Internet Addiction in Adolescents: A Review

Abstract

Studies on internet addiction in adolescents published during the years 2014-2017 were found on PubMed and PsycInfo. Predictive factors for internet addiction included parent variables (internet use, depression, heritability), personality traits (self-esteem, self-regulation, perfectionism, empathy, conscientiousness), and psychological problems (attention deficit neuroticism, anxiety, depression). Internet addiction effects included physiological responses (blood pressure, evoked potentials, fMRIs, sleep problems and overweight), psychological problems (depression and suicidal ideation), inferior academic performance, difficult relationships (family and peers), and co-morbid addictions (smoking, alcohol, drug use, cell phone addiction, internet gaming and cyberbullying). The intervention studies found in this recent literature included restricted internet use, internet monitoring by parents and group therapy. Methodological limitations include the lack of a standard internet addiction classification and the reliance on self-report questionnaires that often do not include time spent online and online and offline behaviors as well as potential underlying mechanisms such as social anxiety. Further, most of the studies are cross-sectional, not longitudinal, so that the direction of effects cannot be determined.