Journal of Adolescence 35 (2012) 417424

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Adolescence
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jado

Adolescents over-use of the cyber world Internet addiction or identity

exploration?
Moshe Israelashvili*, Taejin Kim, Gabriel Bukobza
Department of Human Development and Education, School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel

a b s t r a c t

Keywords: In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the Internet can serve as a valuable tool
Adolescent Internet use assisting adolescents in pursuing the developmentally-related need for self concept clarity.
Ego clarication Participants in the study were 278 adolescents (48.5% girls; 7th9th graders) who
Ego development
completed questionnaires relating to their levels of Internet use, Internet addiction, ego
Internet addiction
development, self consciousness, self-concept clarity, and personal demographic data. The
study results support the general notion that adolescents level of self-clarity is negatively
related to Internet addiction and over-use. Hence, it is suggested that future studies on
adolescents Internet over-use should use qualitative rather than quantitative conceptu-
alization and measurements in order to properly explore such a behavior and its, either
positive or negative, implications. A differentiation is proposed between over-users, heavy
users, and addicted users. Namely, over-users and heavy users utilize the Internet for age-
related and modern-life-related purposes, and hence should not be labeled as addicted.
Implications for the measurement, denition, and treatment of Internet over-use are
suggested.
2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier
Ltd. All rights reserved.

Most of the current literature (e.g., Young & de Abreu, 2011) and public discussion on Internet over-use is biased toward
considering it a negative phenomenon. However, there may be benets in considering the positive aspects of Internet use.
These include its utility as a resource for accessing updated information, as a social network, and within that, as an oppor-
tunity for interaction and exchange of opinions. These aspects may be especially true for adolescents, who are at an age in
which information-seeking and social comparison are heightened. In light of this notion, the current study explored the
possibility that adolescents Internet over-use may reect an effort on their part to clarify their self perception.

Adolescents Internet use and addiction

Parallel to the understanding that the Internet has become a crucial component of contemporary life, a growing stream of
critics has emerged regarding the so-called problem of Internet addiction (e.g., Nalwa & Anand, 2003; Murali & Geonrge,
2007), commonly dened as a dysfunctional preoccupation with some type of computer-mediated activity (Suler, 2004;
p. 359). Moreover, some researchers have raised the possibility of including Internet over-use in the DSM (e.g., Fitzpatrick,
2008), as one of the addictive behaviors. According to Young (1996, 2004), the DSM-4 criteria for pathological gambling
can be adapted to t Internet addiction diagnostic criteria (Beard & Wolf, 2001). Practically speaking, Young (1996) suggested
that the difference between normal and pathological use of the Internet relates to the following criteria: being preoccupied by

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 972 3 6408171; fax: 972 3 640294.

E-mail addresses: Mosheil1@post.tau.ac.il (M. Israelashvili), kimdoron@gmail.com (T. Kim), bukobza@gmail.com (G. Bukobza).

0140-1971/$ see front matter 2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.015
418 M. Israelashvili et al. / Journal of Adolescence 35 (2012) 417424

