UNITED STATES
FREE TO FLY
Gleice Silva - gleice.prevencao1@gmail.com
Psychological Assessment in Cases of Technology Dependence
Internet addiction tends to affect the most anxious and prone to depression.
B 8 | agairupdate.com
Internet addiction disorder is a recent phenomenon, but it has been affecting a significant number of people in recent times. Considered worse than chemical dependence by psychologists and psychiatrists, this type of addiction can cause psychological, physical and social problems, among other things. However, studies regarding this type of disorder are very limited and are still under development. But there are already some tools and service centers for people who develop this type of addiction. As much as it seems something that affects only young people, dependence on a cell phone or staying connected is something that can affect the most varied types of people. Despite reaching people of all ages, Internet addiction tends to affect the most anxious and prone to depression. According to some experts, the virtual world becomes an escape from reality. The problem is that it can become a cycle and further reduce chances of fitting properly into society. Internet use can distract the user from a difficult situation in real life to trying to compensate for low self-esteem, lack of social skills and even psychiatric disorders. However, not everyone who spends a lot of time on the Internet is an addict. What characterizes the addiction is not necessarily the amount of hours, but the effect on the user. Digital addiction can cause a loss of work capacity, socialization or other type of impairment. The person starts to feel bad without the stimulus received from the Internet. The expression “Internet addiction” was created in 1995 by Ivan Goldberg, but it was Kimberly Young who researched the subject the most and in 1996 proposed the first criteria for the diagnosis of
this condition. According to these criteria, anyone with the following symptoms was considered dependent on the Internet: • Excessive concern about the Internet • Need to increase the connected time (online) to have the same satisfaction • Display repeated efforts to decrease Internet usage time • Presence of irritability or depression • When the use of the Internet is restricted, it presents emotional lability • Stay connected longer than needed • Work and social relationships at risk from overuse • Lying to others about the amount of hours online • Listen to the phone ring or vibrate, even when turned off (phantom symptom) • The main symptoms of cell phone withdrawal are: anguish, existential emptiness (life seems to have no more meaning), despair, stress, irritability, nausea, tachycardia, sweating, muscle tension, panic, among other manifestations. • Significant damage in important areas of life (academic, professional, social, family, financial or legal). There is still no consensus on which criteria should or can be used universally. We usually value the presence of significant damage in the individual’s life (academic, social, family, etc.) as one of the main markers of this disorder. This approach, while not trying to explain the reason for the problematic use, allows the therapist greater freedom to formulate a diagnostic ➤
