Internet Addiction – An Umbrella Construct

Problematic Internet Use or “Internet addiction” is generally considered as an inability to control the use of the Internet, which eventually involves psychological, social, academic, and/or professional problems in a person's life. Dysfunctional use of the Internet has been related to a variety of different activities such as cybersex, online gambling, online video game playing, or social network involvement, thereby emphasizing that this problematic behavior can take very different forms across individuals and should not be viewed as a homogeneous construct. Since its appearance in the psychiatric and clinical psychology literatures, Internet addiction has been almost systematically conceptualized within the framework of behavioral (nonchemical) addictions. Accordingly, the various criteria proposed to define an addiction to the Internet (and related screening tools) were transposed from those established for the diagnosis of substance abuse and disordered gambling. In 2013, the APA decided that evidence is too scarce to allow its inclusion as a new condition in the DSM-5. Indeed, the Internet addiction construct is challenged by both theoretical and empirical concerns. In this talk, I will review the existing evidence supporting the view that conceptualizing the Internet-related disorders as “behavioral addiction” is too restrictive and might result in the simplification of heterogeneous and multi-determined problematic behaviors. Theoretical and clinical implications of this position will be discussed. Finally, I will consider the risks associated with the “pathologization” of every day behaviors. Indeed, nowadays, many daily behaviors and leisure activities tend to be considered as new tentative behavioral addictions, which could eventually deserve the credibility of this important (but emergent) field of research.