Is Internet Addiction a Medical Condition?

PreacherTom writes "Arising from such cases as a recent lawsuit with IBM over employee termination due to online sex chatting at work, recent debate over whether Internet abuse is a legitimate addiction, akin to alcoholism, is heating up. From the article: 'Attorneys say recognition by a court — whether in this or some future litigation — that Internet abuse is an uncontrollable addiction, and not just a bad habit, could redefine the condition as a psychological impairment worthy of protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act.' The condition could even make it into the next edition of the American Psychiatric Association's DSM, making it a full-blown neurosis. It wouldn't be a huge surprise, with a recent Stanford study showing that 14% of people state it would be 'hard to stay away from the Net for even a few days in a row."

Comments

I actually took the time to translate an article

[Vintermann]

on this. I quote myself:

The official diagnosis systems ICD and DSM currently have identical criteria for addiction to alcohol, illegal drugs and tobacco. Addiction to gambling, sex, internet etc are not mentioned, but psychologists who care about these addictions obviously use equivalient definitions.
The diagnosis systems mention 6-7 possible symptoms which can be classified into three groups:
- increased tolerance and/or abstinence problems
- signs of loss of control (strong craving/ compulsiveness or drinking more than planned or failed to cut down on use)
- damaging effects (social, health or work-related)
Currently no "symptoms" are mandatory. The addiction diagnosis demands that one has at least 3 of 6 symptoms through the previous year (ICD-10) or 4 of 7 at one point in life (DSM-IV). One does not need to have symptoms from all three groups, for instance is lack of control not a prerequsite.
Compared to regular medical diagnoses, it's remarkable that the important boundary between healthy and ill is set at an arbitrarily chosen number of symptoms (3 out of 6 or 4 out of 7)

Re:Ridiculous, just ridiculous

[Cryssen]

You're now confusing the word addiction (the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma) with dependence (being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming) The word habit is still out there, and means hat it always did. A Habit is something you do just because you usually do it. An addiction is compulsory, I leave the toilet seat up out of habit, not because I'm addicted to leaving the toilet seat up.

Re:Ridiculous, just ridiculous

[R2.0]

"This is the first time I've ever heard that people can die from alcohol withdrawl."

Look up "delirium tremens". Never mind, I'll do it for you.

From Wikipedia:

"Five percent of acute ethanol withdrawal cases progress to delirium tremens[1]. Unlike the withdrawal syndrome associated with opiate or stimulant addiction, delirium tremens (and alcohol withdrawal in general) can be fatal. Mortality can be up to 35% if untreated, though if treated early, death rates may be as low as 5%."

It sounds like you abuse alcohol, or are a "problem drinker". You are most likely NOT an alcoholic ,or you wouldn't describe going dry for a few weeks as "no problem". However, since you know so little about the disease from which you profess to suffer, I suggest you increase your alcohol content until you are actually addicted, and THEN do a cold turkey withdrawal - alone. If you survive the DT's, perhaps you will think twice about shooting your mouth off about something about which you obviously have little knowledge. If you die, not only will you add knowledge to your little part of the world (for a short time anyway), you will make the world a better place by removing yourself from it.