Internet addiction: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

By Cristiano Antonino On May 5, 2023

The concept of addiction, although traditionally used to describe a physical dependence on a substance, has recently been applied to excessive use of the Internet

So-called ‘internet addiction’ is an issue that is still being defined.

It refers to the excessive use of the internet associated with irritable behaviour and negative mood when deprived of it.

This condition is generally associated with impulse control disorders such as pathological gambling.

This is because negative emotions such as anxiety or heightened states of tension are temporarily replaced by a sense of pleasure or relaxation through internet use and abuse.

Characteristics of internet addiction

Some distinctive characteristics or symptoms of internet addiction are:

Concern and anxiety about the internet
A need to increase the time spent connected to the internet in order to achieve the same degree of previous satisfaction
Repeated efforts to limit internet use
Irritability, depression or emotional instability when internet use is restricted
Spending more time online than previously agreed
Jeopardising work or important relationships to spend time on the Internet
Lying to other people about the time one spends on the Internet
Using the internet as a tool to regulate negative emotions such as loneliness and sadness

Symptoms of internet addiction thus appear to occur when a person’s psychological state, school or work activities and social interactions are damaged by excessive or improper use of this medium.

It acquires a central importance in a person’s life at the expense of other fundamental activities.

Subtypes of Internet addiction

Some scholars have suggested the existence of a specific type of Internet addiction.

In this the person finds only certain aspects of the web rewarding, such as online betting, online sex, shopping or chatting.

Other people, on the other hand, are addicted to the Internet in a more generalised way and not linked to certain specific functions.

In general, however, it appears that people who develop an Internet addiction are those who use it generally for recreational activities.

Such as online video games, shopping and chatting. Less at risk are those who make a more purely instrumental use of it, i.e. related to electronic correspondence (email) and information seeking.

Addiction and ‘hikikomori’

The ‘hikikomori’ phenomenon is increasingly widespread and afflicts young boys who decide to isolate themselves (in their room), shutting off all relations with the outside world.

These boys become socially withdrawn to the point of replacing real life with virtual life: they spend their time in front of the computer surfing the Internet.

Although the Hikikomori phenomenon is often associated with Internet addiction, it differs from the latter in its egosyntonicity.

Moreover, the addiction is not primary but secondary to social withdrawal.

Risk factors

The most recent research indicates that there is no specific type of person who is vulnerable to developing an Internet addiction.

However, young single men, university students, middle-aged women and people with a lower level of education appear to be more frequently at risk.

People suffering from other psychological disorders such as addiction, depression, extreme shyness and low self-esteem also appear to be more at risk.