Internet addiction belongs to the behavioral addiction category where the individual displays certain compulsive traits like spending several hours on the internet, isolating themselves, etc.
It is important to mention that when you spend too much time on the internet, dopamine chemical is produced. This chemical is responsible for inducing pleasure.
With time, the dopamine produced becomes insufficient, and you will need to spend additional hours on the internet, to enjoy the dopamine rush.
Here are some of the signs that someone has an internet addiction
- Overspending
When you spend more time than usual on the internet, you are likely to misuse money. You will spend extra money on these internet activities, instead of sending them to other productive channels.
In the long run, you will discover that you are spending more than you should, and it becomes a big financial problem for you because the addiction has eaten deep.
- Lying about your internet time
Another way to know when someone is struggling with internet addiction is when they begin to be fictitious about their amount of internet time.
The reason is that they don’t want people to complain about their excessive internet hours. So, they will rather reduce the amount of time so that people who ask will see the duration as normal.
- Loss of interest in other productive activities
When you notice that an individual prefers to spend more time on the internet instead of doing other things, they might be addicted.
Their work-life might suffer, and the same goes for their academics if they are students. After dedicating several hours to the internet and they are tired, they will spend a few minutes trying to make up for the lost time.
- Relationship issues
Someone with internet addiction might have relationship issues with friends, family, and romantic partners. Since they are always fixated on their computer screens, and enjoying various content on the internet, they barely have time to bond with loved ones.