Abstract

In this narrative review, summaries are given of research published in 2024 on internet addiction in adults. The papers are focused on the prevalence of internet addiction, negative effects, comorbidities, predictors/risk factors, mechanisms and buffers. The prevalence of internet addiction ranged from 21-76% across cultures as well as within and across professions and by severity. The negative effects included depression, pain, and sleep problems. The comorbidities include anxiety, PTSD and ADHD. The predictors/risk factors can be categorized as personality characteristics, family problems, fear of missing out, and emotional disorders. The potential underlying biological mechanisms for internet addiction include dysfunction in multiple regions of the brain and the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems. The buffers include being married and belonging to an extended family. Surprisingly, online photography was the only intervention that appeared in this current literature. Methodological limitations include most of the studies being crosssectional and the samples being almost exclusively young adults.

Keywords

Internet addiction, adults, narrative review, PTSD and ADHD