Development of mobile internet addiction and a discussion on the concept

Abstract

Since the 1990s, studies on internet addiction and mobile phone addiction have been concerned. Of which, internet addiction refers to internet surfing via personal computers, and mobile phone addiction is usually set within the phone calls and sending short message. In recent years, the time and frequency people using mobile phones have been increasing rapidly with the popularity of smart phone and the development of mobile Internet. Some severe cases show an excessive use of mobile phone, even dependent or addictive symptoms. These results in a variety of physical, psychological and social problems of the individuals. However, today's mobile phone dependence or addiction is beyond the scope of calling and texting, but more on the use of the network function. So it needs to redefine this behavior addiction and its criteria by combining both internet addiction and cell phone addiction. It is named as mobile internet addiction. The definition would help to study the mechanism of the development of mobile internet addiction, and provide theoretical foundations for developing effective intervention strategies. Key words: Internet addiction; Mobile phone addiction; Mobile phone network addiction