Internet Addiction Disorder

Internet Addiction Disorder
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Internet Addiction Disorder
Internet addiction (IA) is a condition whereby individuals express inability to control the way they use the internet, a condition, which results to distress or functional impairment. IA is the most current form of addiction, which has raised debates concerning its categorization, as either a compulsive behavior or a disorder. The addiction to the internet manifests itself in both emotional and physical symptoms. Some of the symptoms are isolation, dishonesty, laziness to other work, weight gain or loss and disturbances in sleep. Some experts have advocated the inclusion of IA in DSM-V suggesting that, IA is a common disorder. In addition, the diagnosis is a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder, which encompasses online or offline usage of computers, consisting of at least three categories, which are excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations and email messaging (Pies, 2009).
Recent studies on the subject comment that, males are likely to use the internet more than females. The probability of internet addiction in males is around three times more than that of the females. Apparently, gender determines the form of internet addiction. As such, it explains the disparity in the types of websites frequented by males and females. While the males seek out dominance and sexual fantasy over the internet, females seek close relationships, romance and anonymous communication. As such, females are more likely to get into relationships with people they have met over the internet than males. In addition, males are likely to spend on websites that offer online games, cyber pornography and online gaming. On the other hand, females will spend time on social media, online shopping, sexting and testing websites.
Therefore, from the preferences evident between males and females, risk factors are likely to arise from the following. For mal...