Internet Addiction Report: Causes, Effects, and Treatment Options

This report examines Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), a growing concern characterized by excessive online engagement leading to distress and impairment. The report delves into the different types of IAD, including cyber relationships, cyber sex, internet compulsion, online shopping, and internet surfing. It explores various causes, such as loneliness, depression, feelings of being overwhelmed, and introversion, which contribute to the addiction, particularly among the youth. The report further analyzes the adverse effects of IAD on modern society, encompassing isolation, health problems, interference with daily life, and aggressive behaviors. Finally, it outlines available treatment options, including group and family therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, art therapy, and recreation therapy. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for prompt intervention to mitigate the detrimental effects of IAD on individuals and society.

Running head: INTERNET ADDICTION
Internet Addiction
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Internet Addiction..................................................................................................................2
Causes of Internet Addiction..................................................................................................4
Effects of Internet Addiction on Modern Society..................................................................4
Available Treatment for Internet Addiction...........................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Addiction is a specific type of brain disorder that is characterized by the obsessive
engagement in satisfying stimuli in spite of unfavourable consequences (J Kuss et al. 2014).
Despite of the involvement of several numbers of psychological factors, a particular
biological procedure is induced by the repetition of exposure to an addictive stimulus. This
type of brain disorder forces the victim to be addicted to any particular thing or place. One of
such dangerous and infamous addiction is in the connection of Internet (Kuss, Griffiths and
Binder 2013). This addiction is extremely common in today’s world and is especially found
in the youth or young generation.
The following report outlines a brief description about the addiction in Internet. There
are several harmful effects due to this addiction (Kardefelt-Winther 2014). This report
focuses on the various causes and effects on modern society and how this addiction is
affecting the youth generation. The report will also discuss about the probable and available
treatment interventions for the Internet addiction.
Discussion
Internet Addiction
Internet Addiction Disorder or IAD is the characterization by poorly or excessively
managed behaviours, urges or preoccupations about the utilization of Internet. This can lead
to distress or even impairment (Brand, Young and Laier 2014). Internet addiction can be
referred to the obsessive requirement to be present online in such a way that it can be
interfered with normal life and which can negatively affect acquaintances. There are various
types of Internet addiction. They are as follows:

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i) Cyber Relationships: This is one of the most important type of Internet addiction.
Cyber relationships is the addiction to all types of social networking sites, social media,
messaging, chat rooms and many such things to such a point where online friends or virtual
friends become more vital than the real life relationships (Kuss et al. 2013). The victim of this
type of disorder is more interested in cyber or virtual relations, rather than affected with his
or her own family or friends in real life.
ii) Cyber Sex: This is the second type of Internet addiction that focuses on the
compulsive utilization of the Internet pornography, adult fantasy and adult chat rooms
(Young 2015). This obsession about cyber sex affect the youth generation in concentrating in
their studies.
iii) Internet Compulsion: This is the third type of Internet addiction. The compulsion
over Internet lead to constant gambling, online gaming, visiting auction sites, stock trading
and many more and thus, the victim is constantly affected with the Internet connection
(Starcevic 2013). This type of Internet addiction often result to various job related issues and
financial problems.
iv) Online Shopping: This is another type of Internet addiction and here the victim is
constantly visiting and shopping from the online stores in all over the world. Online shopping
often lead to financial crisis and the victim is affected by this.
v) Internet Surfing: This is the fifth type of Internet addiction, where the victim is
obsessed with the Internet surfing. He or she surfs the Internet and is obsessed with web
surfing or any type of database searching (Cheng and Li 2014). This often leads to
productivity of low work and lower social interaction with friends and family. Thus, this
affects his personal, professional and social life.

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Causes of Internet Addiction
There are various important causes of the Internet addiction. These are the sole reason
ns of enhancement of Internet addiction is spread in all over the world. The most important
and the most significant causes of the Internet addiction are as follows:
i) Loneliness: This is the most important cause of internet addiction for the youth
generation (Goel, Subramanyam and Kamath 2013). When the victims do not have someone
to talk with or share their problems, they often end up in the virtual world of Internet.
ii) Depression: This is the second important cause of this type of addiction. Victims
are often depressed and they try to find peace and bliss in the cyber world.
iii) Overwhelmed: The third major cause of Internet addiction is being overwhelming.
Statistics denote that around 35% of the youth generation spend their time on Internet, as they
are overwhelmed with any kind of topic or situation (Lortie and Guitton 2013). They want to
share their experience and want the people to know about their life and activities. This type of
addiction is mostly seen in children, young adults or people aging between 20 to 30 years.
iv) Introvert: This is again one of the major causes of Internet addiction. Many people
or children are introvert in nature. They face problems in sharing their feelings or issues with
others in face-to-face meetings (Starcevic 2013). However, they can speak freely when they
are in the virtual world. These types of individuals spend most of their time online and are
affected with Internet Addiction Disorder.
Effects of Internet Addiction on Modern Society
The above-mentioned causes clearly depict that there can be serious issues due to this
type of harmful addiction. Although, Internet has various advantages, there are several

