Health response to problematic usage of the internet: a global survey on trends, available treatments and key challenges

Arash Khojasteh Zonoozi; Joe Schofield; Fateme Sadat Abolghasemi; Sophia Achab; Atul Ambekar; Henrietta Bowden-Jones; Zsolt Demetrovics; Mohsen Ebrahimi; Naomi A. Fineberg; Yasser Khazaal; Hae Kook Lee; Kristiana Siste; Dan J. Stein; Anise M.S. Wu; Mehran Zare-Bidoky; ISAM-GEN Societies' Experts; Marc N. Potenza; Alexander Mario Baldacchino; Hamed Ekhtiari

doi:10.1556/2006.2025.00106

Health response to problematic usage of the internet: a global survey on trends, available treatments and key challenges

Arash Khojasteh Zonoozi, Joe Schofield, Fateme Sadat Abolghasemi, Sophia Achab, Atul Ambekar, Henrietta Bowden-Jones, Zsolt Demetrovics, Mohsen Ebrahimi, Naomi A. Fineberg, Yasser Khazaal, Hae Kook Lee, Kristiana Siste, Dan J. Stein, Anise M.S. Wu, Mehran Zare-Bidoky, ISAM-GEN Societies' Experts, Marc N. Potenza, Alexander Mario Baldacchino^*, Hamed Ekhtiari^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Background and Aims: Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) is a
growing global concern, emerging among more than 5.3 billion people who use the internet worldwide. While specific forms such as online gaming and gambling are recognized as disorders or conditions for further study in diagnostic manuals, global data on prevalence, treatment, and health responses to PUI remain limited. This study aimed to obtain perspectives from representatives
of addiction medicine/psychiatry societies regarding the scope,
treatment, and health responses to PUI and identify gaps. Methods: A global survey was conducted through the International Society of Addiction Medicine’s Global Expert Network (ISAM-GEN), involving addiction societies from 38 countries across Europe, Asia/Oceania, the Americas, and Africa. The survey assessed responses to non-specific PUI and five subtypes: online gaming, gambling,
pornography, social media, and online shopping. It included case scenarios and questions on the significance and severity of PUI, and country-level health responses. Results: Online gambling (94.8%) and gaming (86.9%) were the most frequently reported PUI forms, followed by social media (84.2%), pornography (68.3%), and online shopping (52.6%). Psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, were the most widely available treatments, reported as accessible by over 70% of country respondents. Despite growing awareness—reflected in the formation of PUI interest groups in 44.7% of societies—gaps were reported, including lack of professional certification (78.9%), insufficient practitioner education (68.4%), and inadequate expert training (63.2%). Notably, 65.8% rated the 10-year severity of PUI as
extremely or very important. Discussion & Conclusion: Global
attention to PUI is increasing, but more robust healthcare responses are needed. Addressing existing gaps requires enhanced training and sustainable international efforts.

Original language	English
Article number	2006.2025.00106
Pages (from-to)	1-14
Number of pages	14
Journal	Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Volume	Online First
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00106
Publication status	Published - 21 Feb 2026

Keywords

Addictive behaviors
Compulsive behaviors
Gambling
Global survey
Impulsive behaviors
Internet addiction
Pornography
Technology addiction
Video games

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Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes, provided the original author and source are credited, a link to the CC License is provided, and changes – if any – are indicated.
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Khojasteh Zonoozi, A., Schofield, J., Abolghasemi, F. S., Achab, S., Ambekar, A., Bowden-Jones, H., Demetrovics, Z., Ebrahimi, M., Fineberg, N. A., Khazaal, Y., Lee, H. K., Siste, K., Stein, D. J., Wu, A. M. S., Zare-Bidoky, M., ISAM-GEN Societies' Experts, Potenza, M. N., Baldacchino, A. M., & Ekhtiari, H. (2026). Health response to problematic usage of the internet: a global survey on trends, available treatments and key challenges. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, Online First, 1-14. Article 2006.2025.00106. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00106

