Do You Have an Internet Addiction?

The Internet is a great tool. You have a vast ocean of information before you, all of which is only a few clicks of the mouse away. Whatever you want, whatever you're looking for, it's on the Internet in some way, shape or form.

Unfortunately, with this amazing new technological wonder, comes a bevy of problems. One of these problems that most likely affect someone you know is an Internet addiction.

An Internet addiction occurs when the person spends an inordinate amount of time on the Internet. The person usually begins sacrificing time to do other things in order to surf the Web. Relationships with friends and family deteriorate as well as work or school performance.

Is Internet Addiction Real?

Popular culture has embraced the idea that an Internet addiction is a real problem, but the psychological community is still undecided about that. Some strongly believe that an Internet addiction is a very real and very serious problem, but others contend that it's not the Internet that the person is addicted to.

These professionals believe that it is only a specific part of the Internet that the addicts are addicted to (i.e. pornography, gambling, chat rooms). This would mean the person was not addicted to the Internet, but was instead addicted to sex, gambling, or social interaction. The Internet just provides a fast, convenient, and relatively anonymous avenue of satisfying that addiction.

Who Are the Addicts?

Anyone can be addicted to the Internet, but most pathological users of the Internet seem to fit in one of two categories: middle-aged women or young males (teens and early twenties).

For many women, the lure of the Internet comes in the form of chat rooms. There, they are able to create new personas, be interesting, and fulfill certain aspects of their life that may be missing.

For young males, the Internet provides an alternative, "fantasy" world to which they can escape. They are normally introverted people with low levels of self-esteem. On the Internet they are able to create and maintain relationships with others without the risk of face-to-face rejections.

Symptoms of Internet Addiction

While the psychological community as a whole does not believe Internet addiction exists, certain mental health professionals have conducted research and work on the subject matter. They believe some of the symptoms an Internet addict exhibits include:

lying about the amount of time spent on the Internet
deterioration or loss of relationships with family and friends
loss of inhibitions—this often pertains to things like cyber sex and gambling
using the Internet to suppress certain emotions
exhibiting withdrawal symptoms when not online (which may include depression and thinking about the Internet when not online)
spending more time on the Internet than originally intended.

Reducing Time Spent Online

Since the psychological community does not officially recognize Internet addictions, little study concerning treatment for this problem has been conducted. Furthermore, even if the health professional does believe Internet addiction is a serious problem, he or she may not know how to diagnose and treat this problem (it is hard without any guidelines to follow).

Many concerned spouses, family members, and friends have tried to stop this addiction by putting a block on chat rooms, throwing away the modem, or other more drastic measures, but these methods only provide a short-term effect on the Internet addict's ability to surf the Web.

Since the problem has not been recognized, no official methods have been set to treat Internet addiction, but like any other addiction, the first step is to get the addict to realize that he or she has a problem. If the addict is unable to recognize this, any other measures taken to treat this problem are very unlikely to succeed.

One very popular method of treating drug addictions is cognitive behavioral therapy. Since Internet addiction is a compulsory problem (similar to that of a drug addiction), it is believed that similar treatment strategies can be used to treat Internet addiction.

Of course if you find something else that works, go with it.