the Internet, feeling the need to use it, repeated efforts to stop using it, being restless without it, staying longer than intended
when using it, readiness to suspend social relationships, lying to other close friends or family, and using the Internet as a way
of escaping from problems. Following the establishment of this differential list of characteristics, Young (1996) constructed
the Internet Addiction (IA) Questionnaire that is widely used in studies on Internet addiction and Internet over-use. Based on
her own surveys, as well as other researchers ndings, Young (1998) denes using the Internet for 38 h or more each week as
an Internet addiction. This criterion is now commonly used (e.g., Beard & Wolf, 2001).
However, a review of the research literature on Internet addiction indicates the lack of consensus among researchers and
practitioners regarding both the very existence of the phenomenon, as well as its characteristics (Weinstein & Lejoyeux,
2010). For example, several researchers debate the evidence upon the basis of which Internet over-use has been dened
as an addiction and prefer to use other terms, such as Problematic Internet Use (Demetrovics, Szeredi, & Rzsa, 2008;
Yellowlees & Marks, 2007), or Internet Related Problems (Widyanto, Grifths, Brunsden, & McMurran, 2008). Some
researchers debate about what precisely an Internet over-user might be addicted to (Beard, 2005; Murali & Geonrge, 2007).
Others advocate the idea that Internet over-use may only be a problem for people with specic predispositions, such as
a general tendency toward addiction (Widyanto & Grifths, 2006; Yellowlees & Marks, 2007), OCD (Block, 2008), depression
(Yen et al., 2008), lack of impulse control (Treuer, Zsolt, & Jannos, 2001; Yellowlees & Marks, 2007), aggression (Kim,
Namkoong, Ku, & Kim, 2008), and shyness (Chak & Leung, 2004). The possibility that Internet addiction is not a phenom-
enon that stands alone gains support from Blocks (2008) recent estimation that 86% of those who are addicted to the Internet
have an additional DSM-IV diagnosis.
Interestingly, parallel to the increasing number of studies that connect Internet over-use with other psychopathological
syndromes, other studies highlight the fact that most adolescents use the Internet in relatively cautious and conscientious
ways, while not hiding their real selves (e.g., Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). Namely, they aim at achieving positive goals in their
use of the Internet. Thus, a possibility emerges that among Internet over-users, further distinction may exist between those
whose preliminary drive to use the Internet stems from psychopathological needs and those whose preliminary drive stems
from normative needs. An example of a normative need that might be gratied through Internet use is adolescents global
need to socially interact and make social comparisons and can, thus, assist them in ego and self-esteem clarication.

Adolescents Internet use and ego clarication

Self concept can generally be divided into elements of content and elements of structure (Kegan, 1982). The former refer to
issues relating to the type of knowledge contained within the self, including ambitions, beliefs, experiences, and roles, as well
as affective components such as feelings and evaluations. The latter address the issue of how the self concept is organized,
that is, the epistemic order which governs its contents (Bukobza, 2007). Cross-cultural and anthropological studies indicate
that a consistent, stable, and well-dened self is not a universal phenomenon but a predominant characteristic of the self in
Western societies (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Suh, 2002). In many other locations a normative and functional self is man-
ifested as inconsistent, changing, and replete with contradictions (Heine & Lehman, 1999; Peng & Nisbett, 1999). These
ndings show that the phenomenology of selfhood is rich and diverse; they further stress the importance of being sensitive to
cultural settings when exploring the self.
Studies about the structure of self concept have ventured beyond the delineation of basic organizational principles of the
self. They have tried to articulate the degree of implementation of various principles in self concept and to investigate their
possible contribution to moderating emotional stimuli. A related concept to self clarity is self consciousness the awareness
of individuals to the internal life of their psyches (Duval & Wicklund, 1972).
Linville (1987) used a number of different principles that underlie the organization of self concept as a measure of self-
complexity. Donahue measured complexity by assessing the extent to which different dimensions in self concept are inte-
grated. Individuals in that study who attributed inconsistent trait proles to themselves across different roles scored low on
well-being tests (Donahue, Robins, Roberts, & John, 1993). Campbell (1990) presented yet another structural measure of self
concept, which was termed self concept clarity (SCC). SCC is dened as the extent to which the contents of the self are clearly
and condently articulated, consistent, and temporally stable. According to Campbell et al. (1996), low SCC levels are asso-
ciated with high scores in neuroticism, low conscientiousness, low agreeableness, chronic self-analysis, low internal state
awareness, and a ruminative form of self-focused attention.
Findings on adolescents search for self-clarity support the possibility that at least some of the Internet over-users do it in
pursuit of positive developmental goals, such as the promotion of self concept clarity and self consciousness, which in turn
helps them gain a sense of uniqueness and unity in the world. For example, Huang (2006) indicated that freshmen in Taiwan
who had a lower level of ego development, spent more than 10 h per week on the Internet. Other researchers (Allison, von
Wahlde, Shockley, & Gabbard, 2006; Hinduja & Patchin, 2008) have emphasized the potential contribution of Internet
anonymity to meeting the Internet surfers needs. For example, Internet use can serve as a channel through which people can
both implement their ideal selves, as well as explore alternatives to their current ego or self perceptions. Others have focused
on the positive power of the Internet as a way of expanding knowledge about the world (Jensen, 2003) or as a way of nding
new attachment gures (Lei & Wu, 2007).
All of these ndings and suggestions support the possibility that adolescents Internet over-use may represent a case of
self-clarity exploration, rather than a mere addictive behavior. However, this assumption has not yet been directly investi-
gated. Recent surveys of global Internet use indicate that Israel is second among the top ten countries worldwide, in Time
 M. Israelashvili et al. / Journal of Adolescence 35 (2012) 417424 419

