Internet Addiction Disorder Pioneer
By Kim T. Pham
So what came first, the chicken or the egg? Regardless of
your answer to the preceding question, we can all agree that one is relatively
responsible for the other regardless of chronological order. Just like any new
discovery, someone had to take an interest and put forth the efforts to make
their objectives known to the world. Dr. Kimberly S. Young, Psy. D. did just
this with her interest for Internet addition. By putting forth the effort, she
brought the disorder to light by giving it a name, Internet Addition Disorder
(IAD).
Dr. Young is probably known best by her book on Internet
addition, published in February 27, 1998, titled Caught in the Net. This was her first book on the topic, but she
went on to become the name and face behind IAD. She teaches, writes,
researches, and is often invited to speak at seminars concerning Internet
addiction. Dr. Young has also taken an active approach by opening the Center
for Internet Addition in 1995 where her position is the clinical director.
Normally, information concerning a person’s past experience
or education is highlighted in the biography sections of write-ups, but I
believe that these items serve well to explain how she single-handedly
discovered, exposed, and became affiliated with Internet addition disorder. When
considering Dr. Young’s long list of achievements, one would guess that her
background may have only been in the area of psychology. Her first area of
study was actually in Information Technology (IT). In 1988, she received her B.S.
in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information
Systems form the State of New York at Buffalo’s Jacob’s School of Management.
After working in IT, she decided to get her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology
from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Continuing her interest for
psychology, she got her Psy. D. from Indiana as well in the area of Behavior
Medicine and Neuropsychology. Dr. Young, then decided to go full circle back to
Information Technology by getting her Web Development Certificate from the University
of Pittsburg and did additional course work at the International University of
Information Management on System Designs and Telecommunications. Needless to
say, she knows a thing or two about computers and disorders.
In the title of this blog, the word, “Pioneer”, was used to describe
Dr. Young. According to freedictionary.com,
a pioneer is someone who opens up new areas of thought, research, and
development. Since research on Internet
addiction was first originated in the US by Dr. Young, the word, “Pioneer”,
describes her well. In 1996, Dr. Young presented the first paper on the topic
at the American Psychological Association’s annual conference held in Toronto
entitled, “Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Disorder”. After this
presentation, many more studies have taken place in countries all over the
world resulting in a definition and possible treatments for Internet Addition
Disorder. She currently continues her work in this area by teaching as a
professor at St. Bonaventure University’s School of Business on the topic of
Management Sciences and acts as Director of M.S. in Leadership Program.
If you are interested in finding out more about Internet
Addiction Disorder (IAD), I would suggest doing a search on one of her many studies,
books, classes, seminars, or therapy sessions on the topic.
Contributing References:
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