Internet Addiction Test: Internet Savvy or Internet Addict?
In the past few years, internet has seemed to bring comfort and satisfaction to many people. People use internet as an important tool for work, education, and communication. It also paved the way for a new social norm, such as chat and email. Through the internet, business establishments have created online communities and connected with a wide variety of people across the globe.
However, spending too much time on the internet is not good. Compulsive internet use can interfere with the daily tasks and relationship with other people. If you are more comfortable with your online friends or if you are addicted to online gaming, you are using internet too much.
There is a difference between internet savvies and internet addicts. If you are one of the people described above, you might be an internet addict. People who cannot live a day without surfing the internet for unnecessary purposes may have an Internet Addiction Disorder. This disorder covers a variety of impulse-control problems, such as cyber sex addiction, cyber-relationship addiction, net compulsions, and information overload.
To find out if you have an Internet Addiction Disorder, you can take the self administered psychological test.
Internet Addiction Test Questionnaire
The following is a self-administered addiction test that aims to determine whether or not you are suffering from the symptoms of Internet Addiction Disorder. The test does not intend to give a clinical diagnosis, however it will help to find out if you need to see a doctor.
Reflect on the statement below and answer them based on how much time you spend surfing the internet for non-academic and non-job related purposes.
1. How often do you find that you stay online longer than you intended?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
2. How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the internet to intimacy with your partner?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
4. How often do you form new relationships with fellow online users?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
5. How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
6. How often do your grades or school work suffers because of the amount of time you spend online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
7. How often do you check your email before something else that you need to do?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of internet usage?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when anyone asks you what you do online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the internet?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
11. How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go online again?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
12. How often do you fear that life without the internet would be boring, empty, and joyless?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
13. How often do you snap, yell, or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
14. How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
15. How often do you feel preoccupied with the Internet when offline, or fantasize about being online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
16. How often do you find yourself saying “just a few more minutes” when online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
17. How often do you try to cut down the amount of time you spend online and fail?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
18. How often do you try to hide how long you’ve been online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
19. How often do you choose to spend more time online over going out with others?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
20. How often do you feel depressed, moody, or nervous when you are offline, which goes away once you are back online?
- _rarely
- _occasionally
- _frequently
- _often
- _always
- _does not apply
How to score the test
The purpose of the Internet Addiction Test is not to give a clinical diagnosis whether or not you are suffering from the disorder. It only aims to determine how much addiction symptom you may have, so that you will know what actions to take in order to get rid of them. For all times, always consult your family doctor or counselor for further diagnosis and treatment.
Use the corresponding points for each of the choices to score your addiction symptom test answers from numbers 1- 20.
- Rarely – 0
- Occasionally – 1
- Frequently – 2
- Often – 3
- Always – 4
- does not apply – 4
The following is the interpretation of results based on your answers:
- If your score is 0-9, it means that your symptoms are below average range. You are not suffering from Internet Addiction Disorder for now, but it does not mean that you are safe in the future.
- If your score is 20-49, it means that your addiction symptoms are at average range. You may be suffering from a mild internet addiction disorder.
- If your score is 50-79, it means that your addiction symptoms are above average. You are possibly having an Internet Addiction Disorder.
- If your score is 80-100, it means that your addiction symptoms are significantly above average. Your addiction disorder can be severe.
Internet savvies uses computer for important purposes. They may be knowledgeable and dependent on internet, but they use it for work and school purposes. The higher your average you get from the psychological test above, the more you are likely to have an Internet Addiction Disorder. This is enough to cause you problems on your work, education, and social life.
For further diagnosis, contact your family doctor or set an appointment with your counselor. You can always go back to this addiction self test to monitor your symptoms from time to time.
