Internet Addiction Disorder / Problematic Internet Use- Symptoms and Signs

Symptoms and Signs

Patients with internet addiction disorder show symptoms like excessive use of the internet, tolerance and withdrawal, similar to that observed with other addictions.


A person suffering internet addiction disorder experiences at least three of the following during a twelve month period:

• The affected person uses the internet for longer periods and more often than intended.
• A significant amount of time is spent on internet-related activities like checking out new browsers or researching internet vendors.
• Other activities related to work, recreation or social interactions are

  reduced due to internet use.

• Use of the internet for the same amount of time gradually reduces satisfaction, and the person feels the need to use it for increasing amounts of time to feel the same level of satisfaction. This condition is called tolerance.

• Two or more withdrawal symptoms occur within days to a month of stopping or limiting internet use. These include symptoms like trembling, anxiety, obsessive thinking about the internet, fantasies or dreams about the internet and voluntary or involuntary typing movement of fingers. These symptoms interfere with personal, social or work life of the individual. In fact, there was one case report where a boy suffered from seizures and threw chairs around when he was taken off the internet.
• Use of internet helps to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
• The individual runs at a risk of losing a job, a partner, an educational or career opportunity due to excessive internet use. There was a report of a woman who was so addicted to the internet that she was divorced by her husband. But, the problem did not stop at that. The woman continued the excess internet use to such an extent that she forgot to buy food for her children, take them to doctor appointments and buy enough oil to warm her house.

References:

1. Chih-Hung Ko, et al. Psychiatric Comorbidity of Internet Addiction in College Students: An Interview Study. CNS Spectr. 2008;13(2):147-153
2. King-wa Fu et al. Internet addiction: prevalence, discriminant validity and correlates among adolescents in Hong Kong. BJP 2010, 196:486-492.
3. Bernardo Dell�Osso et al. Epidemiologic and clinical updates on impulse control disorders. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2006; 256:464�475

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