Defining the South African Internet ‘Addict’: Prevalence and Biographical Profiling of Problematic Internet Users in South Africa

Abstract

Recent research findings indicate that some users of the Internet spend so much time on the Internet that their personal and/or professional lives suffer. The term Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) has been used to describe a psychological disorder where individuals cannot resist engaging with the Internet, although an argument is made to use the term problematic Internet use in this study. This article reports on a descriptive, exploratory study to assess the extent of problematic Internet use in the South African population as well as an exploratory look at the biographical characteristics and Internet behaviours most closely associated with problematic Internet use in the South African environment. The article also explores the associations that users most at risk of problematic Internet use have of the Internet. The results show that the prevalence of problematic Internet use is relatively low (between 1.67% and 5.29%), compared to prevalence rates in other countries. The demographic profile of the South African problematic Internet user was found to be similarto demographic profiles from other international studies (i.e., young, males, who spend a considerable amount of time online, using interactive Internet applications). However, the associations with online activities for the high-risk problematic Internet use group were different when compared to psychological correlates from other studies. The associations indicate that the high-risk group experiences feelings of excitement, friendship and control when online. The implications of these results are discussed in line with previous studies and the theory on problematic Internet use.