ABSTRACT
There are few modern phenomena in communication and media psychology causing such erce controversies among professionals as the keywords “Internet Addiction.” First mentioned in a clinical case example by psychotherapist Kimberly Young (1998), the term soon spread around the globe, partly used as a humorous metaphor for the frantic modern days of worldwide connectedness (Goldberg, 1995), partly used to indicate an emerging new diagnosis of some clinical psychologists and psychiatrists (Shapira et al., 2003). In 2007 the American Medical Association published a position paper on the matter (CSAPH Report, 2007), suggesting that Internet Addiction may be an occurring health issue, yet at the same time emphasizing the still-lacking evidence for considering Internet Addiction as a new clinical entity.
