Could You Be Addicted to the Internet?

Billosaur writes "Over at The Register, Dr Stephen Juan has this interesting article on Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). Apparently this has been around since at least 1995 and there are those lobbying for it to be included in the DSM-IV. While some people use the Internet a lot for work or to keep in touch with family & friends as well as banking and bill-paying, it's interesting to thing that some people actually become addicted. There's still a lot of controversy over the diagnosis, whether this is true addiction or not. There is more detailed information available in this paper from Viriginia Tech."

Comments

is the title a rhetorical question?

[ChristTrekker]

The answer is so obviously "yes" in this audience. Was there any doubt? Why even ask?

I know I am

[Terminal Saint]

I'm also addicted to my car. Darned if a day goes by that I don't use it to get somewhere too far to walk.

Just because you use something often doesn't mean it's an addiction.

Re:I know I am

[TubeSteak]

I'm also addicted to my car. Darned if a day goes by that I don't use it to get somewhere too far to walk.

Just because you use something often doesn't mean it's an addiction.

If not driving causes you anxiety, then you're addicted.

Ditto for e-mail, browsing fark, /. or whatever other 'thing' on the internet that you just can't live without.

And you actually can get addicted to something like walking, running, biking or driving. Just because you aren't does not mean that others haven't been addicted.

Maybe yes, maybe no...

[kclittle]

Maybe I'm addicted to the Internet, maybe not. But it sure has eliminated my TV and newspaper habit...

"Fetal Internet Syndrome"

[tlambert]

I think there's also an as yet undiscussed "Fetal Internet Syndrome"...

My friends new Windows box is addicted, and it was never exposed, new from the store... computers with this syndrome have serious mental lapses if they can't get on the Internet to chat with Microsoft in the first thiry days after being turned on, and on a regular basis after that.

-- Terry

One sign of addiction

[Eightyford]

If you refresh your Slashdot user page every 30 seconds to see if you have received any replies, you might be addicted to the internet.

Re:One sign of addiction

[ndansmith]

If your DHCP lease is older than your first-born child, you might be addicted to the internet.

Re:One sign of addiction

[WilliamSChips]

Don't worry, I'm just waiting for Stargate to come on!

Can't ANYTHING be addictive?

[starseeker]

I'm not a medical person so perhaps there is some criteria I'm not familiar with, but isn't addictive behavior pretty much the same regardless of what someone is addicted to? Is the question whether the "addiction" is chemically based vs. simply being socially based? (For example, if a nerd likes playing Quake for 16 hours a day instead of interacting normally with the human race, does that constitute addiction or just different mental software?)

I mean really, if addiction is defined as depending on the chemicals that are generated when we feel "good" wouldn't an excess of ANYTHING that makes us feel "good" be a candidate for a cause? And wouldn't it be expected that potential causes of addiction depend on the individual? Some are obvious and would impact virtually anyone (chemical manipulation) but other behaviors which don't directly alter mood via chemical means I would intuitively expect to be more subtle.

Heh, maybe anti-social people (not the angry, dangerous wackos but those who are just indifferent to and/or dislike social situations) would argue that the rest of us are addicted to social interaction. ;-) The rest of us would probably take issue with that, but really what objective criteria would be used to have the argument?

Anybody with a medical degree around here that can point to some definitive definition of the word "addiction" and what it means, medically?

Help! I've got Addiction Addiction

[spun]

Dear Slashdot,

I'm addicted to calling everything and anything that people enjoy doing an addiction. I get wads of cash for treating these so-called addictions, and I have a powerful co-enabler called the pharmaceutical industry telling me it's all okay and I should keep doing it. What should I do?

Signed,
I'll take 'The Rapists' for $500, Alex.

(Please, if there are any psychologists or psychiatrists who read Slashdot, don't have me committed. It's a joke, m'kay?)

Re:Internet?

[anagama]

Tubes? What about the boob-tube? I spend a lot of time on the internet. By the same token, I spend almost no time watching television -- I see DVDs from time to time -- no cable, no antenna, just a DVD player connected to the TV, and yeah, call me an elitist I don't care. Anyway, why does the internet get bashed for being addicting, but television doesn't? Some people watch 5 or 6 hours of TV each day and yet I rarely see articles about how addictive TV is. "Internet Addiction" is just another way to bash the net as an evil place by those who either don't understand its utility, or don't want people to understand its utility.

I learned it from watching you, Dad!

[1310nm]

I learned it from watching you! :(