Internet addiction is real, is a clinical disorder and should be recognized by the community as such. So says a a prominent psychiatrist in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The symptoms of internet addiction are similar to those of other addictions. In using the Internet nonstop, addicts can forget to tend to their vitals (eating and sleeping), need more an more advanced technology to overcome tolerance (I need Firefox 3 right now!), and go through withdrawal. Nice.
Reminds me of that story from a few days ago, about those kids who were addicted to their cellphone.
You can read the original report, in PDF format, here.
The big culprits include excessive online gaming, watching pornography, and e-mail.
Strange, as much time as I spend on the computer, I absolutely relish the time I don’t have to be in front of it.
