Kimberly Young

Kimberly Young is a psychologist and world expert on Internet addiction disorder and online behaviour. She founded the Center for Internet Addiction in 1995 and was a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford with a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Young is currently a professor of management scientists at St. Bonaventure University. She has published numerous journal articles and books chapters and served as an expert witness regarding her pioneer research including testimony for the Child Protection Online Act Congressional Committee. Young is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, and a founding member of the International Society of Mental Health Online.

Center for Internet Addiction

Young's interest in Internet addiction started when the Internet was proliferating in the 1990s. At that time, many people in mainstream media were beginning to coin the phrase 'online addicts' for those who spent large amounts of time on the Internet. Young identified that the United States lagged behind other nations in recognising excessive Internet use as an addiction and was surprised at how few studies examined the phenomenon of Internet addiction. In 1994 Young devised a questionnaire for Internet users to see what their online behaviours had in common with the actions of compulsive gamblers and alcoholics. Young founded the Centre for Internet Addiction Recovery in 1995 and has served as its director since its inception.

Education

• Psy.D., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1994; Emphasis: Behavioural Medicine and Neuropsychology
• M.A., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1992; Major: Clinical Psychology
• 1988 B.S., Jacobs School of Management, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y., 1988; Major: Business Administration; Concentrations: Finance and Management Information Systems.

Notable works

Young has published more than 40 articles on the impact of online abuse, and has had her work featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, CBS News, Fox News and The Times. Youngs most discussed work is perhaps her 1998 book Caught in the Net where she offers pragmatic solutions to peoples problems to what she calls "Internet addiction."

Books and book chapters

• Caught in the Net: How to Recognize Internet addiction and A Winning Strategy for Recovery. (1998)
• Evaluation and treatment of Internet Addiction (Chapter), in Innovations in Clinical Practice: A Source Book. (1999)
• Tangled in the Web: Understanding Cybersex from Fantasy to Addiction. (2001)
• Internet Addiction: The consequences of a new clinical phenomena (Chapter), in Psychology and the New Media. (2004)
• Controlling Internet Abuse in the Workplace: A Framework for Risk Management (Chapter), in Transformation of the Workplace: The Web and Work in the 21st Century. (2006)
• Breaking Free of the Web: Catholics and Internet Addiction. (2007)
• Internet Sex Addiction: Risk Factors, Stage, and Treatment (Chapter), in American Behavioural Scientist – Psychology and the New Media. (2008)
• Gamers Anonymous: Understanding and Treating Online Gaming Addiction. (2009)

• ^ Grohol, John M. "Review of Caught in the Net". 18 November 1998.