LONDON: Tense? Angry? Can’t get online? Internet addiction is now a serious public health issue that should be officially recognised as a clinical disorder, according to a leading psychiatrist.

Excessive gaming, viewing online pornography, emailing and text messaging have been identified as causes of a compulsive-impulsive disorder by Dr Jerald Block, author of an editorial for the respected American Journal of Psychiatry. Block argues that the disorder is now so common that it merits inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the profession’s primary resource to categorise and diagnose mental illnesses. He says internet addiction has four main components:

Excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives;

Withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible;

The need for better computers , more software, or more hours of use;

Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation and fatigue.

A primary case study is South Korea, which has the greatest usage of broadband in the world. Block points out that, after 10 people died from blood clots from remaining seated for long periods in internet cafes and another was murdered because of an online game, South Korea “considers internet addiction one of its most serious public health issues”. The government estimates that around 210,000 South Korean children are affected and in need of treatment, of whom 80 per cent might need drugs targeting the brain and nearly a quarter could need to go to hospital.

Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, writes that the extent of the disorder is more difficult to estimate in America because people tend to surf at home instead of in internet cafes. But he believes there are similar cases, concluding: “Unfortunately internet addiction is resistant to treatment, entails significant risks and has high relapse rates.”

He said that he did not believe specific websites, such as Facebook or YouTube, were responsible.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service