Spent Online amongst individuals aged fteen or above (ComScore, January 2011). In line with the current study premises,
Elias and Lemish (2009) illuminated the benet of Internet use for Israeli youth who immigrated to the country from the
Former Soviet Union. According to these researchers the Internet supplied these young immigrants with valuable resources
for gaining knowledge about the new Israeli culture as well as constituting a basis for communication, self-empowerment,
and experimentation with their evolving identity. Hence, it seems that Israeli adolescents level of Internet use is relevant
for testing the possibility that Internet use might be related to the adolescents level of self-clarity.
The current study explored the relationship between ego-clarity and adolescents tendency to over-use the Internet. The
general assumption was that adolescents level of self concept clarity would signicantly contribute to explaining the variance
in adolescents Internet addiction; i.e., the more adolescents were occupied by clarifying their self-concept, the more they
would over-use the Internet.

Method

Participants

Participants in the study were 278 adolescents, 51.5% boys and 48.5% girls, studying in the 7th (n 124), 8th (n 40), and
9th (n 114) grades. Based on convenience sampling, three schools were selected from a list of junior-high schools in the
central, most densely populated, area of the State of Israel. The only criterion used in organizing the list of schools, from which
these three schools were selected, was the lack of selectivity in students enrollment. Namely, the initial list of schools did not
include any schools that focus on fostering knowledge in specic elds of study (e.g., musical schools, technological schools,
etc.) or that make any kind of selection among applicants (e.g., foreign language knowledge, family location area, SES, etc.).
After selection of the three schools, forms were administered to the school principals to conrm their agreement to ques-
tionnaire administration. Following the principals agreement to participate in the study, and the study conrmation from the
Israeli Ministry of Educations Chief Scientist, a random sample of classes from these three schools was selected to participate
in the study. All of the students studying in the classes that were sampled participated in the study. The students willingness
to anonymously answer the questionnaire was also requested and almost no child refused to participate. The questionnaires
were administered in a paper-and-pencil version, during school time, with all students in the same homeroom class sitting
together, supervised by the researchers alone. Analysis of the participants background information indicated that 97% of
them were Israeli born, meaning that there should be no language problems in reading and completing the questionnaire.
In response to the questionnaire, 87.6% reported having a computer in their home. Most of them reported using the
Internet from their home (62.7%) or from a friends home (21.2%). The rest of the participants reported surng the Internet
from other places (e.g., school, family relatives, etc.). Thus, for most of them, there was no problem in accessing the Internet
when they wished to do so.
According to the participants self reports, the duration of their surng time each day ranged from 0 to 10 h (M 3.1,
Sd 1.82). A comparison of surng time in the different locations yielded a signicant difference [F(2,251) 25.48, p .000].
Scheffes post-hoc comparisons indicated that both the range as well as the mean surng time in the participants homes
(range: 1-10; M 3.57, Sd 1.80) is signicantly higher than the surng time in either a friends home (range: 16; M 2.02,
Sd 1.13) or in other settings (range: 15; M 1.58, Sd 1.26). It should be noted that none of the participating schools had
dened computer-based classes. Thus, surng time outside of participants home or a friends home is probably irrelevant to
school studies and takes place in various locations outside of the school setting (e.g., community center).

