Push to pathologize Internet use as a ‘mental disorder’ for inclusion in psychiatry’s billing bible-the DSM

As psychiatrists start to organize the next edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a debate has started on whether to include Internet addiction among our newest afflictions.

Christie Nicholson
Scientific American
September 29, 2009

A quiet restaurant. Good wine. An animated conversation. Then, mid-sentence, you catch him steal a quick sideways downward glance at his BlackBerry. And the nickname “CrackBerry” comes to mind. You might think: for some, the Internet is an addiction.

Well, as psychology experts ramp up to publish the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a debate has begun on whether to include Internet addiction in the next big book of mental illness. This month the Canadian Medical Association Journal published an article weighing both sides.

Kimberly Young, director of The Center for Internet Addiction, says that while it might not be a well-defined illness, those who spend excessive amounts of time online suffer the same issues as other addicts, including lost jobs, broken marriages, or financial problems. Young says if it’s the cause of major issues in your life, then you have a problem.

Read entire article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=internet-addiction-09-09-29

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