More artilcle on IA:
pcworld.com
Are You a Web Junkie?
Net addiction is no joke, say mental health
professionals.
by Tom Spring, PC World
January 14, 1999, 3:00 p.m. PT
BELMONT, Mass. -- It started when he broke the bank
while bidding at online auctions. Then it escalated as
the hypnotic black hole of cyberspace sucked him in
deeper. Online games, cybersex, and suicidal thoughts
haunted him. Eventually he became so obsessed with
the Internet that life had little meaning beyond it.
Despite therapy and warnings, this anonymous Internet
addict still hasn't been able to shake an addiction that
has ruined his life.
And experts say that he is not alone.
The Internet has wrecked marriages, lost jobs, and
trapped the vulnerable in cybercocoons, says
psychologist Maressa Hecht Orzack, founder of the
Computer Addiction Service at McLean Hospital here.
"I had one family that had to literally drag their kid away
from the computer," she says. Another client of
Orzack's became so obsessed with the Net that he
gave up on a graduate degree, his wife, and offline
friends.
One in Ten at Risk?
According to Orzack and a growing cadre of mental
health professionals, computers and the Net present a
problem as real as alcoholism, with all the attendant
symptoms of addiction--withdrawal, loss of control, and
compulsive behavior. Orzack believes one in ten regular
Internet users become dependent on the Net--roughly
equal to the population's predilection for compulsive
gambling and alcoholism.
Although Internet addiction is not considered a
recognizable disorder, Orzack says, the problem could
eventually be placed in a similar category to
kleptomania, compulsive shopping, or gambling. "It is
what we call an impulse control disorder," says
Orzack, who has been counseling chronic Net
overusers for three years.
Blaming the Internet
The idea you could become hooked on PCs has been
floating around since, well, PCs were invented. But it
wasn't until an influx of Internet users came onto the
scene that a flood of self-help groups, studies, books,
departments in addiction clinics, and specialized
therapists began popping up. In one case, a professor
at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, Kimberly
Young, even counsels addicts--where else but online?
Of course, talk of addiction raises skepticism in some,
who feel the concept is simply another mutation of the
blame-the-Internet game. They maintain that people
with addictive personalities would probably get addicted
to water if it was the first thing put in front of them.
One such cynic is Ivan Goldberg, a noted New York
psychiatrist. He was one of the first to write about
Internet addiction in a joke column three years ago. He
gained notoriety when people thought he was serious
and began asking for help.
Computers and the Net are not addictive, Goldberg
says, they're simply escapist distractions.
"Call it what you will, this is a real problem," counters
Nathan Shapira, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the
University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Whether it is an
addiction, a disorder, or merely a symptom of an
addictive personality, the consequences are real, says
Shapira, who headed a study on Internet addiction
presented to the American Psychiatric Association.
He found that excessive Internet users are more likely
to be lonely or depressed. He believes that the Internet
doesn't cause depression, but rather that people
suffering from depression seek escape online. "Of the
people we studied who couldn't control their Internet
use, many had other psychiatric disorders."
One Click Over the Line
All agree that some people spend more time online
than is healthy. But what pushes someone over the line
from avid Net user to addict? If you spend 20 hours a
week surfing the Web, are you hooked? "There are no
definitive studies and no clear answers," Orzack says.
"If you ignore relationships, miss work, and lose sleep
because you are online too much, these are
acceptable criteria we use to determine addiction,"
Shapira says.
Those who have studied Internet addiction base most of
their conclusions on in-depth case studies, not the kind
of large, statistically valid studies needed to establish a
diagnosis. "My hope is that a study can be done that
will define the limits of normal computer usage. Then
we can decide what is pathological," Orzack says.
As with any new technology, it will take time for the
Net's flaws and its effects on both society and
individuals to become evident, Orzack says.
Telltale Signs
In the meantime, Orzack suggests the following
guidelines for spotting telltale signs of Net addiction.
You've got a problem, she says, if you show at least
five of the following:
Engaging in computer activities to experience
pleasure, gratification, or relief.
Emotional symptoms such as restlessness,
irritability, sleep disturbances, increased
anxiety, depression, or hostility when not
engaged in computer activity.
Feeling preoccupied with computers by thinking
about the experience, planning a return to the
computer, or buying the newest hardware or
software.
Needing to spend more and more time or money
on computer activities in order to change
moods.
Neglecting social, familial, educational, or work
obligations.
Lying to family members, coworkers, fellow
students, therapists, and others about the
amount of time spent on the computer.
Risking loss of significant personal
relationships, career access and advancement
opportunities, financial stability, and educational
accomplishments.
Failing at repeated efforts to control computer
activities.
Showing physical signs such as carpal tunnel or
other repetitive stress injuries, backaches,
migraines, poor care of physical condition (such
as eating irregularities), or poor personal
hygiene. |
