Why Internet Addiction Is Hard to Stop
I spend a lot of time online. More than I planned to, honestly. It kind of adds up without me noticing.
Scrolling, checking messages, opening apps… it happens almost on its own. I don’t always realize it right away. At some point I just thought, why is it so hard to stop?
A study from Germany tries to answer that, or at least get closer to an explanation. The research was led by Matthias Brand from the University of Duisburg-Essen and published in Comprehensive Psychiatry.
The scientists weren’t looking at the internet in general. Instead, they focused on specific behaviors—things like endless social media scrolling, gaming for hours, online shopping, or watching content without really being able to log off.
More than 800 people took part in the study. Most of them were in their twenties. They answered questions, talked to researchers, and completed simple computer tasks.
In those tasks, participants had to react to certain signals and ignore others. It may sound basic, but it shows how well a person can control impulses.
After analyzing the results, researchers noticed a pattern. It wasn’t just one reason behind this behavior—it was a combination of things.
First, emotions. A lot of people go online to distract themselves—from stress, from boredom, from things they don’t want to think about.
Then comes habit. Opening apps or checking the phone becomes something you do without even deciding to do it.
And finally, control gets weaker. Even when you realize you’ve been online for too long, stopping doesn’t come easily.
According to the researchers, these factors don’t work separately. They reinforce each other.
Another interesting point—these patterns can also predict what happens next. If the behavior is already there, it may become stronger over time.
Of course, spending time online isn’t automatically a problem. The issue starts when it affects sleep, work, or relationships.
Researchers say understanding the reason matters. For some, it’s stress. For others, it’s habit or lack of control.
There’s no single solution that works for everyone. But noticing the pattern is probably the first step. At least now I catch myself a bit more often before opening another app for no real reason.
Source: Affective and cognitive drivers explain problematic internet use – Comprehensive Psychiatry
We previously reported that Australian scientists have developed a new AI-powered system. The new system will be able to detect human diseases by analyzing a photograph of their tongue.
