Computer Addiction

Computer addiction is a form of behavioral addiction described as excessive or compulsive computer use that persists despite serious negative consequences for personal, social or occupational functioning; the psychiatrist J.J. Block has conceptualized it as a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder involving online or offline computer usage with at least three subtypes, excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations, and email or text messaging, and it is not currently included in the DSM-5 as an official disorder. It is broadly divided into offline computer addiction, generally referring to excessive gaming, and online computer addiction, also known as internet addiction, which receives more scientific attention because most cases of computer addiction involve excessive internet use; researchers describe the syndrome as intense, prolonged and uncontrollable internet use marked by an inability to use it efficiently, disinterest in the outside world, withdrawal from in-person relationships, and increased loneliness and dejection.