Measures

Internet use
Participants were asked to indicate to what extent they usually engaged (1, never, to 4, very much) in each of the
following computer activities: chats, games, discussion groups, and exploring new websites. In addition they ranked their
level of interest (1, not at all, to 4, very much) in various subject matters related to the Internet that were presented to
them, including: news, learning, sports, music, entertainment, innovations, dating, sex, recreation, and politics. These two
lists of questions comprised the 14 items of the Internet use scale. Cronbachs alpha reliability for the entire scale (i.e.,
involvement and interest) was .73, with a higher rank indicating a higher level of Internet use.

Internet addiction
In order to measure Internet addiction, we used Youngs (1998) Internet Addiction Questionnaire. This questionnaire has
been widely used in various studies and has already been translated to other languages, such as Chinese (Ngai, 2007),
Norwegian (Johansson & Gtestam, 2004), and Italian (Ferraro, Caci, DAmico and Di Blasi, 2007). The Hebrew version of the
questionnaire, developed by Hagar (2003), adapted it for use as a singular comprehensive questionnaire to measure Israeli
Adolescents Internet Addiction (IAIA). The IAIA questionnaire is comprised of 23 items (e.g., My family and friends complain
about the amount of time I spend on the Internet; Ive tried but havent succeeded in reducing my use of the Internet) that
address emotional, cognitive, physiological, and behavioral aspects of Internet use. Respondents are asked to rank their
responses on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1, completely untrue, to 4, completely true. In the current study, the
420 M. Israelashvili et al. / Journal of Adolescence 35 (2012) 417424

Cronbach alpha for the entire scale was .90. For each participant a mean score of responses was computed, with a higher score
reecting a higher probability of Internet addiction or of problematic Internet use (Beard, 2005).

Adolescent ego development

To measure the adolescents level of ego development, we used The Adolescent Ego Identity Scale (AEIS). The AEIS (Tzuriel,
1992) was composed and validated in Israel and has been used in studies conducted both among Israeli adolescents (e.g.,
Sherer, 2009) and non-Israeli adolescents (e.g., Kundu & Adams, 2005). The scale explores the respondents level of ego
development based on Eriksons dimensions of ego-development (Erikson, 1968). The 38 items (e.g., I am a balanced and
stable person) are divided into seven dimensions that represent the various dimensions stated by Erickson (i.e., Solidity and
Continuity, Commitment and Purposefulness, Social Recognition, Physical Identity, Meaningfulness-Alienation, Self-Control, and
Genuineness). In the current study, the Cronbachs alpha reliabilities for each of the seven sub-scales ranged between .53 and
.77. However, the reliability of the entire scale was 0.86 and this has been used as a measure of ego-development. The higher
the respondents mean score on the scale, the more well-developed his/her ego is.

Self consciousness
The Self Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ; Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975): In reply to each of the SCQ items (e.g., I am
constantly examining my motives), respondents indicated their level of agreement, ranging from 1 (very unlike me) to 5
(very like me). The 23 items of the SCQ are divided into three sub-scales: personal self-consciousness, public self-
consciousness, and social anxiety. The reliabilities for the three sub-scales which were found in the current study were
around .72.
Thus, in light of the SCQs modest reliabilities in the current study, we used the SCQ as a comprehensive scale. The
Cronbachs alpha reliability of the entire SCQ was .84. For each participant, the mean response score was computed and used
as a rank of ego development. The higher the score in ego development, the higher the positive perception of the adolescent
regarding his/her self.

Self-concept clarity
To measure the level of self-concept clarity we used Campbell, Katz, Lavallee, and Trapnells (1991) Self-Concept Clarity
Scale (SCCS). The scale is composed of 20 items (e.g., I spend a lot of time wondering about what kind of person I really am.).
Respondents are asked to rank the extent to which each item describes them well, on a 5-point Likert scale (1, "not at all", to 5,
"very much"). In the current study, after deletion of one item, the Cronbachs alpha of the scale was .75, with a higher score
reecting a higher level of self-clarity.

