There are conflicting opinions over whether there is a psychiatric complaint called "internet addiction", according to a feature in the Lancet for February 19. Some individuals, it is alleged, suffer a compulsion to make excessive recourse to their computer in the search for internet enlightenment, and if deprived of their favourite toy become irritable or moody.
A German psychiatrist believes that internet addiction is a real disorder of the mind, and may be linked to other disabilities affecting mental and psychological wellbeing. A group of American psychiatrists has reported that 396 of a group of 496 self-selected regular internet users showed dependence on the medium, as indicated by irritability when deprived of it.
It appears that some treatment centres in the United States are operating on the assumption that internet addiction is a genuine disorder calling for attention. However, some psychiatrists dispute the notion that it can be equated with pathological gambling and similar disorders. It fails to meet the accepted criteria for addiction in respect of withdrawal symptoms, increasing tolerance and loss of control, except in a minority of cases. Nevertheless, deprivation may lead to agitation and aggression, and on the physiological level it has been reported that people playing games on the internet may show release of dopamine from the nucleus accumbens, a phenomenon associated with addictive states.
Persons suspected of suffering from internet addiction often demonstrate other psychological abnormalities, but no single pattern distinguishes them. As a rule, people seek comfort from the internet because they feel lonely. They are individuals tending to lack self-esteem and may have recourse to drugs. They differ from ordinary computer-dependent people, and sexual fantasies may play a part in their makeup. Yet perhaps the greatest hazard when someone launches into the internet is the erosion of self-discipline, which may have serious consequences on the working pattern of the day, and may even result in sacking from employment.