Addictive Influences and Stress Propensity in Heavy Internet Users

What is it about?

Is internet overuse akin to drug addiction? EEDRN - an umbrella body of the doctors and neuroscientists from reputed medical/research institutes of India including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Haryana, and Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research (ACBR), Delhi has given an affirmative answer to this question. According to the paper published by this network, internet overuse, though not exactly like drugs, it indeed has addictive influences, and its accumulating effects may lead to stress manifesting as neurocognitive dysfunction. The gist of their research-based on empirical analysis of peer reviewed literature- explains the representative signs and symptoms, brain regions involved and plausible mechanism of consequent neurocognitive dysfunctions due to internet overuse. These scientists have provided a provisional list of Do’s and Don’ts as therapeutic measures in lieu of the absence of any institutional guidelines regarding the health problems arising from internet overuse.

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Why is it important?

Internet overuse has risen to epidemic proportions and majority of people are now spending a lot of time online - seeking sensible information, and responding to updates and feedbacks. The neural networks of brain assigned to cognitive functions, get constantly irritated by incoming information and evoke mental reactions. The individual, as a result, becomes vulnerable to many neuropsychiatric dysfunctions viz. irritation, anxiety, obsessive compulsion, indecisiveness, impulsivity, and loss of working memory. Growing body of the research suggests that internet overuse has a significant impact on personal and social relations, socio-political environment, and mental and general health of the users. Our research is a summed up analysis of all related studies.

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