Something that was seen as science fiction just half a century ago is now a part of almost every facet of our lives. But as with any great development in human history, it has its drawbacks. In this case, we will be talking about addiction.
In this article, through Internet addiction statistics, facts, and pure data, we will show you just how severe of an issue this really is.
The Top 5 Internet Addiction Statistics for 2023
6% of the entire world is addicted to the Internet.
With 10.9% of the population addicted, the Middle East has the highest rate of Internet addiction in the world.
46% of US teenagers report being online almost constantly.
Cognitive behavior therapy, exercise, and, rarely, medication are used to treat Internet addiction.
More people are addicted to the Internet than they are to gambling.
General Stats and Facts About Online Addiction
Social media addiction, information addiction, online gaming addiction, cybersex addiction—all of these represent one form of Internet addiction or another. Below are some facts and stats on the prevalence of these problems.
Somewhere between 5 to 10% of Americans are addicted to social media.
In other words, social media addiction statistics show that somewhere between 15.7 and 31.4 million US citizens are addicted to social platforms.
Psychologists define this addiction as having an uncontrollable urge to use these platforms, so much that it impairs other, important, areas of your life.
(Addiction Center)
Addictive substances and social media usage activate the same parts of our brains.
According to research done by Harvard University, the same parts of our brains that light up when using addictive substances are activated when we use social media.
The core problem here is that these platforms provide an almost endless stream of immediate rewards that can be easily accessed. Think about getting a retweet, a like, or having access to the endless amount of easily digestible content on Twitter and Instagram.
(Addiction Center)
Information triggers dopamine release like food and money does.
A similar study done by UC Berkeley focused on information addiction. Professor Ming Hsu, a neuroeconomist, claimed that to our brains “information is its own reward”. He also made a connection between useless information making us full in the same way junk food does.
(Neuroscience News)
Internet addiction is three times more prevalent than gambling addiction.
Online gambling is a $2.18 billion industry. However, gambling addiction rates are far lower than Internet addiction. In fact, 6% of the world is addicted to the Internet, according to Internet addiction stats gathered on 31 nations. The prevalence of pathological gambling, however, is somewhere between 0.2% and 2.1%.
(The Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking Journal)
Internet accessibility, on an international level, does not correlate with Internet addiction in any way.
A paper analyzing how many people are addicted to the Internet across 31 nations concluded that increased access to the Internet does not equal greater levels of Internet addiction.
According to the paper, Northern and Western Europe have very high levels of Internet penetration but lower Internet addiction prevalence. In contrast, the middle east and certain sections of Asia have the highest Internet addiction rates, but lower Internet accessibility.
However, North America has both high rates of addiction and a high rate of Internet penetration.
(The Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking Journal)
Groups addicted to the Internet report higher levels of pleasure, anonymity and interpersonal relationship factors when they are online.
This is especially visible for adolescents who see the Internet as a platform to build relationships and to socialize. In fact, the property of building relationships was heavily related to problematic social media usage.
Another factor for Internet addiction was the belief that they can “act freely without revealing their identity”.
(International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)
Impulsivity, aggression, and depressive symptoms are commonly found among middle-school students addicted to the Internet.
In fact, according to studies on people obsessed with being online, and especially adolescents and children, impulsivity and aggressiveness also predict Internet addiction.
There is also a high comorbidity between ADHD and Internet addiction.
(International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)
The Internet itself isn't addictive, but online entertainment and applications are.
Internet addiction statistics and research shows that the core of online addiction is related to platforms and applications with interactive and immersive features. These include:
Online games
Social media
Smartphone apps
Online gaming specifically is seen as one of the triggers for Internet addiction among young Internet users.
(Oxford Research Encyclopedia)
Cognitive behavior therapy is a common treatment for Internet addiction.
There are multiple methods to treating online addiction. Types of talk therapy and group therapy are very common, and especially CBT.
Exercise is also commonly prescribed to mitigate lowered dopamine levels within the brain. Medication is sometimes used to manage the symptoms of underlying issues that exacerbated Internet usage, as well as to regulate intrusive thoughts that an addict might get.
Finally, creating boundaries and moving towards balanced Internet use is the core goal of treatment, but sometimes a complete ban on triggering sites, games, or apps might be necessary.
(Mental Health America)
Internet Addiction and Demographics
Roughly 64% of Americans believe that social media is bad for democracy. But how many are addicted to it? What about Internet addiction in general? Is a person’s age a factor, or perhaps their income bracket?
85% of US adults are online daily, at least once.
Internet addiction stats gathered by the Pew Research Center show that in fact only 7% of the US population never goes online, 8% go several times a week, and only 6% go online once a day.
In comparison, 48% of US adults are online several times a day, while 31% report they are online constantly.
(Pew Research Center)
US adults older than 65 have the lowest tendency towards Internet addiction.
In fact, of the number of adults who reported that they are almost constantly online (which is 31% of the entire US population), only 8% of this number are older than 65.
In comparison, 48% of adults aged between 18 and 29 report being online all the time. This number decreases with age, as 42% of the 30 to 49 demographic reports being online constantly, and then only 22% of the 50 to 64 report the same.
(Pew Research Center)
42% of college-educated adults are online constantly.
However, 23% of adults who have a highschool diploma or less claim they are online constantly as well. Similarly, and probably due to the overlap between income and education, 40% of adults who have a yearly income higher than $75,000 are online constantly, with 27% of those earning less than $30,000 also claiming the same.
(Pew Research Center)
The middle east has the highest level of Internet addiction, at 10.9%.
North America is in second place, with 8% of the population being addicted. Stats on Internet addiction also show that Asia has a 7.1% addiction rate, with Southern and Eastern Europe being at 6.1%.
Oceania is at 4.3%, while the lowest prevalence is in Northern and Western Europe, at 2.6%.
(The Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking Journal)
54% of US teens say it would be hard to give up social media.
As far as the social media segment of the teen statistics for Internet addiction are concerned, a solid majority would find it hard to give up social media. Furthermore, teen girls (58%) find it harder to give up social media than boys (49%).
(Pew Research Center)
97% of all teenagers are online several times a day at least.
Furthermore, 46% report that they are online almost constantly. These are 2022 numbers, and they represent a substantial increase from 2014-2015, where 24% reported they were online constantly, and 56% that they go online several times a day.
(Pew Research Center)
Final Thoughts
Internet addiction is a growing concern that affects people of all ages and backgrounds. A significant number of people are dealing with this issue, and it might only continue to grow. By increasing our awareness and understanding of Internet addiction disorder, we can hopefully prevent it from spreading further.
Internet Addiction FAQ
How many hours a day online represents Internet addiction?
What percentage of the world is addicted to the Internet?
What percentage of students are addicted to the Internet?
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