No Such Thing As A 'Net Junkie: Questioning Internet Addiction

Ever get called an Internet addict? Excessive Internet usage has its negative effects - however, a team of researchers argues that there is no such thing as Internet addiction.

In a 2008 study, a team headed by Dr. Sookeun Byun of Kwangwoon University looked at scholarly journal articles about Internet addiction published from 1996 to 2006. This meta-analysis covered the literature across an astonishing time period of computing and connectivity - to put it in context,  Macintosh users in 1996 were on system 7.5.3, and for Windows users MSN was the killer app. Byun's team found that "the networking capabilities of the Internet can cause social isolation and functional impairment of daily activities" with negative effects upon work and social life.

However, the researchers "found that previous studies on Internet addiction were primarily concerned with the antecedents of Internet addiction and with identifying features in participants that made an individual more susceptible to becoming an Internet addict." In other words, past researchers put the cart before the horse, and took Internet addiction's existence for granted rather than critically examining whether it exists. "The analysis showed that previous studies have utilized inconsistent criteria to define Internet addicts, applied recruiting methods that may cause serious sampling bias, and examined data using primarily exploratory rather than confirmatory data analysis techniques to investigate the degree of association rather than causal relationships among variables." In other words, the flawed research discredited whether "Internet addiction" really existed!      

Some researchers and psychologists assert that, even though excessive Internet usage can cause one difficulties in life - lost sleep, for example, or a diminished ability to relate comfortably with others in real life - . The behaviors can be there, but aren't symptoms of a problem as much as just another facet of a personality. "I don't deny that some small subset of people have behavioral problems with learning how to integrate using parts of the Internet into their everyday lives," explains Dr. John Grohol of PsychCentral's World of Psychology blog. "[However,] people have similar problems with work, the television, and many other things in life, and we can still treat them without demonizing (and labeling) the conduit that brings a person new entertainment, information, or enjoyment."  

So, the next time someone calls you an Internet addict, send them a link to Dr. Byun's study - then close your laptop and go on a walk outside.