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Annotated Bibliography:

How Should Internet Addiction be Treated?

Kobe H. Voss

ENGL 102

Jamey Rogers

February 20, 2022

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Introduction

My research focused specifically on the term “internet addiction” and its associated
psychological treatments. Establishing this idea was essential because there are many different
types of addiction associated with the internet. I didn’t want to narrow this idea further because I
believed it wouldn’t reveal sufficient treatment types. I chose to research this topic because I am
a Pre-Psychological Science major and learning if there are solutions to problems that I (and
many struggle) with is fascinating to me.
As I anticipated, there are numerous beliefs on how we should treat internet addiction,
ranging from doing nothing because it doesn’t exist to multigroup therapy, twelve-step programs,
ECT, cognitive therapy, etc. Overall, sources suggest that positive/supporting peers and therapy
are essential to managing symptoms of internet addiction. Also, unlike with other types of
addiction, the goal is not to completely cutoff internet use if you do show symptoms, as today’s
world requires its use. Rather, treatments focus on the management of negative side effects of
overuse, such as depression and anxiety. Thus, a wide range of negative side effects calls for
difference in treatments depending on the person.
What surprised me about my research is how much in-depth research has been conducted
on this topic. I expected a lot of weakly supported suggestions of how to deal with internet
addiction such as simply using it less or turning off your phone, as this is what I’ve been told in
the past. In contrast, I found thoroughly supported research studies with statistical and
experimental evidence that internet addiction does cause negative effects to our mental health
and that certain treatment types have been incredibly effective in managing them. These studies
varied by type such as cross-sectional, correlational, and experimental. Sources were mostly
from accredited mental health professionals, researchers, and institutions.
As mentioned, current debate of internet addiction is about whether it exists or not.
Because there is not a solidified definition for the term, there is room for skepticism. Also,
internet addiction does not cause physical harm unlike other types of addiction such as drug
addiction. This makes it unique and further leads to controversy.
Current studies suggest that internet addiction does not form because of other disorders,
rather it leads to the development of symptoms of anxiety, depression, and aggression that makes
those affected more prone to developing mental health disorders (Zhao, Huang, Li, 2022).
Previously, internet addiction was believed to be the byproduct of certain mental illnesses.
Overall, I enjoyed interpreting research studies the most out of any part of this project. I
liked challenging myself to understand each experiment and how researchers came to their
conclusions from them.
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Annotated Bibliography: How Should Internet Addiction be Treated?

Cañas, E., & Estévez, E. (2021). Intervention Programs for the Problematic Use of the Internet
and Technological Devices: A Systematic Review. Electronics, 10(23), 2923. MDPI AG.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/electronics10232923

Cañas and Estévez claimed that intervention and prevention programs for adolescents are
necessary to prevent and treat internet addiction. The authors supported their argument by
following PRISMA guidelines and describing numerous correlations, listing their statistical
significance. They also cited all references. This source is useful in answering my research
question because Cañas and Estévez identified 14 different types of programs and studied which
ones were most effective. These results, discovered in 2021, suggest that educational
intervention and multifamily therapy are the most promising treatments for internet addiction.
The audience is those working in the psychological field, other researchers, education workers,
and potentially parents of adolescents.

Fatayer, J. (2008). Addiction Types: A Clinical Sociology Perspective. Journal of Applied Social
Science, 2(1), 88–93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23549240

Fatayer claimed that social forces are a major factor in categorizing types of addiction, therefore
the internet falls into the Gamma addiction category. Fatayer is a credible source because of his
experience with different types of clinical practice from 1986-2008 in the United States and
Middle East. The author also outlines his purpose of writing the article, showing honesty. This
article is important to include because it puts internet addiction into a specific category of mental
addiction. This narrows down treatments to psychological and not physical, as internet addiction
does not cause bodily harm. The audience is psychologists who focus on treating addiction.

Good Therapy. (2019, September 9). Therapy for Internet Addiction, Internet Addiction.
https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/internet-addiction

Good Therapy claimed that internet addiction shares similarities with impulse control disorders
and other types of addiction, therefore treatments should be similar, but internet use should not
be completely cut off. The website established credibility by citing all references, one of them
being an addiction nonprofit, and having multiple accredited doctors on the team. Also, their
articles have been listed in many popular news sources. This source is useful because it
emphasizes the minimization of use and negative consequences of use of internet addiction
through therapy and/or twelve-step programs. It also lists symptoms of internet addiction to help
identify if treatment for internet addiction is needed. The audience is those who don’t
know/believe what internet addiction is.

