H-Net* Are you an Internet addict?

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Are you an Internet addict? Sept 30, 1999 DON'T worry, you're not alone. And help is just a click away. Research presented at the annual American Psychological Association in Boston found that six per cent of online users are Internet addicts. According to American psychologist Dr Kimberly Young: "Addictive use of the Internet is a new phenomenon that many practitioners are unaware of and consequently unprepared to treat." So, how do you know if you're an addict? Try the sample questions. If you tick five or more, you're addicted. In an editorial in the Student BMJ, a monthly journal published by the British Medical Association, Dr Young said Internet addiction covers a wide variety of behaviours, but they can be treated. "It's very serious. People are losing jobs over it. People are being kicked out of school because of it and people have gone into financial debt because of it." Internet addiction is described as an impulse control disorder that does not involve an intoxicant, like gambling. Treatment is similar to the way other addictions are handled. Sleep deprivation, eye and back strain and carpal tunnel syndrome which involves pain in the hand and wrist are other signs of overuse of the Internet. Dr Young, the director of the Center for On-Line Addiction in Pennsylvania (US), said this includes being hooked on adult chat rooms or cyberporn; cyber-relationship addiction which involves replacing real-life relationships with Internet ones, and net compulsions such as online gambling, auctions and obsessive online trading. The disorder also covers constant surfing, as well as obsessive computer-game playing and programming. - Reuters. TAKE THE NET ADDICTION TEST Are you preoccupied with the Internet? Do you spend more time on the web than you meant to? Have you risked a job or relationship because of the worldwide web? Have you made repeated unsuccessful attempts to control Internet use? Have you lied to loved ones or therapists about the amount of time you spend in cyberspace? Do you feel the need to increase your time on the Net to achieve satisfaction? Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from real-life problems and relieving depression and anxiety?