Internet Addiction Test: Is Your Time Online Out of Control?

Free internet addiction test based on the APA's proposed criteria for gaming disorder. 15 private questions on control, mood and sleep, plus what helps.

Written by PsyMed Editorial Team

Published Oct 26, 2023 Updated Nov 4, 2026

A screening tool for self-reflection, not a diagnosis. How we build our tests

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This free internet addiction test asks 15 questions about how much control you have over your time online, and what it costs you in sleep, work, studies and relationships. It is based on the warning signs psychiatrists have proposed for gaming disorder, applied to internet use in general. It takes about three minutes, your answers stay private, and it is a self-check, not a diagnosis.

Spending a lot of time online is normal. Work, school, friends and entertainment all live there now. What this test looks at is different: whether you can stop when you want to, and whether being online is crowding out the rest of your life.

Internet Addiction Test

Choose how often each statement applies to you lately: Never (0), Rarely (1), Sometimes (2), Often (3), Very often (4). Total 0-60.

Time frame: recently

1 / 15

I think about being online even when I'm offline.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

2 / 15

I feel low or on edge when I can't get online.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

3 / 15

I need to spend more and more time online to feel satisfied.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

4 / 15

I've tried to cut down my time online and couldn't.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

5 / 15

Once I'm online, I end up stopping much later than I planned.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

6 / 15

I've given up hobbies or activities I used to enjoy so I can spend time online.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

7 / 15

I keep going online even though I know it's causing problems in my life.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

8 / 15

I hide or play down how much time I spend online.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

9 / 15

I go online to escape bad moods, worry or stress.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

10 / 15

My time online has hurt my work, studies or a close relationship.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

11 / 15

My time online cuts into the sleep I need.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

12 / 15

Things I need to get done at home or work slide because I'm online.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

13 / 15

I've had arguments with people close to me about my internet use.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

14 / 15

Time online has replaced most of the time I used to spend with friends or family in person.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

15 / 15

After a long stretch online, I feel I've wasted time I needed for other things.

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very often

Your score is

Is Internet Addiction a Real Diagnosis?

Not officially. “Internet addiction” is a widely used term, but no major diagnostic manual lists it as a disorder. What has been recognized is narrower and is about gaming:

The WHO’s ICD-11 includes gaming disorder. It is marked by impaired control over gaming, gaming taking priority over other activities, and carrying on despite harm. The pattern is normally seen for at least 12 months (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.).
The DSM-5 lists Internet Gaming Disorder in its section of conditions that need more research. It is limited to gaming and does not include problems with general internet use or online gambling (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2023).

So this test borrows the proposed gaming criteria and applies them to time online more broadly. That makes it a useful mirror, but its results cannot be matched to an official diagnosis.

How common is problematic internet use? A meta-analysis covering 31 nations put the global figure at about 6%, from 2.6% in Northern and Western Europe to 10.9% in the Middle East (Cheng & Li, 2014). Estimates swing widely depending on the questionnaire used. In one meta-analysis of medical students, studies that used one questionnaire found 5.2%, while studies that used another found 32.2% (Zhang et al., 2018). Any single number should be taken with caution.

Signs of Internet Addiction

These signs are adapted from the nine criteria the APA has proposed for Internet Gaming Disorder. For gaming, the APA suggests looking for five or more of them within a year (APA, 2023).

Being online is always on your mind

You think about going online, or about what’s happening online, even when you are doing something else.

You feel bad when you can’t get online

Being offline makes you restless, irritable or low.

You need more and more time online

The time it takes to feel satisfied keeps growing.

You can’t cut down

You’ve tried to spend less time online and couldn’t keep it up.

You’ve given up things you used to enjoy

Hobbies, sports or time with people have dropped away to make room for time online.

You keep going despite the problems

You know it is causing trouble, and you carry on anyway.

You hide how much time you spend

You play down or lie about your time online to family or others.

You go online to escape bad feelings

Being online is how you get away from guilt, worry or hopelessness.

It has cost you something important

A job, your studies or a relationship has suffered, or been put at risk, because of time online.

