Addiction? April 20, 2006
Posted by moonwatcher in General.trackback
So you’ve been online for sometime now. You’ve updated your hardware and software and have justified the extra expense of switching to broadband. Now you have a fast, reliable, always on internet connection. You start to spend more time online doing such things as downloading music, conversing in chat rooms, reading articles and perhaps even blogging. Its then that you start to realise that you are spending more and more of your time online. More of your time is taken up talking nonsense in chat rooms, responding to blog comments, downloading music you can’t stand etc, but you still spend hours a day on the internet, even though you believe that most of the time you’re not doing anything constructive online. Do you have an internet addiction? Does internet addiction really exist?
We’ve all heard the horror stories of people staying online for days, if not week’s straight playing games, and other people sourcing pornography they claim they wouldn’t have accessed if it weren’t available online. Is this the internet’s fault? No, it can’t be, it’s a computer, it only does what the operator wants it to do. According to John M. Grohol, Psy.D, there isn’t an internet addiction disorder, but rather, perceived over use of the internet is an indicator of existing psychological disorders that can be treated with current treatments. For example, people who talk on the phone for hours aren’t seen as having a ‘phone addiction’. Also, internet usage has to be placed in context, for example, if you’re a university student, how many hours a day are you online? (Don’t answer that!). If there is an internet addiction, the current research methods are not going to uncover it. For a first hand look, go to the Internet Addiction Survey. Can you draw a relationship between your responses and behaviour being related to the internet?
Whatever you reasons to go online, if you’re happy with it, keep doing it! (as long as it’s not illegal!). The internet is a socially connecting device and if your spending hours per week communicating with people with a similar interest to yourself, where is the harm in that? Like wise if you are a passive user, such as reading news and current affairs articles. I guess the moderation rule applies here, just like it does with everything else to do with life. If you feel you have a problem, seek professional help, for the rest of us; don’t be afraid to turn the power button off every now and then!
You can read more at CNN, Wikipedia and American Psychological Association
Rudolph G. Briggs, Ph.D. (State University New York) says:
Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is characterized by seven basic diagnostic criteria, among them increasing tolerance of long online hours, withdrawal, and unsuccessful efforts to control Internet use
1. Tolerance: This refers to the need for increasing amounts of time on the Internet to
achieve satisfaction and/or significantly diminished effect with continued use of the same
amount of time on the Internet.
2. Two or more withdrawal symptoms developing within days to one month after
reduction of Internet use or cessation of Internet use (i.e., quitting cold turkey) , and these
must cause distress or impair social, personal or occupational functioning. These include:
psychomotor agitation, i.e. trembling, tremors; anxiety; obsessive thinking about what is
happening on the Internet; fantasies or dreams about the Internet; voluntary or involuntary
typing movements of the fingers.
3. Use of the Internet is engaged in to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
4. The Internet is often accessed more often, or for longer periods of time than was
intended.
5. A significant amount of time is spent in activities related to Internet use ( e.g., Internet
books, trying out new World Wide Web browsers, researching Internet vendors, etc.).
6. Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because
of Internet use.
7. The individual risks the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career
opportunity because of excessive use of the Internet.
In recent research, other characteristics have been identified. The first is feelings of
restlessness or irritability when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use. The second is
that the Internet is used as a way of escaping problems or relieving feelings of
helplessness, guilt, anxiety or depression. The third characteristic is that the user lies to
family members or friends to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet. And,
finally, the user returns repeatedly despite excessive fees (Egger & Rauterberg, 1996).
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