Personal data

Each respondent was asked to indicate his/her gender, age, and birth place. In addition, they were asked to indicate
whether they have a computer in their home, the number of hours they surf the Internet each day, and the location where
they usually surf the Internet.

Procedure

The study questionnaires were administered during class time. After a short introduction from the researcher, an
explanation about the study goals was given. In the explanation, the need to better understand adolescents Internet use was
highlighted with the promise of anonymity and no future inuence on students school or personal life. Administration of the
questionnaire lasted for about 25 min.

Results

In terms of time, an Internet addiction is commonly dened (Beard & Wolf, 2001; Young, 1998) as use of the Internet for at
least 38 h each week. In the current study, based on participants self reports about their daily use of the Internet, it seems that
6% of these adolescents meet that criterion. This rate ts evaluations made among other samples of adolescents world-wide
(Cao, Su, Liu, & Gad, 2007).
Table 1 presents the means, SDs, and inter-correlations for the study variables.
To explore gender and age differences, we performed a MANOVA (gender  age) with the ve study variables i.e., ego-
development, self-consciousness, self-concept clarity, Internet use, and Internet addiction - as dependent variables. The
MANOVA yielded no signicant differences, neither for gender not for age.
Table 2 presents Pearson inter-correlations for the study variables, including the amount of hours spent daily in Internet
surng. Data presented in Table 2 indicate that ego development is positively correlated with self concept clarity and both of
them are negatively correlated with both Internet use and Internet addiction. However, the number of hours spent surng
each day was not signicantly correlated with any of the study main variables. An additional correlation analysis indicated
that among the various contents of Internet use explored in the current study, only surng in relation to scientic innovations
was negatively correlated (r .12, p < .05) with number of hours spent surng each day.
 M. Israelashvili et al. / Journal of Adolescence 35 (2012) 417424 421

Table 1
Means and SD of adolescents Ego development, self concept clarity, Internet use and Internet addiction, divided by gender and age.

Male Female Total

(N 244)
Age 13 (N 56) 14 (N 26) 15 (N 52) 13 (N 48) 14 (N 14) 15 (N 48)

M Sd M Sd M Sd M Sd M Sd M Sd M Sd
Self-Consciousness 2.61 0.58 2.61 0.63 2.67 0.48 2.62 0.54 2.72 0.50 2.69 0.55 2.67 0.54
Ego development 3.44 0.48 3.36 0.36 3.42 0.44 3.46 0.34 3.52 0.46 3.57 0.42 3.46 0.42
Self concept clarity 2.54 0.61 2.53 0.69 2.60 0.50 2.53 0.59 2.74 0.48 2.63 0.55 2.58 0.57
Internet use 2.02 0.40 2.25 0.43 2.03 0.42 2.16 0.40 2.53 0.50 2.19 0.44 2.14 0.44
Internet addiction 1.83 0.55 2.05 0.62 1.91 0.54 2.07 0.55 2.09 0.53 1.78 0.48 1.92 0.55

To explore the potential contribution of self concept clarity in explaining the variance in Internet addiction, we performed
a hierarchical multiple regression on the level of Internet addiction, in which participants gender and age were entered in the
1st step, ego development and self-consciousness in the 2nd step, and self concept clarity in the 3rd step. In all three of the
steps, the variables were entered stepwise. Results of the hierarchical regression analysis are presented in Table 3. These
results indicate the signicant contribution of two variables in explaining the variance in Internet addiction, namely,
participants level of ego-development and level of ego-clarity signicantly accounted for variance (R2 .289) in Internet
addiction. Specically, the results of Step 3 of the analysis showed that higher self concept clarity (b 0.484, p 0.000) and
ego development (b 0.328, p. 0.000) signicantly predict lower Internet addiction. These results support the current
studys general hypothesis.

