Internet addiction: Meta-synthesis of qualitative research for the decade 1996-2006

Internet addiction is ‘‘an individual’s inability to control their Internet use, which in turn leads to feelings of distress and functional impairment of daily activities” [Shapira, N., Lessig, M., Goldsmith, T., Szabo, S., Lazoritz, M., Gold, M. et al. (2003). Problematic Internet use: Proposed classification and diagnostic criteria. Depression and Anxiety, 17(4), 207–216]. Previous research in this field has offered inconclusive data on whether Internet addiction can be classified as a disorder. This study provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of internet addiction through a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies on excessive Internet use published during the period of 1996–2006. Several constructs pertaining to the domain of Internet addiction have been identified and a theoretical model of Internet addiction has been proposed. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. d. All rights reserved. 7. Douglas), [email protected] (J.E. Mills), [email protected] (S. 3028 A.C. Douglas et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 3027–3044