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A proportion of the internet user population experiences some negative consequences of excessive internet use as well as symptoms that can mirror an addiction. In its most general form, researchers (Beard & Wolf, 2001; Griffiths, 2000; Young, 1999) have called this phenomenon “internet addiction.” Chak and Leung (2004) report that hospitals with internet recovery services can be found in many parts of the United States, citing examples such as the McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery at Proctor Hospital, indicating that internet addiction is an actual problem. Studies investigating internet addiction have also been conducted in many countries, including Taiwan (Chou, 2001; Lin & Tsai, 2002; Tsai & Lin, 2003; Yen et al., 2007), China (Cau, Su, Liu, & Gau, 2007), Korea (Hur, 2006; Kim, 2007; Whang, Lee, & Chang, 2003; Yoo et al., 2004), Pakistan (Suhail & Bargees, 2006), India (Nalwa & Anand, 2003), Norway (Johansson & Götestam, 2004), Turkey (Ceyhan, Ceyhan, & Gurcan, 2007), Italy (Ferraro, Caci, D’Amico, & Di Blasi, 2007), England (Griffiths, 2001; Niemz, Griffiths, & Banyard, 2005), the Czech Republic (Simkova & Cincera, 2004), Finland (Kaltiala-Heino, Lintonen, & Rimpela, 2004), and South Africa (Thatcher & Goolam, 2005). These facts indicate that internet addiction is a growing concern across the world.
Since internet addiction is not recognized as a legitimate mental disorder in the DSM-IV and there is no standard definition of the term, many researchers have attempted to define this disorder. For example, Young (1999) defined internet addiction as “an impulse control disorder which does not involve an intoxicant” (p. 2). Kandell (1998) defined internet addiction as “a psychological dependence on the internet, regardless of the type of activity once logged in” (p. 12). Beard and Wolf (2001) define the term as “…use of the internet that creates psychological, social, school, and/or work difficulties in a person’s life” (p. 378). Hall and Parsons (2001) view internet addiction, or what they call “internet behavior dependence,” as a “maladaptive cognitive coping style that can be modified through basic cognitive behavioral intervention” (p. 314). Griffiths (2000) argues that internet addiction is a subset of a behavioral addiction and as such contains the core components of an addiction, including salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. With all of these definitions taken together, internet addiction can be summarized as a maladaptive pattern of internet usage that significantly interferes with a person’s normal daily routines or activities, including but not limited to relationships with friends, family, and loved ones, one’s work or school environment, and one’s psychological well being.