Welcome to the Internet Addiction Test

While we are pretty skeptical about considering excessive internet use an actual addiction (since it appears to lack many of the characteristics normally associated with bona fide addiction), nonetheless, this 20-question self-test may help you to identify areas of your life which may be impacted by excessive internet use. Please read our disclaimer on psychological testing and our psychological testing privacy guarantee.

Completing this Psychological Screening Test

To take the questionnaire, please click the radio button next to the selection which best reflects how each statement applies to you. Be sure to base your answers only on the time you spend online for non-academic and non-job related purposes.

Take the Quiz

Please note: This test will only be scored correctly if you answer each one of the questions.

1. How often do you find that you stay online longer than you intended?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

2. How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the internet to intimacy with your partner?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

4. How often do you form new relationships with fellow online users?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

5. How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

6. How often do your grades or school work suffer because of the amount of time you spend online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

7. How often do you check your email before something else that you need to do?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the internet?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when anyone asks you what you do online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the internet?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

11. How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go online again?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

12. How often do you fear that life without the internet would be boring, empty, and joyless?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

13. How often do you snap, yell, or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

14. How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

15. How often do you feel preoccupied with the Internet when offline, or fantasize about being online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

16. How often do you find yourself saying "just a few more minutes" when online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

17. How often do you try to cut down the amount of time you spend online and fail?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

18. How often do you try to hide how long you've been online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

19. How often do you choose to spend more time online over going out with others?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

20. How often do you feel depressed, moody, or nervous when you are offline, which goes away once you are back online?

  • Rarely
  • Occasionally
  • Frequently
  • Often
  • Always
  • Does Not Apply

About Scoring this Psychological Questionnaire

Scoring:

  • 0 points Does Not Apply
  • 1 point Rarely
  • 2 points Occasionally
  • 3 points Frequently
  • 4 points Often
  • 5 points Often

When your quiz is scored, one of 4 different information pages will appear to describe the results for scores in your range.

Generally speaking, the higher your score, the more impact internet usage may be having on your life.

Additional Information

The Internet Addiction Test is adapted from Dr. Kimberley S. Young's book Caught in the Net [Amazon UK | Amazon US].

This page was last reviewed by Dr Greg Mulhauser, Monday, 1 June 2009.

The URL of this page is:
http://counsellingresource.com/quizzes/internet-addiction/index.html