https://doi.org/10.36719/3104-4700/3/12-17

Pathological Internet Addiction and Psychopathological Symptoms

Abstract

The Internet has become a widely used communication tool today due to its features such as providing access to information in a short time and enabling rapid communication. In addition to the convenience it brings to human life, the way it is used by some users so as to delay daily life activities or negatively affect them has drawn attention to the negative effects of the Internet on human life. Especially over the last 20 years, we have been confronted with various types of addictions such as internet addiction and online gaming addiction, which particularly affect children and young people and are commonly associated with them. Although steps are being taken to address addictions related to internet, online gaming, and social media use collectively referred to as digital addiction there are almost no holistic and systematic interventions in which the family is actively involved in the process. Although the Internet originally emerged for the purpose of information sharing and communication, it has been identified that adolescents and young adults are particularly at risk due to problematic and excessive use of the internet.

In this article, the pathological aspects of internet addiction are explained. The psychopathological symptoms of internet addiction are presented, and scientific studies are analyzed. We hope that the article will contribute to more effective identification of the onset of internet addiction and to its treatment.

Keywords: internet addiction, pathological internet addiction, psychopathological symptoms, behavioral disorders, neuropsychological changes, personality psychology