In China, for example, they take it very seriously: there are military camps to which families send their children to be freed from their cyber addiction. However, the medical community still doubts that this disorder exists. Studies offer little evidence in this regard: a 2008 analysis by Dr. Sookeun Byun of Kwangwoon University in Seoul showed that in the majority of research done since 1996 on this issue there was no formal criterion on what it means to be addicted to the Internet , and that the choice of the subjects analyzed was not rigorous.
Furthermore, this disease does not appear in any of the diagnostic manuals used by the main psychiatric associations. What some professionals do say is that the Internet sometimes amplifies compulsive tendencies. There are game or porn addicts who have in the online connection the main or exclusive vehicle to access the object of their desire. There are also certain psychological problems that find a favorable terrain for their development on the internet. A person with relationship difficulties finds it much easier to do so from digital anonymity and will tend to spend more hours in front of the computer.
The perception of the time that it is normal or acceptable to be connected has changed as technologies such as smartphones allowed us access anywhere and at any time, but there are limits: some psychologists consider that it can be spoken of disorder if excessive use of the internet interferes with the normal development of work or relationships. In these cases, they advise going to a professional to evaluate the case and advise the steps to follow.
