Internet Addiction among Greek University Students: Demographic Associations with the Phenomenon, Using the Greek Version of Young's Internet Addiction Test

Internet addiction (IA) is a new disorder described in 1996 by the psychologist Kimberly Young. The aim of this paper is to estimate the percentage of IA among Greek university students. Results of a sample survey among 1876 Greek university students, 18-27 years old, are presented. The questionnaire consisted of eight questions from Young’s Diagnostic Test for Internet Addiction (YDTIA) as well as an inventory including demographic factors and questions about academic performance, computer and Internet use. YDTIA had a good reliability and diagnostic accuracy, tested with Cronbach’s alpha (0.71) and sensitivity analysis. Results show that the percentage of IA (5-8 YDTIA criteria) is 11.6%, while problematic Internet users were (3-8 YDTIA criteria) 34.7%. Men were more likely to be addicted to the Internet than women, and Internet addicted students were associated with poorer academic performance. Multiple logistic regression showed that significant predictors of IA included increased hours of daily Internet use, increased hours visiting chat rooms, sex pages and blogs, male gender, divorced status, poor grades, and accessing the Internet outside of the home. The results of this study will allow health officials to recognise students who are Internet addicted or on the verge of becoming addicted and stress risk factors indicating a need for intervention in order to prevent the appearance of IA

Internet addiction: a systematic review of epidemiological research for the last decade

In the last decade, Internet usage has grown tremendously on a global scale. The increasing popularity and frequency of Internet use has led to an increasing number of reports highlighting the potential negative consequences of overuse. Over the last decade, research into Internet addiction has proliferated. This paper reviews the existing 68 epidemiological studies of Internet addiction that (i) contain quantitative empirical data, (ii) have been published after 2000, (iii) include an analysis relating to Internet addiction, (iv) include a minimum of 1000 participants, and (v) provide a full-text article published in English using the database Web of Science. Assessment tools and conceptualisations, prevalence, and associated factors in adolescents and adults are scrutinised. The results reveal the following. First, no gold standard of Internet addiction classification exists as 21 different assessment instruments have been identified. They adopt official criteria for substance use disorders or pathological gambling, no or few criteria relevant for an addiction diagnosis, time spent online, or resulting problems. Second, reported prevalence rates differ as a consequence of different assessment tools and cut-offs, ranging from 0.8% in Italy to 26.7% in Hong Kong. Third, Internet addiction is associated with a number of sociodemographic, Internet use, and psychosocial factors, as well as comorbid symptoms and disorder in adolescents and adults. The results indicate that a number of core symptoms (i.e., compulsive use, negative outcomes and salience) appear relevant for diagnosis, which assimilates Internet addiction and other addictive disorders and also differentiates them, implying a conceptualisation as syndrome with similar etiology and components, but different expressions of addictions. Limitations include the exclusion of studies with smaller sample sizes and studies focusing on specific online behaviours. Conclusively, there is a need for nosological precision so that ultimately those in need can be helped by translating the scientific evidence established in the context of Internet addiction into actual clinical practice

Government Regulation of Online Game Addiction

While the Internet has changed the world with online knowledge, communication, and collaboration, it has also introduced online addiction. Online game addiction can be severe with tragic outcomes. Most governments and organizations are yet to recognize the severity of online game addiction and the need for intervention. We briefly review the literature on online game addiction. We also summarize the limited attempts of governments to develop regulations aimed at preventing online game addiction. Special attention is paid to China and its efforts to reduce the number of hours that young people can play online. We present evidence suggesting that online game addiction is an issue that should be considered by governments everywhere and that information systems researchers can play an important role in analyzing the impacts of government regulation of online addiction and shaping regulation improvements

Internet Addiction: A Comparative Study Among Children in the State of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

Background: The Internet is the leading and most resourceful foundation of information in the world today. Internet has become a part of many peoples, mostly young in everyday routine. There has been an explosive growth in the use of internet not only in India, but also worldwide in the last decade. Currently internet has become an important tool for education, entertainment and communication. Increased internet usage may lead to point of addiction, adverseintellectual, habituation, mental complications, corporal disturbance and social effects.India now has the world’s second-largest internet user population, with approximately, 460 million Internet users in 2017.This paper explores the research on how children and youth of depend on all type of gaining the knowledge and communication ininternet and then become addicts. Aim: The aim was study to find out the internet addiction among children in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, India. Method: A comparative study was conducted among children (n=70) of two district between Sagar (Madhya Pradesh) and Surajpur (Chhattisgarh), India, to assess the pattern of internet usage. Researcher have employed semi-structured interview schedule to collect primary data it’s includes like socio-economic profiles of the respondent with Young’s Internet Addiction Test Scale (IAT) and their age between 7-18 years old.The study time duration of January – May 2015 and data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Result:Out of 70 participants 50% of the both districts. 42 (60%) were Males and 28 (40%) Females. Majority of 42 (60%) were 15-<18 years old and 67 (97.5%) were students.  8 (21%) of the respondents were spent their time on internet in cyber cafe for 3-4 hours per day.In this study, 25 (37.9%) Father, 9 (13.2%) Mother, 28 (57%) Brothers and 5 (29.4%) Sisters of the respondents were using internet. According to Young’s 20-item scale were 9 (12.85%) respondents (score >79) severe addicts of internet, and most important these all are belonging from Sagar. 39 (55.72%) respondents as moderate (score 50-79) and 22 (31.43%) respondents were mild and safe (score <49). Keywords: interned addiction, internet usage, adverse effects, internet addiction disorde

