There is an ongoing debate among psychologists, counselors, psychiatrists, and physicians as to whether “Internet addiction disorder” should be considered a diagnosable mental health problem.

Organizations like the American Medical Association have, to date, rejected proposals to classify Internet addiction as a mental disorder. This decision was largely based on insufficient research and scientific consensus on the addictive nature of the Internet and certain online games.

Because it is not yet an officially recognized disorder, Internet Addition has found itself suffering a bit of an identity crisis, sometimes referred to as “excessive”, “problematic” or “unhealthy” computer use. The use of these terms obviously places the emphasis on harm behavior instead of diagnosing the individual himself as an addict.

Internet addiction: a “mixed bag” term

Complicating the issue further is the fact that the term Internet addiction is something of a catch-all label for problems associated with excessive use of computers or technology. For example, the term has been used to describe compulsive online gambling, pornography use, texting, chatting, social networking, web browsing, online shopping, and video gaming.

The symptom of an underlying problem or the cause?

Numerous theories have been proposed to help explain why certain people become addicted to the Internet and why certain online activities are more likely to foster unhealthy usage patterns. For example, it has been suggested that some people may turn to the Internet to avoid feelings of depression, loneliness, shyness, and anxiety. This of course assumes that online addiction is a symptom of an underlying problem rather than a problem itself.

Others argue just the opposite: that Internet and computer addiction can lead to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

Because online addiction is such a new problem and still not well understood by mental health professionals (at least compared to other problems like depression and anxiety), people seeking help for Internet addiction already computers can find doctors, therapists and psychologists who adopt one. from the polarized views above.

For example, consider someone who struggles with depression and online addiction, which is actually quite common.

A therapist may conclude that depressed mood is clearly the main problem and excessive internet use is “obviously just a symptom of depression and the person’s way of distracting themselves from underlying negative feelings.” Another therapist may conclude that Internet addiction is clearly the main problem and that depression is “obviously the natural consequence of spending so much time online disconnected from the real world.”

Depending on the problems that arise, both approaches can be detrimental to the customer.

A more complex relationship between Internet addiction and mental health problems

As is often the case with problems like this, the true relationship between Internet addiction and other disorders may be more complex than either of these two extremes:

• Other psychological disorders can (certainly) exist independently of Internet addiction
• Other psychological disorders may (very likely) be the underlying cause of excessive online use
• Internet addiction can (most likely) exist independently of other psychological disorders
• Internet addiction can (quite possibly) increase the likelihood of developing other psychological disorders
• And finally, both Internet addiction and other psychological disorders can (almost certainly) co-exist, feeding off each other and, as a consequence, maintaining or intensifying the symptoms of both.