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title = "Health response to problematic usage of the internet: a global survey on trends, available treatments and key challenges",

abstract = "Background and Aims: Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) is a growing global concern, emerging among more than 5.3 billion people who use the internet worldwide. While specific forms such as online gaming and gambling are recognized as disorders or conditions for further study in diagnostic manuals, global data on prevalence, treatment, and health responses to PUI remain limited. This study aimed to obtain perspectives from representatives of addiction medicine/psychiatry societies regarding the scope, treatment, and health responses to PUI and identify gaps. Methods: A global survey was conducted through the International Society of Addiction Medicine{\textquoteright}s Global Expert Network (ISAM-GEN), involving addiction societies from 38 countries across Europe, Asia/Oceania, the Americas, and Africa. The survey assessed responses to non-specific PUI and five subtypes: online gaming, gambling, pornography, social media, and online shopping. It included case scenarios and questions on the significance and severity of PUI, and country-level health responses. Results: Online gambling (94.8\%) and gaming (86.9\%) were the most frequently reported PUI forms, followed by social media (84.2\%), pornography (68.3\%), and online shopping (52.6\%). Psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, were the most widely available treatments, reported as accessible by over 70\% of country respondents. Despite growing awareness—reflected in the formation of PUI interest groups in 44.7\% of societies—gaps were reported, including lack of professional certification (78.9\%), insufficient practitioner education (68.4\%), and inadequate expert training (63.2\%). Notably, 65.8\% rated the 10-year severity of PUI as extremely or very important. Discussion \& Conclusion: Global attention to PUI is increasing, but more robust healthcare responses are needed. Addressing existing gaps requires enhanced training and sustainable international efforts.",

keywords = "Addictive behaviors, Compulsive behaviors, Gambling, Global survey, Impulsive behaviors, Internet addiction, Pornography, Technology addiction, Video games",

author = "\{Khojasteh Zonoozi\}, Arash and Joe Schofield and Abolghasemi, \{Fateme Sadat\} and Sophia Achab and Atul Ambekar and Henrietta Bowden-Jones and Zsolt Demetrovics and Mohsen Ebrahimi and Fineberg, \{Naomi A.\} and Yasser Khazaal and Lee, \{Hae Kook\} and Kristiana Siste and Stein, \{Dan J.\} and Wu, \{Anise M.S.\} and Mehran Zare-Bidoky and \{ISAM-GEN Societies' Experts\} and Potenza, \{Marc N.\} and Baldacchino, \{Alexander Mario\} and Hamed Ekhtiari",

year = "2026",

month = feb,

day = "21",

doi = "10.1556/2006.2025.00106",

language = "English",

volume = "Online First",

pages = "1--14",

journal = "Journal of Behavioral Addictions",

issn = "2062-5871",

publisher = "The Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra",

}

Khojasteh Zonoozi, A, Schofield, J, Abolghasemi, FS, Achab, S, Ambekar, A, Bowden-Jones, H, Demetrovics, Z, Ebrahimi, M, Fineberg, NA, Khazaal, Y, Lee, HK, Siste, K, Stein, DJ, Wu, AMS, Zare-Bidoky, M, ISAM-GEN Societies' Experts, Potenza, MN, Baldacchino, AM & Ekhtiari, H 2026, 'Health response to problematic usage of the internet: a global survey on trends, available treatments and key challenges', Journal of Behavioral Addictions, vol. Online First, 2006.2025.00106, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00106

TY - JOUR

T1 - Health response to problematic usage of the internet

T2 - a global survey on trends, available treatments and key challenges

AU - Khojasteh Zonoozi, Arash

AU - Schofield, Joe

AU - Abolghasemi, Fateme Sadat

AU - Achab, Sophia

AU - Ambekar, Atul

AU - Bowden-Jones, Henrietta

AU - Demetrovics, Zsolt

AU - Ebrahimi, Mohsen

AU - Fineberg, Naomi A.

AU - Khazaal, Yasser

AU - Lee, Hae Kook

AU - Siste, Kristiana

AU - Stein, Dan J.

