Internet Addiction

Signs, Symptoms and Treatment

Internet overuse, problematic or pathological computer use – addiction to the internet is a disorder that interferes with daily life. Online activities are normal but becomes troublesome when it interferes with normal life is sometimes called as net compulsions. Compulsive internet use can be productive yet can be problematic for one’s life and relationships.

Various types of internet addictions can be categorized as it covers a variety of impulse-control problems. Cybersex addiction is one of the types that include compulsive use of internet pornography and adult chat rooms which may have a negative impact on one’s real-life intimate relationships. Cyber-relationship addiction is another form that makes a person addicted to social networking; chat rooms and messaging that make online friends more important than real life relationship with one’s friends and family. Net compulsions such as gambling, online auctions, stock trading and online gaming result in financial and work related problems. Sometimes information overload such as compulsive web or database surfing may cause less social interaction with others and decrease productivity.

Various signs and symptoms are associated with addiction to the internet. One of the signs is that the person may feel preoccupied with the internet – thinking of previous online activity and/or anticipating future activity. The person may feel the need to spend increasingly more time online to achieve the desired level of satisfaction. They may have made repeated unsuccessful efforts to cut down or stop internet usage. They may experience feelings of restlessness, moodiness, irritability or depression when they attempt to cut down the behavior. They are at a risk of losing significant relationships in their life and jeopardize their work, education and career. Sometimes people lie to family and friends to conceal their involvement with the internet and may substantiate by using it as a means of escaping their problems of mood, depression, guilt, anxiety or helplessness.

Various risk factors can be kept in awareness for people to know how much at risk they are to be addicted to the internet. People suffering from anxiety, depression, those with other addictions, people lacking social support, unhappy teens, less mobility and socially inactiveness and stressed individuals are at a higher risk for developing this condition.

Some self-help tips may help individuals deal with this problem and to a certain extent may seem successful in overcoming it. First of all, it is important for an individual to understand the underlying problems that support one’s internet addiction. For example, people struggling to deal with stress, anxiety and depression may use the internet as means of soothing oneself.Others may use it to avoid social contact or meeting people due to their inhibitions. Once the root cause is figured out, one needs to build one’s coping skills to deal with one’s own limitations. One may use the internet to release their angry or stress feelings which can instead be done so by building the coping skills to weather the stress and strains of daily life. The next step is to strengthen one’s social support as more social relationships in real life means less need for the internet for social interaction.One needs to dedicate time for family and friends and finding common interest groups as this allows one to interact with others and let natural relationships develop naturally.

Treatment through therapy can give one a tremendous boost in their control of internet usage. Some therapies such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy can provide one with a step by step manner to stop compulsive behaviors and change one’s perception with regard to internet use. It aims to help one learn healthy ways of coping with unpleasant emotions. Group support for addiction is also available where one can try to find a real-life support group of people with similar problems and communicate among them to understand each other, to help and motivate each other.