Even if video game or Internet addiction is a new and undefined trend, many parents show some form of preoccupation. Indeed, computers have been introduced quite rapidly in most of our homes and it is not uncommon to see that children are more familiar with it then their parents. They can be quickly overwhelmed and feel concerned about the number of hours their children spend in front of the Internet or a video game. But what exactly do we call cyberaddiction? Is Internet and video game addiction a new behavioural disorder? And when do we start to worry?

 

An addiction without drugs

If researchers still disagree on a common definition of cyberaddiction, there is a consensus that it is a form of behavioural addiction such as an impulse control disorder.

 

Cyberaddiction can be defined as a psychological disorder leading to an irresistible and obsessive need to play a video game or use the Internet. According to some psychologists, cyberaddiction can also be one of the symptoms of other life problems, where the use of Internet is a way to escape reality.

 

Therefore, cyberaddiction shares common points with addiction such as the psychologist Marc Valleur defines it. According to him, it is characterized by

“the intent of the patient to reduce or stop the consumption or a behaviour without achieving it alone”.

 

 

Even if the addictions can be from different sources, there are some common points between them:

• Loss of control related to a behaviour;

• Continuity of the behaviour despite negative effects;

• Intent to reduce or stop the behaviour without achieving it alone;

• Need to increase the doses to get the same effect as in the beginning;

• Presenting withdrawals symptoms (edginess, insomnia…).

 

According to some experts, cyberaddiction relates to four fields:

 

 

But a lack of consensus also appears when it is time to diagnose cyberaddiction. However with time and the way in which Internet has become part of everyday life, the criteria for diagnosis are more numerous than when researchers started to study the subject (see following box).

 

 

To treat cyberaddiction, it is possible to follow a psychotherapy or a cognitive behavioural therapy. There are also virtual clinics offering online treatments. But we can wonder what the quality of such a treatment is, considering that it is necessary to go on the Internet to treat an Internet addiction problem. However, in some countries like France, Taiwan and the Netherlands, a few hospitals and clinics are interested in the problem and offer treatments to patients with Internet and video game addiction symptoms.

 

If you want to learn more on cyberaddiction, we invite you to look at our dossier. You will find interviews with the psychologist Kimberly Young, the video game designer Louis-Martin Guay and the director of the organization Action Innocence France Véronique Fima-Fromager.

 

 

Author :

Pauline Boinot, M.Sc.

 

REFERENCES

 

February 19, 2010 By: pboinot Category: Cyberaddiction, Information technology