Internet addiction can cause psychological disturbances

Last month, Sun Xinying and six other researchers from various academic centres in Beijing interviewed almost 11,000 Chinese teenagers using a number of diagnostic evaluations and found evidence linking internet addiction and decreased well-being. Students who showed signs of internet addiction had lower self-esteem, decreased satisfaction with life and signs of depression.

The American Psychiatric Association and other psychiatry experts agree that internet addiction disorder (IAD), also called internet use disorder, is a growing social issue causing psychological and neurobiological disturbances.

Last year , Professor Tian Jie from the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a study into the effects of internet addiction on the micro structural integrity of neuronal fibre pathways. Study results suggest that long-term internet addiction results in structural alterations to the brain, and the team concluded that IAD contributed to chronic dysfunction.

Although IAD is controversial, the American Psychiatric Association is including it in the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) - used as the standardised classification system by mental health practitioners in the US. Next year IAD will qualify as a legitimate mental illness, "requiring further study".

How can families and health professionals assess and treat a disorder that is not yet included in practice guidelines?

In March, Professor Zhang Qinyuan, a researcher at Shandong University in China, led a study to evaluate and observe the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine on patients suffering from internet addiction. After assessing 4,000 students for IAD, 114 cases were randomly selected for study. Symptoms included depression, insomnia, restlessness, and decreased appetite.