Internet Addiction is a Behavioral Addiction, characterized
by compulsive use of the internet to a severe degree in which several other
aspects’ of the adolescents’ live suffer because of it. Whereas for most people in the United States,
the internet has become a daily tool ingrained into daily life, for addicted
adolescents, it is an alternative world that they have sought refuge in, in an
effort to withdraw from and avoid their real lives. As an effect of this profuse use of the
internet- which can include video gaming, chat rooms, and/or pornographic web
sites- adolescents’ cause difficulty in other aspects of their lives, including
school work, responsibilities and commitments, and relationships. Adolescent Internet Addiction Treatment involves supporting teens to decrease their
internet use to healthy amounts, regain control over the compulsive urges to
use the internet, and address underlying stressors and conflicts in the teens’
lives which has led them to their addiction.