Khazaei, F., Khazaei, O., & Ghanbari-H., B. (2017). Positive psychology interventions for
internet addiction treatment. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 304–311. https://doi-
org.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.065

Khazaei, Khazaei, and Ghanbari-H claimed that positive psychology is an effective treatment for
internet addiction by reducing internet use and improving relationships. The authors supported
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their argument by referencing and citing passed studies. They also described their mathematical
computation and formulas. This source is extremely useful as it introduces positive psychology
as an effective treatment for internet addiction based on experimental results that show a strong
decrease in internet addiction rates of those in the experiment group compared to the control
group. The audience is those who doubt the effectiveness of positive psychology as treatment for
internet addiction as well as future researchers.

Liu, Q. X., Fang, X. Y., Yan, N., Zhou, Z. K., Yuan, X. J., Lan, J., & Liu, C. Y. (2015). Multi-
family group therapy for adolescent Internet addiction: Exploring the underlying
mechanisms. Addictive Behaviors, 42, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.10.021

Liu, Fang, Yan, Zhou, Yuan, Lan, and Liu claimed that 6 session multi-family group therapy
(MFGT) is effective in reducing addition behaviors (based on the Adolescent Pathological
Internet Use Scale) in adolescents. The authors supported their thesis by getting the study
approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Institute of developmental Psychology,
Beijing Normal University. They also listed statistical evidence of the participants. This source is
important as it studies the lasting effects of MFGT on internet addiction and showed that the rate
only increased a small percentage after the study ended. This makes MFGT a long-term effective
treatment for internet addiction. The audience for this source would most likely be future
researchers that can use the statistical evidence to test the effectiveness of MFGT or use the
methods in this study to replicate using a different type of treatment. Also, internet addicted
families would find this useful.

Mental Health America. (n.d.). Risky Business: Internet Addiction.

https://www.mhanational.org/risky-business-internet-addiction

Mental Health America claimed that there is no specific treatment for internet addiction and that
internet use becomes addiction when filling personal and professional obligations is a problem.
The argument is credible because it includes references to other websites that list types of
internet addiction that prohibits fulfillment of life duties and is a nonprofit incorporation founded
in 1909 with 200+ affiliates. This source is important to proving how internet addiction is a
problem, so that there is a need to get treatment for it. It also suggests that treatment is variable,
but therapy should be involved in almost every type. The audience for this source is Mental
Health America readers and people seeking help for their symptoms of internet addiction.

Stone, R. (2009). China Reins in Wilder Impulses in Treatment of “Internet Addiction.” Science,
324(5935), 1630–1631. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20536473

Stone claimed that long hours of internet use can ruin quality of life and potentially have
negative consequences. The author supports his argument by citing quotes by Tao Ran, a
psychiatrist at the General Hospital of Beijing Military Region’s Addiction Medicine Center.
Stone also includes how China is treating internet addiction (long hikes, electroconvulsive
therapy, dancing, sports, drugs, etc.) This source is important as it shows internet addiction is
real and establishes 3 categories for it (simple IA, accompanying symptom IA, and
accompanying disorder IA). The category a patient falls in determines the intensity of
psychological treatments that should be used. The audience for this source is sciencemag.org
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readers and potentially American Psychologists who would compare their treatments to other
countries.

Zhao, Q., Huang, Y., & Li, C. (2022). Does adolescents’ Internet addiction trigger depressive
symptoms and aggressive behavior, or vice versa? The moderating roles of peer
relationships and gender. Computers in Human Behavior, 129, N.PAG. https://doi-
org.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107143

Zhao, Huang, and Li suggested that elevated levels of aggressive episodes and depressive
symptoms are a result and not the cause of internet addiction in adolescents. The authors support
this claim by achieving internal validity in the study by testing for bias using an independent-
samples t-test. They also operationally defined each variable and showed the study’s results in a
table. This source is essential because it shows the importance of positive peers against the
negative effects of internet addiction. It also shows that boys are more prone to aggression while
girls are more prone to depressive symptoms, giving insight as to how internet addiction should
be treated in young adolescents specifically. The audience for this article is further researchers of
internet addiction and adolescent psychologists.