral part of many people's social lives — one that is also fully integrated into their offline routines. Today, social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook constitute some of the most common ways that people interact with friends and meet new acquaintances (Mostellar, 2009).
Just as with many other human activities, the Internet has demonstrated a definite potential for overuse among those suffering from Internet addiction disorder (IAD), in a manner that mirrors other forms of behavioral addiction (Grohol, 2007). Internet addiction manifests itself in several different ways depending on the specific type of use involved and the reasons the addicted individual began overusing the medium (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008; Grohol, 2007). As with other sources of behavioral addiction, the problems associated with IAD relate more to the consequences of overuse than to anything inherently negative about Internet use itself.
The Nature of Internet Addiction Disorder
In principle, Internet addiction disorder is defined by the same criteria as other behavioral addictions such as compulsive shopping, exercise addiction, sex addiction, and disordered eating (BWA, 2007; CIAR, 2008; Grohol, 2007). Internet use is considered addictive when it interferes with other important aspects of the user's life, when usage increases beyond the individual's control, and when the user has difficulty recognizing the problem or successfully reducing the behavior upon attempting to do so (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008). As with other behavioral addictions, users addicted to the Internet typically lie about or conceal their use from others, and they may become defensive when others express concern (BWA, 2007; CIAR, 2008; Grohol, 1999).
One of the most striking early social aspects of Internet use was the overwhelming predominance of sexually oriented websites and business ventures, which quickly became the most lucrative area of online commerce (Macionis, 2003). Sexual content accounts for a substantial proportion of Internet addiction, partly because many individuals in American society repress various aspects of their sexual persona or interests. The anonymous Internet medium offers a space for safe expression without many of the social consequences that otherwise motivate people to conceal their sexual interests (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008; Macionis, 2007).
Another significant driver of Internet addiction is the fact that the medium allows users to present themselves differently than they might feel comfortable doing in person. This is particularly true for individuals who are shy or self-conscious about their appearance (Grohol, 1999). The remote, anonymous nature of the Internet also enables persona manipulation, allowing users to create a self-portrayal that embellishes the truth in ways impossible to sustain face-to-face. At the extreme end of the spectrum, the Internet allows a person to construct an entirely different alter ego through which the individual can live out a virtual fantasy life as an emotional escape from boredom or from negative aspects of real life (Grohol, 1999; Mostellar, 2009).
The most recent Internet applications associated with addictive behaviors are web logs known as "blogs" and platforms that involve the creation of personal profiles and online social networks — such as MySpace and Facebook — which are conducive to indulging narcissistic tendencies (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008; Mostellar, 2009). Facebook in particular encourages users to update their pages continually throughout the day, which increases the addictive potential of Internet use, especially when the user is already experiencing something negative in life for which the Internet provides an escape, or when the user is unable to pursue social connections as freely offline (Mostellar, 2009). When combined with full mobile access through cell phones, these applications become even more susceptible to addictive overuse.
The Significance of Internet Addiction and Its Consequences
Addicted Internet users often neglect some of the most important aspects of their lives in order to spend more and more time online. They may perform worse in school because Internet addiction causes them to neglect their coursework; they may miss school or work, or perform poorly on the job, because they are chronically fatigued from staying up far later than is reasonable on school or work nights. They may lose interest in other activities, and in the most extreme cases they may even stop grooming themselves or leaving the house (BWA, 2007; CIAR, 2008). Addicted Internet users have lost jobs, failed out of school, and damaged marriages and parent-child relationships due to excessive preoccupation with the Internet.
Internet addiction disorder can be a symptom of pre-existing underlying problems, or it can be a problem in and of itself without any necessary link to other issues in the user's life (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008; Mostellar, 2009). For example, an individual who is unfulfilled in his or her marital relationship may become addicted to the Internet after coming to rely on it for positive feedback, social connection, and even the sexual excitement that is lacking in real life. In such cases, the Internet is merely the outlet for behaviors generated by deeper problems (Grohol, 2007).
On the other hand, Internet addiction can also occur without any related underlying problems, simply because the user genuinely enjoys Internet activities and interactions so much that he or she begins to neglect other aspects of life. In those cases, nothing about the user's online activities is inherently problematic; the negative consequences arise purely as a function of neglecting other necessary activities, such as those related to academic performance, social obligations, or work responsibilities (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008).
Conclusion
By conducting such an inventory, the user can accurately assess his or her involvement with the Internet and identify addictive tendencies. Unlike many other forms of addiction — such as alcoholism and drug addiction — Internet use is itself innocuous and distinctly beneficial in most situations. Where patterns of use become addictive, the appropriate response is to identify and address any underlying problems in the user's life that are contributing to the need to escape, whether via the Internet or any other means. Otherwise, the solution lies in developing a healthier perspective toward the activity without necessarily treating Internet use as a problem in and of itself.
Ultimately, much of the current intense interest in the Internet may simply reflect its relative novelty and the rapid pace at which its capabilities continue to develop. In all likelihood, within another decade or two, Internet addiction disorder will be as rare as telephone addiction or television addiction are today.
References
BeWebAware. (2007). Internet addiction. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/INTERNETADDICTION.aspx
Center for Internet Addiction Recovery. (2008). Internet addiction test. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/internet_addiction_test.htm
Gerrig, R., & Zimbardo, P. (2008). Psychology and life (18th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Grohol, J. (1999). Internet addiction guide. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from http://psychcentral.com/netaddiction/
Macionis, J. (2003). Sociology. Pearson.
Mostellar, R. (2009). Why moms are at risk for Internet addiction. CNN.com. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/13/mothers.internet.addiction/index.html
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