Is Your Internet Use a Problem?
A free clinical self-assessment for adults from a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in Internet Addiction. Twenty questions, fifteen minutes, immediate results.
Who This Assessment Is For
This assessment was designed for adults who want a structured, clinical answer to a question that has been quietly building. You may be wondering whether your relationship with your phone, your gaming, your social media use, or your screen time has crossed a line. You may already know something is wrong but not have a way to measure or name it. You may be a parent or partner worried about someone you love and looking for a tool to start a difficult conversation.
Whatever brought you here, this assessment can help. It is not a diagnostic instrument — diagnoses require a full clinical evaluation — but it is a structured screening tool of the kind a clinician would use in an intake. It can tell you, in fifteen minutes, where on the clinical spectrum your patterns of internet use actually fall, and what kind of response the patterns at your level typically benefit from.
What You Get
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The assessment is a 14-page clinical PDF containing: • Twenty items organized around four domains drawn from the clinical literature on behavioral addiction: preoccupation and salience, tolerance and loss of control, functional impairment, and withdrawal and mood modification. The same domains used to evaluate substance use disorders and behavioral addictions like gambling. • A five-point scoring system that produces a total ranging from 0 to 80, plus a way to see how your high scores cluster across the four domains. • Four scored interpretation bands — Low Concern, Emerging Pattern, Significant Concern, and Severe / Clinical Range — each with a full clinical interpretation of what scores in that range typically mean and what kind of response tends to help. • Guidance on what to do next based on your specific result, including when self-directed strategies are appropriate, when therapy is indicated, and how to recognize the early warning signs that the patterns are escalating. Taking the assessment honestly takes most adults between eight and fifteen minutes. |
Why I Created This Assessment
Internet Addiction is personal to me. It robbed years of my life and directly caused health issues that took me a long time to undo. I became a therapist, in part, because of what those years cost me — and because once I was on the other side of it, I wanted to give other people the path I didn’t have when I needed it.
Most of what’s available on Internet Addiction treats it as a willpower issue. It isn’t a willpower issue. It’s an addiction, and it behaves like one — and the people I’ve worked with clinically need a structured, honest way to look at themselves before they can decide whether to do something about it. That’s what this assessment is.
I have practiced as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas for over sixteen years and specialize in the treatment of Internet Addiction and High Functioning Autism. I wrote the book Internet Addiction: Kicking the Habit, a 30-day self-directed program for people working alone. This assessment is offered freely — there is no catch and no upsell. The work I do is most effective when people come to it on their own time, not when someone pushes them into it.
What to Expect
Within a minute of signing up:
You’ll receive an email from me with a download link for the assessment. Open the PDF, read the instructions, and answer the twenty items honestly. The hardest part is the honesty — but doing it honestly is the entire point.
Over the next two weeks:
I’ll send four follow-up emails over the following ten days. One on how to read your score beyond just the total. One about why I created this assessment in the first place. One about what treatment for Internet Addiction actually looks like, in case your score suggests it might be useful. And a final one introducing my ongoing newsletter for people who want to keep thinking about this.
After that:
You’ll only hear from me when I have something worth saying. My newsletter, Spectrum & Screens, covers research and practical guidance on technology and mental health. It is not aggressive. If it is not for you, the unsubscribe link is always at the bottom of every email — you’ll still have the assessment to keep.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does the Assessment Take?
Most adults complete it in eight to fifteen minutes. Taking longer to think through your answers carefully is fine — there’s no timer and the goal is honesty, not speed.
Is this Assessment Confidential?
Yes. Your email address is collected only to send you the assessment and the short follow-up sequence. Your answers on the assessment itself stay on your device — you’re scoring yourself by hand, and the results are never transmitted anywhere. Nothing about your score is shared, stored, or seen by me unless you choose to discuss it during a consultation.
What if I Score in a High Range?
The assessment includes a clinical interpretation for each score range, with specific guidance about what tends to help at your level. A high score doesn’t mean you’re broken — it means the patterns you have are the patterns that respond to intervention. The follow-up emails go into more detail on what treatment actually looks like, and if you’d like to talk through your results with me directly, I offer free 15-minute consultations to Texas residents.
I'm Not Sure I Have a Problem. Should I Still Take It?
Yes — and a low score is genuinely informative information. Many people take the assessment expecting a high score and find their use is actually within normal range, which can be a relief. Others take it expecting reassurance and find a pattern they hadn’t fully recognized. Either outcome is useful.
Can I Share this with Someone I'm Worried About?
Yes. The assessment is designed to be self-administered, but it also functions as a structured starting point for a difficult conversation. The score itself is less important than the moment of honest reflection it creates. Share the link to this page — they’ll need to sign up for themselves so they receive it directly.
I'm Not in Texas. Is this Still Useful?
Yes. The assessment is freely available to anyone, anywhere. My clinical practice is licensed only in Texas, so I can’t see you as a client outside the state. But the follow-up emails include guidance on finding a clinician in your area, and my book, Internet Addiction: Kicking the Habit, is a 30-day self-directed program structured around the same principles I use clinically.
Is this for Adults or Children?
The assessment is designed for adults. Adolescents can use it with adult support, but the language and clinical framing assume an adult reader who is reflecting on their own behavior. For parents worried about a child’s screen use, my book Is Your Child Addicted To Electronics? is a more appropriate starting point.
Take the First Step
The hardest part of any change is the moment of honest assessment. The assessment doesn’t make you do anything — it just helps you see, in fifteen minutes, where you actually stand. Whatever you decide to do with that information is up to you.
Enter your email above, and the assessment will arrive in your inbox within a minute.