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disadvantages or demerits for this Internet addiction. The major disadvantages for the Internet
addiction are as follows:
i) Isolation: This is the most significant disadvantage of Internet addiction. The
person is addicted to this type of connectivity and he spends most of his or her time alone by
locking himself in a particular room. Due to his isolation, his social life is affected.
ii) Health Problems: The second disadvantage of Internet addiction is poor health.
This type of Internet addiction often leads to extreme health issues or problems (Goel,
Subramanyam and Kamath 2013). It has been noticed in recent statistics that most of the
health problems of the youth generation is due to Internet addiction. Poor eye sights,
migraines, spondylitis, back pain, neck pain are some of the major health problems caused by
Internet connection.
iii) Life Interference: It has been noticed that some of the addicts are losing their jobs
or failing in classes as they are spending most of the time on online activities. Often people
are not present in schools, colleges or work places since they are completely indulged in
online activities.
iv) Aggressive Behaviour: This is again one of the major disadvantages of Internet
addiction. People are turning aggressive when they are interrupted or disturbed while present
on the Internet (Starcevic 2013). Moreover, they are not paying attention to their family or
friends and are thus being totally separated from the rest of the world.
These effects have totally conquered the world and are responsible for many of the
cyber crime or depression.

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Available Treatment for Internet Addiction
The addicted people are required to be treated as soon as possible so that they are not
affected any more (Winkler et al. 2013). This is only possible with the help of medical
science and psychologists. Medical science is conquering the world by its amazing therapies
and invention. The available treatments for the Internet addicts are as follows:
i) Group and Family Therapy: This type of therapy is considered as the best therapies
in the world. Family therapy refers to the quality time spent with the victim by counselling
him or her (Young 2015). It has been noticed that the victims believe their families more
often than any other doctors or nurses. If the victim does not have a family, his friends can
also do the same task. This reduces his depression and he is able to share his problems.
ii) Dialectical Behavioural Therapy: DBT is a cognitive behavioural treatment that
emphasizes training classes on group skills and individual psychotherapy (Lortie and Guitton
2013). These classes help the victims to learn as well as utilize innovative strategies and skills
for developing a successful life. When the victim is learning new skills, he is diverted from
the world of Internet.
iii) Art Therapy: This is a specific form of psychotherapy that involves
encouragement of free self expression with the help of art skills like painting, singing,
moulding and many more. This also reduces the addiction of Internet.
iv) Recreation Therapy: This type of therapy uses recreation and several other
activity based interventions for addressing the assessed requirements of individuals, who are
suffering from psychological problems (Ko et al. 2013). Recreation therapy mainly helps to
build confidence and restore gross motor skills.

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Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that, addiction is the most
dangerous and harmful brain disorder for any individual. It causes and brings out various
disadvantages, which can cause extreme harm to the society. The most significant
disadvantage of this addiction is distraction. People are distracted with this di0soirder and
thus often face problems in concentrating in work or studies. Addiction can be featured by the
compelling engagement for fulfilling the demand or satisfying the stimulus. A person is
usually addicted to anything; right from a small pen to a building. The most dangerous or
significant addiction in today’s world is with the connectivity of the Internet. The most
affected people in this type of addiction are the children and youth generation. They face
problems in concentrating on studies and thus their career is affected. The above report has
provided a concise description regarding the Internet addiction. Moreover, this report has also
mentioned about the several causes that are the sole reasons for this type of addiction. The
effects of Internet addiction on the modern society are also given here. The report has also
described about the treatments that are available for removing this type of addiction from any
particular individual.

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References
Brand, M., Young, K.S. and Laier, C., 2014. Prefrontal control and Internet addiction: a
theoretical model and review of neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings. Frontiers in
human neuroscience, 8, p.375.
Cheng, C. and Li, A.Y.L., 2014. Internet addiction prevalence and quality of (real) life: a
meta-analysis of 31 nations across seven world regions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and
Social Networking, 17(12), pp.755-760.
Goel, D., Subramanyam, A. and Kamath, R., 2013. A study on the prevalence of internet
addiction and its association with psychopathology in Indian adolescents. Indian Journal of
Psychiatry, 55(2), p.140.
J Kuss, D., D Griffiths, M., Karila, L. and Billieux, J., 2014. Internet addiction: a systematic
review of epidemiological research for the last decade. Current pharmaceutical
design, 20(25), pp.4026-4052.
Kardefelt-Winther, D., 2014. A conceptual and methodological critique of internet addiction
research: Towards a model of compensatory internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 31,
pp.351-354.
Ko, C.H., Liu, G.C., Yen, J.Y., Chen, C.Y., Yen, C.F. and Chen, C.S., 2013. Brain correlates
of craving for online gaming under cue exposure in subjects with Internet gaming addiction
and in remitted subjects. Addiction biology, 18(3), pp.559-569.
Kuss, D.J., Griffiths, M.D. and Binder, J.F., 2013. Internet addiction in students: Prevalence
and risk factors. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), pp.959-966.

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Kuss, D.J., Van Rooij, A.J., Shorter, G.W., Griffiths, M.D. and van de Mheen, D., 2013.
Internet addiction in adolescents: Prevalence and risk factors. Computers in Human
Behavior, 29(5), pp.1987-1996.
Lortie, C.L. and Guitton, M.J., 2013. Internet addiction assessment tools: Dimensional
structure and methodological status. Addiction, 108(7), pp.1207-1216.
Starcevic, V., 2013. Is Internet addiction a useful concept?. Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Psychiatry, 47(1), pp.16-19.
Winkler, A., Dörsing, B., Rief, W., Shen, Y. and Glombiewski, J.A., 2013. Treatment of
internet addiction: a meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 33(2), pp.317-329.
Young, K., 2015. The evolution of Internet addiction disorder. In Internet addiction (pp. 3-
17). Springer, Cham.