Discussion

Based on the assumption that the Internet is used globally as a general source of information and social interaction, the
current study explored the idea that some adolescents spend many hours surng the web in order to achieve a better
comprehension of their personal characteristics and a clearer denition of their selves.
Findings of the current study support the relevance of adolescents levels of self concept clarity and ego development in
explaining the variance in adolescents level of Internet over-use. Namely, after controlling for adolescents levels of ego-
development, Israeli adolescents whose level of ego-clarity was lower tended to be more involved in Internet over-use. If
ego-development had not been statistically controlled for, one might have been able to speculate that the impact of ego-
clarity on Internet addiction is limited to those whose preliminary or current level of ego development is low. It
should be noted that in the hierarchical regression analysis that was conducted, these two ego-related variables were not
entered at the same stage. While ego-development was entered at the second stage, ego-clarity was entered at the third stage.
Hence, after controlling for adolescents level of ego-development, those whose self perception was vaguer tended to be more
involved with the Internet. Thus, as mentioned above, due to the statistical control that was used, it can be assumed that
regardless of the adolescents level of ego-development, the greater the feelings of ambiguity regarding self perception, the
greater the Internet use. These ndings support the current studys premises regarding the possibility that self concept clarity
exploration may foster adolescents Internet over-use.
According to the current ndings, adolescents level of self concept clarity is signicantly related to Internet over-use
more so than their level of ego development. Thus, individuals whose self concept is not yet clearly dened might use the
Internet more intensely than others. This nding may be interpreted in two ways: One possibility is that individuals who
are low in self clarity spend much of their time online without a specic purpose in mind. Their Internet over-use is
aimless and non-benecial, not unlike the general behavior of adolescents with a diffused identity (Marcia, 1980). In
contrast, a second interpretation suggests that their Internet over-use is fueled by this lack of clarity and that they utilize
the wealth of information found on the web to achieve higher self clarity. The need and desire to form consistent, clear,
and coherent knowledge systems has long been described as a major feature that signicantly shapes peoples behavior,
especially during adolescence (e.g., Inhelder & Piaget, 1958; Vo-Jutabha, Dink, McHale, & Valsiner, 2009). Individuals low
in self clarity have been shown to present extremely high levels of self analysis (Campbell et al., 1996) and this too may be
an indication of their use of the Internet. It should be noted that no signicant correlations between the number of hours

Table 2
Inter-correlations for Ego development, Self concept clarity, Internet Use and Internet Addiction.

Hours spent daily in surng the Internet Internet use Internet addiction Ego clarity Ego Development
Self-Consciousness 0.037 0.054 0.037 0.150* 0.151*
Ego development 0.058 0.269** 0.167** 0.167**
Self concept clarity 0.012 0.247** 0.429**
Internet addiction 0.053 0.418**
Internet use 0.022

*p < .05 **p < . 01.

422 M. Israelashvili et al. / Journal of Adolescence 35 (2012) 417424

Table 3
Stepwise multiple regression Internet addiction with age, gender, ego development, self-consciousness and self concept clarity as criterion variables.

Variables B SE b t Sig. R2 Adjusted R2 SEE

1 (Constant) 0.970 0.229 4.25 0.000
Ego Development 0.273 0.064 0.247 4.22 0.000 0.61 0.58 0.534
2 (Constant) 2.218 0.240 9.25 0.000
Ego Development .0362 0.057 0.328 6.36 0.000
Self concept clarity 0.468 0.050 0.484 9.38 0.000 0.289 0.228 0.466

