The fast rise of Internet broadens students¡¦ ways of learning and their views; however, there is possibility that improper Internet use will result in problems of Internet addiction. Reviewing the literature about Internet addiction, we can find that many studies were carried quantitatively by using a questionnaire survey to examine and explain the relationships among related variables and their intensity and then apply regression analysis and characteristic equation to find out the forecast of Internet addiction. These studies truly not only helped the academia understand the factors involved in Internet addiction but also offered reference materials for preventing and improving the problems. Nevertheless, there were some limits in these quantitative studies. For example, it is hard to understand the causal relationship among the factors. Also, one-way linear inference ignored the feedback behaviors from Internet addiction toward related factors and fell into one-way think mode. Internet addiction is indeed a mental problem and involves complicated and obscure factors, which usually could be cause and effect of each other. This study aimed to compensate for the loss of dynamic complexity in all kinds of Internet addiction modes in the literature by reviewing important literature, inducing and generalizing dangerous factors and effects, employing system dynamics to construct the dynamic mode of Internet addiction, and applying the picture of causal feedback and the mode of math to see through the structure of movement behind and the interaction among the factors. This study showed five main findings. First, hiding oneself in the Internet world, which could not reduce pressure, only helped obtain a temporary sense of achievement but resulted in severe outcomes, such as the problem of time management and a vicious circle of interpersonal relationship and schoolwork pressure produced by Internet addiction. Second, ¡§withdrawal symptoms¡¨ and ¡§a sense of achievement obtained on the Internet¡¨ were leading indicators for Internet addiction. Third, limiting the amount of time of surfing on the Internet and slackening withdrawal symptoms were temporary solutions to the problem at a later period. Moreover, there was a certain correlation among the critical points of value of withdrawal symptoms, limiting the amount of time of surfing on the Internet, and improving the timing. Fourth, only facing the problem was the ultimate solution to Internet addiction. Finally, the problem of Internet addiction was actually a transformed version of archetype brought up in the book ¡§The Fifth Discipline.¡¨

An Exploratory Study on the Interrelationship of Internet Addiction, Internet Usage Motivation, Internet Usage Behavior and User Characteristics for Taiwan High School Students. Chieh-Ju Tung Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationship among motivation and gratification level, activities, personality and Internet addiction for Taiwan¡¦s high school students based on the Uses and Gratifications Theory. The characteristics of those identified as addicted are investigated along with the factors of demographic data, motivation and gratification, web attitude and personality. Moreover, structural equation modeling was used to verify the Theory. The study was conducted using purposive sampling at two major municipals in Taiwan. Questionnaires including Pathological Internet Use Scale for Taiwan high school student, Diagnoistic Questionnaires, Internet usage Motivation and Gratification Scale, Interpersonal Relationship Scale, Self-Esteem Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Internet Usage Behavior Questionnaire, Perceptions of the Internet Influences and Demographic Data. Of the 1708 qualified samples, 236 were classified as Internet addicted. Major findings of the study are: 1. Entertainment is the major factor for high school students to use Internet, information searching stands as second. Surfing with motivation of social and entertainment has positive correlation with Internet addiction. Those classified as addicted have higher motivation on social and entertainment and have higher satisfaction thereafter. 2. Males who own computer, with grades in lower two-thirds of the class, with more than 4 years Internet usage experience, always using cyber-café or surfing during weekday have higher tendency to become addicted. 3. System and location of school, the grade attended or whether access Internet at home have no relationship with addiction. 4. The average weekly hours on Internet is positive correlated with Internet addiction. 5. Students with personality of dependence, shyness, depression or lower self-esteem have higher tendency to become addicted. 6. The probability of males to become addicted is 2.6 times that of females. Vocational high school students have higher tendency to become addicted than non-vocational high school students. 7. The average weekly hours on Internet for those addicted is 21.2 hours, it¡¦s 1.75 times that of normal ones. 8. Those identified as addicted always surf in cyber-café and favor on-line games, chat room and sex-related activities. 9. Those identified as addicted have lower self-esteem and higher depression. 10. Internet addiction has significant canonical correlation with motivation on social/entertainment and hours on Internet. 11. Internet addiction has significant canonical correlation with shyness, depression emotion, poor interpersonal relationship, negative self-concept and lower self-esteem. 12. The theoretical model constructed in this study could explain the relationship among main variables by Amos. 13. ¡§Internet usage motivation¡¨ has greatest direct effect on addiction. It has greatest total effect when combines with the factor of ¡§Average weekly hours on Internet ¡¨. 14. The predictability for Internet addiction is 62% when six variables were used (Motivation on social, Motivation on entertainment, Average weekly hours on Internet, Interpersonal relationship, Depression and Self-esteem). Finally, suggestions on counseling addicted students are made for government and high school authorities, counselors and parents. Issues for futher study are also discussed.