Internet addiction gains attention as it intersects with other problems.

Although the addiction field is not close to a formal incorporation of compulsive Internet use as a major area of focus, more clinical professionals and treatment agencies are considering the concept of "Internet addiction" as they observe an overlap with other problems such as sex addiction and problem gambling.

The vast majority of addiction treatment agencies still see alcohol and drug addictions as their core target. Even sex addiction, a specialty area for several treatment centers in the United States, is not listed as an actual diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders--practitioners treating this problem use the diagnostic classification "sexual disorder not otherwise specified." But with the Internet permeating most aspects of contemporary life, professionals have a growing awareness of how some individuals' online practices resemble the addictions they customarily treat.

"It is common for someone …