Internet Addiction Disorder...what is it?and is it really a disorder?

Internet Addiction Disorder

Research today cannot define what the Internet Addiction Disorder(IAD) really is, and how it is caused. They haven't been able to find relationships between behaviors and their causes such as being addicted to the internet and what causes the addiction.

Lots of people spend hours and hours online, however, there is a difference between spending the night on the computer finishing a report or being addicted to the internet. Its not the internet itself that is addicting, it is the behavior.

There are also other activities that people sometimes spend way too much time doing. For example, reading, working, watching t.v, etc. "But do we have TV addiction disorder, book addiction, and work addiction being suggested as legitimate mental disorders in the same category as schizophrenia and depression? I think not (Grohol)."

Case studies and research based on people online haven't been able to prove that people can be addicted to the internet.

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I think that people cannot really have a mental disorder that causes them to be addicted to the internet. In my opinion, some people may use the internet to escape problems in their lives. "Those problems may be a mental disorder (depression, anxiety, etc.), a serious health problem or disability, or a relationship problem (Grohol)."I think that it is no different than talking on the phone all night to avoid having to do your homework or talk to your parents about your report card. In conclusion, I believe that there is no such thing as the mental disorder IAD.