the adolescents are spending in surng the Internet and their level of self-report regarding either Internet use and
Internet addiction or ego development or self concept clarity were found. This nding highlight the possibility that the
major difference between those who feel addicted to the Internet and those who dont, is not concealed in the amount of
use but rather in the purpose of use of the Internet. Hence, it supports the second explanation, out of the two expla-
nations listed above, as it indicates that self-related processes, formerly used to be accomplished in "real" social arenas,
are now motivating adolescents to be involved in virtual (social) settings. This notion is radically different from most
researchers preliminary conception of Internet over-use, as it calls for a major shift of both the measurement and the
conceptualization of adolescents over-use of the Internet, from quantitative evaluation (or phenomena) into qualitative
evaluation.
For example, the current study ndings regarding the role of the search for ego-clarity as a possible explanation of
adolescents Internet use further indicates the need to differentiate between three groups of over-users, i.e., over-users who
use it for common purposes that are related to better management of modern life; heavy users who over-use the Internet to
achieve the positive purpose of approaching better ego-clarication; and those who over-use the Internet for other purposes
and reasons, and might be labeled "addicted". As mentioned above, the rst two groups of adolescents use the Internet for
age-related and modern-life-related purposes and hence cannot be labeled "Internet addicted".
The differentiation that has been suggested between these three groups of Internet over-users may have several impli-
cations. Firstly, it seems that the predictive power of the IA questionnaire (Young, 1996) should be reconsidered and re-
validated. The current study results question the validity of the IA scores in terms of its ability to differentiate between
those who are over-users, heavy users, and addicted users. The IAs lack of distinction between these three types of Internet
over-users may lead to other misunderstandings, such as the signicance of gender in understanding Internet addiction;
namely, in the current study a no gender difference was found for the IA in general. Secondly, the suggested differentiation
between over-users, heavy-users, and addicted users should be considered and probably taken into account in current
discussions on clinical assessment of Internet-addicted clients (Young, 2011) as well as future DSM-V denitions of Internet
addiction. Unlike other addictive behavior, it seems that Internet addiction should be dened not only by the amount of use
(and preference over other activities) but rather by the combination of amount and purposes of over-use. Another possible
implication might be the need for a differential consideration of adolescents who seek help in coping through Internet over-
use. While over-users, the 1st group mentioned above, do not need any help, each of the other two groups might benet from
a different type of counseling or therapy. For example, the best way to counsel those labeled "heavy users", who are not
considered to be addicted users, might be through reality therapy (Kim, 2007) in which the clients more profound attitudes
toward their self-esteem, as well as their ability to make choices in their life, are addressed. However, a better way to help the
3rd group, those who are "addicted" to the Internet, would probably be through the CBT approach (Young, 2007), in which
clients learn how to better manage their own drives and misbehaviors.
The current study was limited in several ways. The study design was correlational, attitudinal, and included one-time
measurement. Behavioral and longitudinal studies are needed in order to fully comprehend the behavioral and motiva-
tional patterns of Internet use and their inuences on self characteristics. Future research should address the issue of
whether the time adolescents spend surng the web assists them in reaching the goal of self clarity or not, what the
implications of these activities are for the adolescents social and family relations, and what particular Internet-based
activities are more benecial than others in these respects. Hence, further explorations of potential cultural, gender, and age
differences in Internet use and especially the changing features of Internet use purposes, as discussed in the current study,
are needed.
In spite of the wide use of the term Internet addiction, debates over the denition and meaning of Internet over-use
and addiction are ongoing. Yellowlees and Marks (2007) distinguished between two schools of thought regarding Internet
over-use the rst is of researchers who believe that Internet addiction is a new psychiatric disorder, while the second is of
researchers who dene certain individuals as having problematic Internet use in relation to specic online activities, such as
gambling and pornography. This distinction is further elaborated and explored by Tokunaga and Rains (2010), who conclude
that problematic Internet use can best be described as an indicator of ones inability to successfully regulate his or her
Internet use, but they wonder if such a problem can be labeled as an addiction or disease. The current studys ndings
support the second school of thought. Namely, that even among heavy users who might be extensively occupied with
problematic websites, some are doing so in pursuit of ego-clarication, rather than as a result of their addiction to the
Internet. Yet, further exploration of Internet over-use, among people of various ages and cultures, is still needed to further
support this notion.
 M. Israelashvili et al. / Journal of Adolescence 35 (2012) 417424 423

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