World of Psychology

Internet Addiction (Here We Go Again)

By Will Meek, Ph.D.
August 25, 2007

Several news services have carried a report on an Israeli psychiatrist that says “internet addiction disorder” (IAD) needs to be classified with disorders like compulsive gambling and kleptomania. I have written about this before and will continue the debate on terminology for these types of problems: none of these things should be called an “addiction”, they are impulse control disorders and behavioral problems.

In the current culture an “addiction” is thought of as a “disease” that is genetically based and uncontrollable, which is not the case for IAD (more appropriately called “compulsive internet use” or something to that effect). In the larger public forum, using this other language communicates a controllable and treatable problem, which is a more accurate representation of the issue.


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4 Comments to
“Internet Addiction (Here We Go Again)”

Your point is very pertinent. The way we communicate interpretations in science are by using language, and being too engrossed in the science, we ignore the science of language and communication - which is ultimately crucial in our “understanding” of science. It is natural that the readers of science also interpret the information conveyed to them based on their own linguistic prejudices. This is perhaps one of the biggest hurdles for humanity to cross over in order to take a giant leap of imagination - towards the “next” paradigm shift if you will!

Since usage of internet increasing day by day especially in young generations. They start to give preference to that, rather than spending time with their loved ones. It causes them to undergone lot of stress, and lead to few disorders too. It is really important to spend time in internet only for necessity, otherwise it is right to name it as ‘addiction’.
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While the popular conception is that alchoholism is a disease process its status as a disease is controversial. The DSM doesn’t contain the diagnostic category ‘alchoholism’ - instead you find diagnostic categories relating to tolerance, intoxication, and withdrawal from a variety of substances including alchohol. Alchoholism is a folk concept rather than a technical concept that is employed in psychiatric nosology. Alchoholism as a disease process is a conception that is pushed by AA where AA is a consumer movement rather than a scientific movement and where the behavioural evidence tends to undermine the notion that alchoholism is a disease that is distinctively different from other kinds of ‘addictions’ that people develop like eating too much, watching too much tv, playing on the internet too much, getting too much into pornography, shopping too much etc etc etc.

Internet addiction might be best categorised as a particular kind of impulse control disorder. It might be that a particular subset of people are at risk of it where those people are not at risk of developing other kinds of impulse control disorders. Alternatively, it might be that there are a variety of activities that people with impulse control disorders tend to partake in and there aren’t any interesting scientific generalisations to be gained by insisting that it forms a distinct type. This is the case for different varieties of the Capgras delusion (for example) where it isn’t considered relevant whether one believes that ones wife has been replaced by a robot or a clone or a being from the planet zog.

I share your opinions as to the best description of the relationship people have with the internet, but I also feel that there’s a lot to learn before we start assigning labels. Many people who could be considered as having a problem with the net are simply using it to avoid doing other things and fulfill other duties.

There’s also de novelty element. My grandmother, at the end of the 19th C and begining of the 20th, was supposed to be addicted to the telephone, she spent a longtime talking to her friends when the device was considered only for short instant messages, not for chatter or gossip.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 25 Aug 2007

 


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