Who, me?: Net 'addicts' often show other psychiatric disorders
Associated Press - 11:03 p.m. PDT Sunday, May 31, 1998
People who seem addicted to the Internet often show a bumper crop of
psychiatric disorders like manic-depression, and treating those other
conditions might help them rein in their urge to be online, a study
suggests.
On average, Internet ''addicts'' in the study reported having five
psychiatric disorders at some point in their lives, a finding that ''just
blew me away,'' said psychiatrist Nathan Shapira of the University of
Cincinnati College of Medicine.
It's unclear whether the Internet problem should be considered a
disorder or just a symptom of something else, or whether certain
disorders promote the excessive online use, he said.
Shapira was scheduled to present the study at the annual meeting of the
American Psychiatric Association in Toronto today.
He and colleagues studied 14 people who'd spent so much time online
that they were facing problems like broken relationships, job loss and
dropping out of school.
One 31-year-old man was online more than 100 hours a week, ignoring
family and friends and stopping only to sleep. A 21-year-old man
flunked out of college after he stopped going to class. When he
disappeared for a week, campus police found him in the university
computer lab, where he'd spent seven days straight online.
The study participants, whose average age was 35, were interviewed
for three to five hours with standard questions to look for psychiatric
disorders.
Being hooked on the Internet is not a recognized disorder. But Shapira
said the excessive online use by the study participants would qualify as
a disorder of impulse control, in the same category as kleptomania or
compulsive shopping. In fact, he suggested the Internet problem be
called ''Internetomania'' or ''Netomania,'' rather than an addiction.
But the striking thing, Shapira said, was the other psychiatric problems
that turned up:
-- Nine of the 14 had manic-depression at the time of the interview, and
11 had it at some point in their lives.
-- Half had an anxiety disorder such as ''social phobia,'' which is a
persisting and unreasonable fear of being embarrassed in public, at the
time of the interview.
-- Three suffered from bulimia or binge eating, and six had an eating
disorder at some time in their lives.
-- Four had conditions involving uncontrollable bursts of anger or buying
sprees, and half reported such impulse-control conditions during their
lives.
-- Eight had abused alcohol or some other substance at some time in
their lives.
The participants said medications for some of these conditions helped
them gain control over Internet use. That happened nine of the 14 times
they tried mood-stabilizing medications and four of 11 times they tried
antidepressants.
They still used the Internet too much, Shapira said, but ''the difference
between three days straight online and spending two to four hours a
day ... is an important move in the right direction.''
Kimberly Young, a University of Pittsburgh psychologist, said she has
found a similar pattern of prior psychiatric problems in most people
hooked on the Internet. Some people who'd abused alcohol or other
substances told her they were using the Internet as a safer substitute
addiction.
But she said many people with no prior sign of psychiatric trouble have
gotten hooked on the Internet too.
They may be dealing with other life circumstances like stale marriages
or job burnout, she said.
Point #5, "-- Eight had abused alcohol or some other substance
at some time in their lives" is NOT a true 'Net problem. It is the
result of easy 'Net access to COMS prices!
o~~~ O |
