Internet addiction-it's no joke.
Or is it?
By Molly Delano
Vour eyes are red and scratchy, vic
tims of another all nighter in a chat
room. Your fingertips are calloused
from constant banging on the keyboard.
You stop at the library 10 times a day to
check your email. Sometimes the only
thing that makes you relax during exam
time is a few hours surfing the web, mind
lessly jumping from site to site.
Does all this mean you're a member of
that new class of cyber-psychotics, the
Internet Addicts?
It all depends on who you’re talking to.
Some researchers claim that up to 6
percent of Internet users are addicted.
Others say it’s just porn sites and chat
rooms that hook users, while still others
say all the hype about Internet addiction
is just that—hype.
Internet Addiction Disorder
According to David Greenfield, presi
dent of the Center for Internet Studies in
West Hartford, Conn, (virtual
addiction.com), more than 11 million
Americans are afflicted by some form of
cyber addiction.
The most common categories of
addictive Internet use are pornography,
gambling, chatting and fantasy games.
According to a study conducted at the
University of Pittsburgh, women are drawn
to forging friendships online, while men
are more prone to engage in X-rated fan
tasies. What initially attracts—and then
hooks—users is the ability to transcend
physical and personal limitations online.
A geeky teenager can go online and
become a stud or vixen in a chat room,
or the shy reclusive type can transform
himself into a fearless warrior while
playing video games.
Students have reported missing class
es, meals and even parties to feed their
cyber jones, and researchers say mar
riages, relationships and work are all nega
tively affected by compulsive Internet use.
Are You A Junkie?
There are tons of quizzes online—
naturally—that will tell you if your
Internet habit is healthy. Visit sites like
stresscure.com, netaddiction.com, and
iliveonline.com/webaholics.htm.
Symptoms of net addiction include:
• blowing off commitments to stay online
• using the Internet as a retreat from
stressful situations
• running up enormous ISP/phone bills
unintentionally
• compulsive email checking, ignoring
friends and family
• losing track of time while you're
online
• denying that you spend too much
time online when people confront you
THIS REFDRT CLAIMS THAT A
5EN5EOF T/MELESSNES IS A
SIGN OF INTERNET APPICTCTL
Don’t panic if
ail of the above
apply to you. Many
psychologists
believe that Net
addiction isn’t all
it’s cracked up to
be. Dr. John
Grohol, who runs
an online mental
health service,
psychcentral.com,
believes that peo
ple who spend an
inordinate amount
of time on the
Jason Fairchild
Internet are no different than those that
spend a lot of time watching TV or work
ing. Grohol also points out that
researchers have not yet been able to
agree upon the average time people
spend online—estimates range from 7 to
19 hours a week.
Internet addiction is not a recognized
mental illness, at least not yet. But even
the most hardcore skeptics can agree that
compulsive gaming, gambling, chatting, or
surfing on the web can have dire conse
quences, especially when it comes to
forming relationships and developing a
social skills.*
net Facts
• The amount of time it takes for the
size of the Word Wide Web to double:
6 months.
• More than 75 percent of all web
users are between the ages of 18
and 49.
• More than half of all new Internet
users are women.
• One-third of all Internet users report
watching less television as a direct
result of their Internet use.
• There are 92 million people online in
the U.S. and Canada.
• 28% of all Internet users are full
time college students.
• Students average 99 minutes of
online activity every day.
Sources: Media Awareness Network, DITnet, Commerce.net,
netaddiction.com