Abstract
The aim of this paper is to review the gradually evolving body of the literature on Internet addiction. Two schools of thought have emerged: those authors who believe that Internet addiction merits classification as a new or emerging psychiatric disorder in its own right, and those who define certain individuals as having problematic Internet use in relation to specific online activities, such as gambling, email or pornography. Despite a total lack of methodologically sound research, the evidence appears to support the second perspective. It appears that individuals who are premorbidly vulnerable, especially with a history of impulse control and addictive disorders, are especially at risk of using the Internet in a problematic way. Aside from the personal and social implications of this finding, this behavior has important implications for the workplace and may be resulting in substantial loss of productivity in companies who are not implementing Internet governance policies.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1447-1453 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Computers in Human Behavior |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2007 |
Keywords
- Internet addiction
- Problematic Internet use
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Science Applications
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology