Internet Addiction (IA) is becoming increasingly recognized as a serious public health issue,
particularly for children and adolescents. This review article discussed the complexity of IA
diagnostic criteria and IA-related risk factors from a public health perspective with the intention
of fostering a better understanding of IA in adolescents and children. The entire discussion
pointed out how the epidemiological triad of disease framework helps to explain the IA
associated factors among adolescents. This framework emphasises the agent (Internet
characteristics and its content), host (e.g., self-personality, comorbidity, psychological status,
inter- and intrapersonal relationship), and environment as extrinsic factors (i.e., physical
pollution, socioeconomic status, availability, and accessibility of the Internet) that facilitate
interaction between the agent and the host. Evaluation of all three components and their
association with IA is essential as it allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how the
issues arise, which can be useful in developing future effective public health measures for IA