How This Internet Addiction Test Works

The test has 15 statements. Ten adapt the APA’s proposed criteria to internet use in general. Five cover common knock-on effects: lost sleep, neglected tasks, arguments with people close to you, less time with people in person, and regret about time spent online. For each statement, choose how often it applies to you lately, from Never (0) to Very often (4). Your total is between 0 and 60.

The questions are original to PsyMed. They are not taken from any published internet addiction questionnaire. If your concern is mainly about online betting, the Gambling Addiction Test is a better fit.

Understanding Your Results

Score	Result	What it suggests
0–14	Few signs	Your time online doesn’t seem to be causing problems.
15–29	Some signs	Some habits worth noticing and adjusting.
30–44	Many signs	Time online seems hard to control and is affecting your life. Consider talking to a professional.
45–60	Strong signs	Strong signs of problematic use. Please talk to a doctor or therapist.

The score bands describe how many signs you reported. They are not clinical cutoffs, and because internet addiction is not a formal diagnosis, no score can confirm it.

What Helps

Treatment for internet addiction has mostly been studied in small trials, but the results are encouraging. A meta-analysis of 16 studies with 670 participants found that psychological and medication treatments led to large improvements in internet addiction, time spent online, depression and anxiety (Winkler et al., 2013). The authors call these results preliminary, because there were few studies and they had methodological limitations.

Things you can try on your own:

Notice your triggers. Track when and why you go online, especially when you meant not to.
Set limits you choose. Screen-free meals, a device bedtime or app timers work better when they are your own rules.
Refill the gap. Plan offline activities you enjoy, so cutting back doesn’t leave an empty space.

If you go online mainly to escape low mood or anxiety, it is worth looking at those feelings directly. The Clinical Depression Test and Anxiety Test can help you put them into words.

Methodology & Sources

This page was researched and written by the PsyMed Editorial Team and last reviewed on 4 November 2026. The quiz is a house scale: its items were written by PsyMed by adapting the APA’s proposed Internet Gaming Disorder criteria to internet use in general, and they have not been clinically validated. Facts and figures come from the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and peer-reviewed meta-analyses. Read more about how we build our tests.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2023). Internet Gaming. psychiatry.org
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Gaming disorder. who.int
Cheng, C., & Li, A. Y. (2014). Internet addiction prevalence and quality of (real) life: A meta-analysis of 31 nations across seven world regions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(12), 755–760. doi.org
Zhang, M. W. B., Lim, R. B. C., Lee, C., & Ho, R. C. M. (2018). Prevalence of internet addiction in medical students: A meta-analysis. Academic Psychiatry, 42(1), 88–93. doi.org
Winkler, A., Dörsing, B., Rief, W., Shen, Y., & Glombiewski, J. A. (2013). Treatment of internet addiction: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(2), 317–329. doi.org

Frequently Asked Questions

Is internet addiction a real disorder?

Not as an official diagnosis. Gaming disorder is recognized in the WHO’s ICD-11, and the DSM-5 lists Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition that needs more research. ICD-11 covers gaming only, and the APA says its criteria do not include general internet use (WHO, n.d.; APA, 2023).

How many hours online is too much?

There is no set number. What matters is control and cost: whether you can cut back when you want to, and whether time online is harming your sleep, work, studies or relationships.

Is this the same as gaming addiction?

Not quite. This test covers internet use in general. Gaming disorder is a narrower, recognized condition about gaming only (WHO, n.d.).

How common is internet addiction?

A meta-analysis across 31 nations estimated about 6% worldwide, but figures vary a lot depending on the questionnaire used (Cheng & Li, 2014; Zhang et al., 2018).

Can internet addiction be treated?

Yes. A meta-analysis of 16 studies found large improvements with psychological and medication treatments, though the authors call the results preliminary (Winkler et al., 2013). A therapist can help you build habits and handle the feelings that drive you online.

Related Tests

Gambling Addiction Test: for online betting and gambling
ADHD Test: if focus and impulse control are a struggle in other parts of life too
Social Anxiety Test: if being online feels easier than seeing people in person
Clinical Depression Test: if you go online to escape low mood

This internet addiction test is for information only and is not a diagnosis or medical advice. If time online is causing you real problems, please speak to a doctor or therapist. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (US) or visit findahelpline.com.