Running head: INTERNET ADDICTION 1

Internet Addiction

February 11, 2020

University of the People

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Introduction

The Internet is a networking infrastructure, which links millions of computers in the

world; it was developed in the early 1960s to military and academic institutions by the United

States and then evolved into its current robust form. The Internet consists of vast amounts of data

and information and is full of endless potential to develop and evolve, in the 21st century; the

Internet has been transformed into a crucial tool useful in every sphere of life from

communication and work to entertainment and education. This development has led to people

spending too much time surfing the Internet, which can be considered internet addiction. In this

paper, I will compare how the reference work, website, and journal articles have tackled the issue

of internet addiction.

The reference work selected is Internet Addiction: Neuroscientific Approaches and

Therapeutical Implications Including Smartphone addiction. The authors, Christian Montag and

Martin Reuter are both accomplished scholars with a lot of research papers and awards.

According to Oeffentlichkeitsarbeit, (2020), Reuter serves in Harvard medical school while

Montag is a professor at Ulm University ("Christian Montag - Ulm University," 2020). The book

is recent and covers 392 pages of well-researched information. The book can be divided into four

sections based on content, the first section introduces internet addiction and how it develops, and

the second part provides an in-depth review of scientific findings based on biological techniques,

neurological and molecular genetics. The third part provides solutions to overcoming internet

addiction, while the final part deals with a new topic of smartphone addiction. The whole book

provides useful insight on internet addiction; the authors remain objective throughout the book
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providing in-depth analysis, theoretical and scientific evidence on internet addiction without

appearing oriented to promote a product, industry, or country.

The website article for comparison is Internet Addiction, written by Natalie Hoeg and

medically reviewed by Theresa Parisi. The article covers Internet addiction comprehensively by

starting with a short introduction, explaining the types of internet addiction, and goes further to

show the effects of internet addiction on an individual. In addition to this, the article shows a

linkage between internet addiction and mental illness and finalizes by giving suggestions on

possible ways to treat addiction. The author provides a lot of information relevant to the topic

and remains objective to the end of the article. However, the author does not provide an in-depth

analysis of the problem since there are only a few sentences provided on each subtopic. In

addition to this, the author seems to be promoting a product, which is a sort of rehabilitation and

therapy for addicts, which can be accessed through links on the website or dialing a telephone

number.

The Journal article used for comparison is Internet Addiction, Psychological Distress,

and Coping Responses among Adolescents and Adults. The authors, McNicol, Michelle L., and

Thorsteinsson, Einar B. Michelle, holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (Hons). In contrast,

Einar holds a Ph.D. in psychology; both authors have published several research papers on

various subjects. The article is relevant since it seeks to establish how different groups of people

use the Internet and how they cope with the addiction. The authors remain objective and provide

an in-depth analysis of internet addiction among users through statistics without promoting any

product, industry, or country.

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References

Christian Montag - Ulm University. (2020). Retrieved 8 February 2020, from

https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/in/psy-mp/team/christian-montag/

Hoeg, N. (2019, December 5). Internet Addiction. Addiction Center. Retrieved 8 February 2020,

from https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/internet-addiction/

McNicol, M., & Thorsteinsson, E. (2017). Internet Addiction, Psychological Distress, and

Coping Responses among Adolescents and Adults. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and

Social Networking, 20(5), 296-304. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2016.0669

Montag, C., & Reuters, M. (2017). Internet Addiction: Neuroscientific Approaches and

Therapeutical Implications Including Smartphone Addiction.

Oeffentlichkeitsarbeit, D. (2020). DZNE Reuter, Martin > Research areas/focus. Retrieved 8

February 2020, from https://www.dzne.de/en/research/research-areas/population-health-

sciences/forschungsgruppen/reuter/research-areasfocus/