Report: 40 Percent of Internet Users 'Addicted'

More than four in ten people are addicted to Internet use, according to a university study. The researchers put respondents into five categories on what they are calling an "Internet addition spectrum."

Researchers at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom asked 796 participants a range of questions about the way they use the Internet, including their emotions and motivations. They then looked for similarities between respondents to come up with the categories. (Source: tandfonline.com)

Growing Unease

The first category, Casual Users, covered 14.86 percent of respondents. They mainly go online to carry out a specific task and then "log off," which presumably is just an expression.

The Initial Users category covered 22.86 percent of respondents. They tend to spend longer online than planned but the only negative consequence of doing so was putting off household chores.

An Experimenters category covered 21.98 percent of respondents. They reported a mood shift with Internet use, feeling uneasy when not connected and better when online.

The Addicts-in-Denial category covered 17.96 percent of respondents. They claimed not to be addicted or feel any unease when offline, but showed what the researchers called addictive behaviors. (This was a mixed bag, ranging from neglecting real-world responsibilities to forming new relationships online).

That left the Addicts group, covering 22.36 percent. This group is said to have acknowledged an Internet addiction and that it had a negative affect.

Many of the patterns between the groups were largely predictable: the more "addicted" the person, the more likely they are to spend longer online and to be confident using new technologies or mobile apps.

No Gender Gap

One of the big problems with the findings is defining Internet addiction. Measures such as how long somebody spends online may simply be to do with younger people being more comfortable with online ways to carry out ordinary activities.

There's also the question of what counts as "being online". Somebody who watches a movie on Netflix is technically online, but that wouldn't be a sign they were more "addicted" to the Internet than somebody watching a movie on broadcast television.

What's Your Opinion?

Are these meaningful distinctions? Which category would you put yourself into? When does Internet "addiction" become a problem?