Current Research and Viewpoints on Internet Addiction in Adolescents

Abstract

This review describes recent research findings and contemporary viewpoints regarding internet addiction in adolescents including its nomenclature, prevalence, potential determinants, comorbid disorders, and treatment. Prevalence studies show findings that are disparate by location and vary widely by definitions being used. Impulsivity, aggression, and neuroticism potentially predispose youth to internet addiction. Cognitive behavioral therapy and medications that treat commonly co-occurring mental health problems including depression and ADHD hold considerable clinical promise for internet addiction. The inclusion of internet gaming disorder in the DSM-5 and the ICD-11 has prompted considerable work demonstrating the validity of these diagnostic approaches. However, there is also a movement for a conceptualization of the disorder that captures a broader range of media-use behaviors beyond only gaming. Efforts to resolve these approaches are necessary in order to standardize definitions and clinical approaches. Future work should focus on clinical investigations of treatments, especially in the USA, and longitudinal studies of the disorder’s etiology.