Problematic Use of the Internet in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Problematic Use of the Internet in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Pathological internet use is a blanket term for problematic behavior types (e.g. uncontrolled gaming, cyber pornography, cyber mobbing and excessive use of social media): all perpetrated through the internet. There is little documentation or research on interdependencies/interplay between problematic internet and/or media use and child-adolescent disturbances. Very few clinical examples of syndromes like attention deficiency/hyperactivity (ADHS), anxiety disorder or affective disturbances associated with pathological media/internet use, or gaming, are found in literature.

Inclusion Criteria:

• male and female patients ages from 8 - 18 years
• All study participants or their legal representative have given written permission for their experiences to be documented in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to understand explanations and the questionnaire, whether linguistic or cognitative