AU - Wu, Anise M.S.

AU - Zare-Bidoky, Mehran

AU - ISAM-GEN Societies' Experts

AU - Potenza, Marc N.

AU - Baldacchino, Alexander Mario

AU - Ekhtiari, Hamed

PY - 2026/2/21

Y1 - 2026/2/21

N2 - Background and Aims: Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) is a growing global concern, emerging among more than 5.3 billion people who use the internet worldwide. While specific forms such as online gaming and gambling are recognized as disorders or conditions for further study in diagnostic manuals, global data on prevalence, treatment, and health responses to PUI remain limited. This study aimed to obtain perspectives from representatives of addiction medicine/psychiatry societies regarding the scope, treatment, and health responses to PUI and identify gaps. Methods: A global survey was conducted through the International Society of Addiction Medicine’s Global Expert Network (ISAM-GEN), involving addiction societies from 38 countries across Europe, Asia/Oceania, the Americas, and Africa. The survey assessed responses to non-specific PUI and five subtypes: online gaming, gambling, pornography, social media, and online shopping. It included case scenarios and questions on the significance and severity of PUI, and country-level health responses. Results: Online gambling (94.8%) and gaming (86.9%) were the most frequently reported PUI forms, followed by social media (84.2%), pornography (68.3%), and online shopping (52.6%). Psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, were the most widely available treatments, reported as accessible by over 70% of country respondents. Despite growing awareness—reflected in the formation of PUI interest groups in 44.7% of societies—gaps were reported, including lack of professional certification (78.9%), insufficient practitioner education (68.4%), and inadequate expert training (63.2%). Notably, 65.8% rated the 10-year severity of PUI as extremely or very important. Discussion & Conclusion: Global attention to PUI is increasing, but more robust healthcare responses are needed. Addressing existing gaps requires enhanced training and sustainable international efforts.

AB - Background and Aims: Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) is a growing global concern, emerging among more than 5.3 billion people who use the internet worldwide. While specific forms such as online gaming and gambling are recognized as disorders or conditions for further study in diagnostic manuals, global data on prevalence, treatment, and health responses to PUI remain limited. This study aimed to obtain perspectives from representatives of addiction medicine/psychiatry societies regarding the scope, treatment, and health responses to PUI and identify gaps. Methods: A global survey was conducted through the International Society of Addiction Medicine’s Global Expert Network (ISAM-GEN), involving addiction societies from 38 countries across Europe, Asia/Oceania, the Americas, and Africa. The survey assessed responses to non-specific PUI and five subtypes: online gaming, gambling, pornography, social media, and online shopping. It included case scenarios and questions on the significance and severity of PUI, and country-level health responses. Results: Online gambling (94.8%) and gaming (86.9%) were the most frequently reported PUI forms, followed by social media (84.2%), pornography (68.3%), and online shopping (52.6%). Psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, were the most widely available treatments, reported as accessible by over 70% of country respondents. Despite growing awareness—reflected in the formation of PUI interest groups in 44.7% of societies—gaps were reported, including lack of professional certification (78.9%), insufficient practitioner education (68.4%), and inadequate expert training (63.2%). Notably, 65.8% rated the 10-year severity of PUI as extremely or very important. Discussion & Conclusion: Global attention to PUI is increasing, but more robust healthcare responses are needed. Addressing existing gaps requires enhanced training and sustainable international efforts.

KW - Addictive behaviors

KW - Compulsive behaviors

KW - Gambling

KW - Global survey

KW - Impulsive behaviors

KW - Internet addiction

KW - Pornography

KW - Technology addiction

KW - Video games

U2 - 10.1556/2006.2025.00106

DO - 10.1556/2006.2025.00106

M3 - Article

SN - 2062-5871

VL - Online First

SP - 1

EP - 14

JO - Journal of Behavioral Addictions

JF - Journal of Behavioral Addictions

M1 - 2006.2025.00106

ER -

Health response to problematic usage of the internet: a global survey on trends, available treatments and key challenges

Abstract

Keywords

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