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Patricia Wallace PhD, Senior Director, Information Technology and CTY Online, at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth argues that based on the case histories that have surfaced, no one denies that excessive involvement with certain psychological spaces on the net can have serious effects on a person’s life. Patricia Wallace PhD explains that, at a large university in New York, the dropout rate among freshmen newcomers rose dramatically as their investment in computers and Internet access increased, and the administrators learned that 43% of the dropouts were staying up all night on the Internet.

Griffiths PhD six criteria of Internet addiction

1. Salience:

       Using the Internet dominates the person’s life, feelings and behaviour.

2. Mood modification:

       The person experiences changes in mood (e.g. a ‘buzz’) when using the Internet.

3. Tolerance:

       Increasing amounts of Internet use are needed to achieve the same effects on mood.

4. Withdrawal symptoms:

       If the person stops using the Internet, they experience unpleasant feelings or physical effects. 

5. Conflict:

       Using the Internet causes conflicts with those close to the person, or with their everyday life (e.g. their job, social life or hobbies).

6. Relapse:

       The addict tends to relapse into earlier patterns of behavior, even after years of abstinence or control.

Internet addiction Test (IAT)

Kimberly Young PhD, explains the internet addiction test The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) is the first validated instrument to assess Internet addiction. Studies have found that the IAT is a reliable measure that covers the key characteristics of pathological online use. The test measures the extent of a client’s involvement with the computer and classifies the addictive behavior in terms of milled, moderate, and severe impairment. The IAT can be utilized in outpatient and inpatient settings and adapted accordingly to fit the needs of the clinical setting. Furthermore, beyond validation in English, the IAT has also been validated in Italy (Ferraro, Caci, D' Amico, & Di Blasi, 2007) and France (Khazaal et al., 2008) making it the first global psychometric measure.

The test consists of twenty questions with the responses graded out of 5.

0 = Not Applicable

1 = Rarely

2 = Occasionally

3 = Frequently

4 = Often

5 = Always

The Questions:

1. How often do you find that you stay online longer than you intended?

2. How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time online?

3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the Internet to intimacy with your partner?

4. How often do you form new relationships with felloe online users?

5. How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend online?

6. How often do your grades or schoolwork suffer because of the amount of time you spend online?

7. How often do you check your e-mail before something else that you need to do?

8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet?

9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when anyone asks you what you do online?

10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet?

11. How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go online again?

12. How often do you fear that life without the Internet wound be boring, empty, and joyless?

13. How often do you snap, yell, or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are online?

14. How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins?

15. How often do you feel preoccupied with the Internet when offline, or fantasize about being online?

16. How often do you find yourself saying “Just a few minutes” when online?

17. How often do you try to cut down the amount of time you spend online and fail?

18. How often do you try to hide how long you’ve been online?

19. How often do you choose to spend more time online over going out with others?

20. How often do you feel depressed, moody, or nervous when you are offline, which goes away once you are back online?

Once the test is complete the scores for each of the questions are added up to get a combined score out of 100:

Normal Range:0–30 points

Mild: 31-49 points

Moderate: 50-79 points

Severe: 80-100 points

Causes and effects

Dr. Kimberly S. Young states that 52% of the respondents to her own study admitted that they were following recovery programs for other addictions. These included alcoholism, chemical dependency, compulsive gambling, or chronic overeating. These participants could see the same excessive behavior, the need for a crutch to help them relax, in their use of the Internet, that they had exhibited in prior addictions. Though they believed that Internet addiction was not as serious as alcoholism, they still felt disheartened that a new addiction had substituted for the old one.

Prevention and correction

Dr. Kimberley S Young discusses the service for Computer and Internet addiction was founded in spring 1996 by Dr. Maressa Hecht-Orzack of McLean Hospital. Dr. Maressa Hecht-Orzack noted that primarily depression and bi-polar disorder in its depressive swing were co-morbid features of pathological Internet use, along with this Dr. Maressa Hecht-Orzack indicated that referrals received were from various clinics throughout the hospital rather than direct self-referrals for Internet addiction.

Possible disorder

Over the past decade, the concept of Internet addiction has grown in terms of acceptance as a legitimate clinical disorder often requiring treatment. However known academic authorities, take stances in either supporting or opposing the existence of Internet addiction disorder (IAD).