Social Anxiety and Internet Addiction: CBT Intervention Module Development Based on Self-Reflection

DOI

10.2991/iciap-17.2018.38How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Internet addiction, intervention, social anxiety, social networking sites addiction, therapy

Abstract

This study presents an intervention module development based on the self-reflection of the first author, who has been experiencing social anxiety and Internet addiction. Said author has also been experiencing fear of negative evaluation and has negative beliefs about her ability to perform appropriately in social situations. Internet addiction has become her safe haven from social anxiety, allowing her to avoid anxiety from interactions with others and escape from her problems by engaging in more pleasurable activities derived from Internet use. Internet addiction provides gratification, including comfortable feeling and fulfillment of social relationship needs online. Based on the autoethnography as needs assessment, combined with the literature review, the author - who is specializing in clinical psychology - proposes an intervention module. Her self-awareness about her problems and its negative consequences motivated her to monitor her behavior. She also realized the importance of helping others undergoing similar or even worse problems. The cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention module includes the following: (1) psychoeducation about social anxiety and Internet addiction, (2) behavior modification to control excessive Internet consumption, (3) cognitive restructuring, and (4) exposure/assignment to develop social skills. After undergoing the intervention module, the first author showed a decline in Internet addiction and social anxiety. After that, three participants who also underwent intervention also showed a decrease in Internet addiction and social anxiety after six sessions. This article contributes to the literature by explaining Internet addiction and intervention from the perspective of someone who overcame the problems of social anxiety and Internet addiction after undergoing the proposed intervention.

Copyright

© 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ayu Pradani Sugiyanto Putri
AU  - Elizabeth Kristi Poerwandari
AU  - Erida Rusli
PY  - 2017/09
DA  - 2017/09
TI  - Social Anxiety and Internet Addiction: CBT Intervention Module Development Based on Self-Reflection
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Intervention and Applied Psychology (ICIAP 2017)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 437
EP  - 450
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/iciap-17.2018.38
DO  - 10.2991/iciap-17.2018.38
ID  - Putri2017/09
ER  -