Study: Internet addiction may be genetic
Researchers at Bonn University and the Centre for Mental Health (ZI) will have found a link between internet addiction and a particular genetic mutation.
In their study, the researchers surveyed over several years, 843 men and women to their network usage patterns. 132 of which showed a behavior that the researchers einstuften as problematic: The individuals in question should have been mentally very intensely involved with the Internet and felt uncomfortable when they had no access to it.
When comparing the genome of the "problem users" with the healthy control subjects showed a significant deviation. Among the 132 person much more likely to change a particular gene region was observed, which should also play a role in nicotine addiction. Remarkably, the mutation should have occurred more frequently, especially in women, while the other hand, surveys indicate that more men are prone to Internet addiction.
"It is possible that the gender-specific genetic evidence on a specific subset of Internet addiction such as due the use of social networks and the like," believes Dr. Christian Monday, psychologist and author of the study. According to his view, the data provide strong evidence in any case that there is molecular genetic causes of Internet addiction. However, further studies are necessary, also to find any evidence of better therapies.
Currently, according to the Drug Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany's approximately 560,000 people between 14 and 64 are dependent on internet. For further 2.5 million of the use of the network is problematic. Nevertheless, the concept of "Internet addiction" controversial - in the draft to the fifth edition of the standard work Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, for example, so far he has not found its way.
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