Internet Addiction: The Repercussions, the Causes, and the Treatment

Introduction

The Internet plays an integral part of our modern lives and as advances are continually being made in the world of information Technology (IT), it becomes substantially easier to access. As its uses continually increase, especially among the younger generation (Akin & Iskender, 2011), the internet means that we no longer need to go searching for information but rather information arrives at our homes on a computer screen at the click of a computer key. The Internet provides a wealth of services at our fingertips, including online gaming, shopping, gambling communication with friends, social media sites as well as an abundance of information for research purposes and it enables businesses to carry out operations in the form of Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) (Hersh, 1999; Poon, 2000). These and many other services are all readily available through the very accessible internet which can be accessed without leaving the comfort of our chair at home.

Certain individuals experience an inability to control their Internet use resulting in distressful symptoms of psychological dependence (Brand et al., 2014; Gedam et al., 2016; Jain et al., 2018). The extent to which some Internet users are using this communication medium has come under question creating a stir among the mental health community which has created much discussion among these individuals about the phenomenon known as Internet addiction (Young, 2004). Despite the vast numbers of Internet users which exist the benefits of the internet are reported to far outweigh the opposing consequences which result from extreme use such as internet addiction which reportedly is not yet recognised by the ICD-10 (International classification of Diseases) or the DSM-V which is the 5^th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Murali and George, 2007). Internet addiction is referred to in several different ways and the terms: “Internet addiction disorder (IAD),” “Problematic Internet Use (PIU),” “Excessive Internet Use,” “Compulsive Internet Use,” “Pathological Internet Use,” and “Computer Addiction” have all been used to refer to the same notion which is that an individual gets so involved in their online use to such an extent that it leaves other areas of their lives neglected (Griffiths, 1998; Cash et al. 2012; Yan et al. 2014; Li et al. 2014; Nitin et al., 2018); Billieux et al., 2015).

The remainder of this chapter looks at what constitutes an addiction, the definition of internet addiction, the complications which exist in the various diagnostic methods of successfully diagnosing internet addiction, the criticism some of these diagnostic methods have taken and the effects of excessive internet use by both students and employees. This chapter also highlights those individuals who are of increased risk of developing this condition including positive diagnosis of the addiction and the resultant effects it has on the individual’s family life, employment, social life and personal wellbeing, before finally looking at possible methods and treatments that can be employed for treating internet addiction.