Fully four hundred years ago, the acclaimed poet John Donne wrote: ‘No man is an island’. Certainly, Donne’s’ piece from 1624 applies equally in modern times, but to rely solely on that as a response to the statement ‘Why addiction affects us all’ could be considered a little trite at least, but it does provide an interesting viewpoint from which to begin the discussion.

The Internet is a wild and wonderful place which has forever changed the way we live, learn, and work – but when a person can’t find a balance between their time online and their time offline, it can mean problems for their mental health.

The signs and symptoms of addiction are not always easily identified. The following descriptions provide details of the four phases which were identified by researchers Jean Kinney and Gwen Leaton.