Are You Addicted?

October 21, 2006      Admin

No, not to love.

According to Reuters, researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine have reported a new malady … Internet Addiction.

Here's the profile YOU might fit (I know I do):

    • 13.7% find it hard to stay offline for several days at a time. (Days? How about hours?!)
    • 12.4% often stay online longer than intended. (Yep)
    • 8.2 % use the Internet to escape problems or a bad mood. (Uh Huh. But maybe there's a cause and effect issue here?)
    • 8.7% try to conceal their “non-essential” Internet use from family, friends and employers. (No comment)

If you're fearful of being or becoming an Internet Addict, and want to probe this malady further (online of course), check out the October issue of CNS Spectrums: The International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine.

Unfortunately, short of physically moving to a location without a broadband connection, there is no known cure for this affliction (the Stanford researchers carefully stop short of calling it a “pathological disorder”).