Public Health Approach to Problems Related to Excessive and Addictive Use of the Internet and Digital Media

This article reviews the public health approach to problems related to excessive and addictive use of the Internet and digital media.Recent FindingsThe public health model views addiction as the result of interactions among individuals, digital media, and the environment; therefore, interventions should aim to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors in these three areas. This includes developing and providing evidence-based services according to each individual ’s problem type and severity. Regarding interventions for digital media and the environment, restricting accessibility and regulating content may be necessary. This calls for an integrative, comprehensive, and continuous intervention strategy, and to achieve such a framework, we need to establish an information system to monitor the magnitude and patterns of related problems.SummaryThis review suggests a surveillance system that provides a list of evidence-based policies from the public health perspective. Suggestions for an advanced international information, policy, and monitoring system are discussed.
Source: Current Addiction Reports - Category: Addiction Source Type: research