Internet addiction

As Internet addiction is becoming more prevalent around the world, it has attracted considerable scientific and public attention. The present chapter is an updated version of Shek et al. (Internet addiction. In: Pfaff DW, Martin E, Pariser E (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st century, 2nd ed. Springer, New York, pp 3707–3749, 2016). It starts with a review of the historical development of the issue, including relevant journals and websites, as well as a conceptualization of Internet addiction. Regarding the assessment of Internet addiction, different assessment tools are presented and related prevalence studies are examined. Concerning explanations of Internet addiction, different perspectives, including biological, psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, interpersonal and family, sociocultural and ecological, are presented. Besides, psychosocial correlates of and treatments for Internet addiction are explored. Finally, an outlook, conclusions, and future directions surrounding Internet addiction are outlined.