Prevalence of pathological Internet use among university students and correlations with self-esteem, the general health questionnaire (GHQ), and disinhibition

Over the last few years, there has been increased interest in the addictive potential of the Internet. The current study was an attempt to replicate common findings in the literature and provide more evidence for the existence of Internet addiction among students—a population considered to be especially vulnerable. A total of 371 British students responded to the questionnaire, which included the Pathological Internet Use (PIU) scale, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a self-esteem scale, and two measures of disinhibition. Results showed that 18.3% of the sample were considered to be pathological Internet users, whose excessive use of the Internet was causing academic, social, and interpersonal problems. Other results showed that pathological Internet users had lower self-esteem and were more socially disinhibited. However, there was no significant difference in GHQ scores. These results are discussed in relation to the methodological shortcomings of research in the area as a whole

The Artificial Medium Laws Theory

This paper articulates the Artificial Medium Laws Theory. The theory is comprised of Perceived Psychological Dimensions, namely: sound, picture, moving picture, time and interaction. These dimensions are the building blocks of the theory’s five laws: 1) The Truth in the Medium is Context Dependent, 2) The Stronger Dimension Prevails, 3) Medium with Time Dimension Determines its Usage Length, 4) The More Dimensions the Medium Poses the Weaker the User’s Imagination, and 5) The User is Bound to All the Laws. The theory seeks to explain the artificial medium influence on human users and to suggest potential implications

The Artificial Medium Laws Theory

This paper articulates the Artificial Medium Laws Theory. The theory is comprised of Perceived Psychological Dimensions, namely: sound, picture, moving picture, time and interaction. These dimensions are the building blocks of the theory’s five laws: 1) The Truth in the Medium is Context Dependent, 2) The Stronger Dimension Prevails, 3) Medium with Time Dimension Determines its Usage Length, 4) The More Dimensions the Medium Poses the Weaker the User’s Imagination, and 5) The User is Bound to All the Laws. The theory seeks to explain the artificial medium influence on human users and to suggest potential implications

Internet Addiction and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Internet addiction has become a social and public health problem especially among adolescents and adults. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the Internet addiction and discuss the process of treating Internet addiction by using cognitive behavioral therapy for Internet addiction model (CBT-IA). Among the Internet addiction, I have elected to focus on the studies regarding definition, prevalence, risk factors, negatives consequences, and treatment modalities with focus on CBT-IA. In contrast, research on the CBT-IA is still in its early stages. Till now, there is no clear definition for Internet addiction, and these definitions are based on assessment tools that are developed by researchers. There was a variance in the prevalence of Internet addiction among adolescents and adults, which might be related to many factors including assessment instruments and cultural factors. There are many risk factors for Internet addiction that involve socio-demographic, social, psychological factors, and Internet use practices. Many negative consequences result from Internet addiction such as social withdrawal, lack of relationships with families and peers, and psychological problems including depression and anxiety. The CBT-IA is the most effective treatment for Internet addiction. The CBT-IA model is a comprehensive approach, which can be divided into three phases: behavior modification, cognitive restructuring, and harm reduction therapy (HRT)

Transforming from Addicted Video Gamer to Doctoral Candidate: An Autoethnographic Reflection

Video game addiction has become a significant concern in many countries with the development of the digital entertainment industry. Researchers have devoted their efforts to understanding the causes of video game addiction and seeking solutions and treatment approaches to help reduce the addictive problem. Similar to the worldwide situation, video game addiction issues are also a major socio-cultural problem in China. Although qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used in video game addiction studies, current research still follows the model of collecting data from objective participants and then analysing it. Contrarily, there is a lack of first-person empirical data on overcoming video game addiction. This research adopts the autoethnographic approach to study video game addiction topics. The outcome indicates that the author’s game addiction is mainly created by seeking fun in gameplay and escapism from real-life problems. The factors that help the author overcome the addiction and further turn into a positive influence in his life include shifting attention and making life more purposeful