I don't know how many of you spend as much time on the internet as I do, but chances are, many of you do. Well, it appears that there is a growing trend in the recognition and treatment of internet addictions.

[S]pecialists estimate that 6 percent to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million Internet users in this country have a dependency that can be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction, and they are rushing to treat it.

However, some therapists and doctors are skeptical of this "disorder," which is now called onlineaholism. The typical profile of such a person? There really isn't one. However, many people are said to further gambling and porn addictions and to otherwise suffer from anxiety or depression.

One patient who was interviewed said that his symptoms included

intense cravings for the computer, lying about how much time he spends online, withdrawing from hobbies and social interactions, back pain and weight gain.

Help is said to be on the way, though, in the form of programs typically used to help curb chemical dependencies. These include 12-step programs and even in-patient services. In fact, patients are said to go through withdrawal syndromes.

Now, how many of you are signing up?

BraveArt

Los Angeles, CA

February 2004

DEC 26, 2005 01:13 PM

I will sign up, but only if I can do the whole 12 step program online.

Luzzie

United Kingdom

December 2005

DEC 26, 2005 01:59 PM

i would but i dont spend that much time online... my back hurts too much,

:p thats a bad joke... but that is also scary... i thought i was just sad... but now i have a condition! Woo!

verucalovescandy

Ardmore, PA

July 2004

DEC 26, 2005 04:16 PM

wow.. i didn't know there would be a day where i had to face this.. haha..
my friends would totally say i have a problem..

Fleische

I'm lost

August 2005

DEC 26, 2005 04:39 PM

Wonder If I'm going to have to sell my soul to a higher power. 8/

MissTyrios

NEWSWIRE

Allston, MA

DEC 26, 2005 05:17 PM

brvhrt said:
I will sign up, but only if I can do the whole 12 step program online.

From page 3 of the NYTimes article:

Some therapists and Internet addiction treatment centers offer online counseling, including at least one 12-step program for video game addicts, which is controversial. Critics say that although it may be a way to catch the attention of someone who needs face-to-face treatment, it is akin to treating an alcoholic in a brewery, mostly because Internet addicts need to break the cycle of living in cyberspace.

makeshiftman

Edmonton, AB

December 2004

DEC 26, 2005 05:18 PM

There's only one cure for internet addiction; TV addiction, and i'm not prepared to go down that road again.

Noctua

Palo Alto, CA

February 2004

DEC 26, 2005 05:33 PM

I say it's a plot by phamaceutical companies; they start a grassroots campaign calling the spending of time online an "illness" -- hey, you can cure illnesses with drugs! Why, we happen to have one just for such an illness right here....

s5

STAFF

San Francisco, CA

DEC 26, 2005 05:39 PM

"Internet addiction" is just another way of saying "I don't understand what the internet is for". The internet is just a tool, and some people find that tool more useful than other people find it. It's like saying that you suffer from "music addiction" because you enjoy listening to music all day.

Quick, someone call Merck, there's a new wonder drug waiting to be patented. Call it Atonal: to curb cravings for ordered sound.

Gwendolyn

SUICIDEGIRL

Indiana, USA

DEC 26, 2005 05:42 PM

I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would want to cure their internet addiction.

Solaris

SUICIDEGIRL

British Columbia, Canada

DEC 26, 2005 05:49 PM

getting a full time job pretty much cured me of my internet addiction, unfortunately. i would much rather sit online all day talking to people i don't know and will never meet than be serving the public!

pavlovsdog

Asheville, NC

May 2004

DEC 26, 2005 05:52 PM

What are you talking about! I don't have a problem!

Keith

Oklahoma City, OK

August 2002

DEC 26, 2005 05:57 PM

s5 said:
"Internet addiction" is just another way of saying "I don't understand what the internet is for". The internet is just a tool, and some people find that tool more useful than other people find it. It's like saying that you suffer from "music addiction" because you enjoy listening to music all day.

Well I think that's true to some extent, but just like music could become a problem if you'd rather put on your headphones than deal with people or your problems, the internet can be used as a means of escape -- and sometimes we really shouldn't be escaping.

James_

United Kingdom

March 2003

DEC 26, 2005 06:08 PM

Fatality said:
In fact, patients are said to go through withdrawal syndromes.

Hmm. So, given that the withdrawal symptoms of most addictive drugs are the opposite of their primary effects, what are the Wd's of an internet addiction? sudden cravings for porn and wikipedia? going to bed at a reasonable hour? lack of desire to put images of your penis in sundry locations? God spare us from that horror!

MrStitches

Sag Harbor, NY

November 2003

DEC 26, 2005 06:33 PM

Eh, the same people who tell me I spend too much time online are the same people who watch tv during every spare moment. The internet is at least less passive than tv.