Journal of Depression and Anxiety
Open Access

Abstract

Internet Addiction Disorder and Mental Health in Adolescents

Jolly Masih and Rajasekaran Rajkumar

Internet use, especially social media has dramatically changed the way adolescents communicate, socialize, make and maintain friendships. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is generally defined as an uncontrollable desire to use the Internet, leading to acute nervousness and aggression in the event of deprivation and progressive deterioration of social life. IAD is becoming a common mental health problem in adolescents. Worldwide, the prevalence of IAD in adolescents may vary from 1.98% to 35.8%. Sadness, feeling down, having a loss of interest in daily activities are some of the symptoms of IAD. Some possible treatments of IAD includes doing sport or spending more time with friends and developing healthy social networks.