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Article: Internet addiction disorder
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Internet addiction disorder
Definition
Internet
addiction
disorder refers to the problematic use of the Internet, including the various aspects of its technology, such as electronic mail (e-mail) and the World Wide Web. The reader should note that Internet addiction disorder is not listed in the mental health professional's handbook, the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
, fourth edition, text revision (2000), which is also called the
DSM
. Internet addiction has, however, been formally recognized as a disorder by the American Psychological Association.
Description
In some respects, addictive use of the Internet resembles other so-called "process" addictions, in ...