Eliza Carroll MS Intuitive Spiritual Counseling |
| Internet Addiction |
How do you know if you're already addicted or rapidly tumbling toward
trouble? Everyone's situation is different, and it's not simply a matter of time
spent on-line. Some people indicate they are addicted with only twenty
hours of Internet use, while others who spent forty hours on-line insist it is
not a problem to them. It's more important to measure the damage your
Internet use causes in your life. What conflicts have emerged in family,
relationships, work, or school?
What most people online who think they are addicted are probably
suffering from is the desire to not want to deal with other problems in their
lives. Those problems may be depression, anxiety, etc., a serious health
problem or disability, or a relationship problem. It is no different than
turning on the TV so you won't have to talk to your spouse, or going "out
with the boys" for a few drinks so you don't have to spend time at home.
Nothing is different except the modality.
What some very few people who spend time online without any other
problems present may suffer from is compulsive over-use. It's not the
technology (whether it be the Internet, a book, the telephone, or the
television) that is important or addicting -- it's the behavior. And behaviors
are easily treatable by traditional cognitive-behavior techniques in
psychotherapy, as well as other non-traditional means.
Ten years ago, the only people who spent a majority of their leisure time on
the computer were paid members of the technology industry. Today,
however, surfing the Web has become a pastime as social and marketable
as bar hopping or going to the movies. As the web has become a part of
mainstream life, some mental health professionals have noted that a
percentage of people using the web do so in a compulsive and
out-of-control manner. In one extreme (1997) Cincinnati case, unemployed
mother Sandra Hacker allegedly spent over 12 hours a day secluded from
her three young and neglected children while she surfed the Web. For
better or for worse, this phenomena of compulsive Internet use has been
termed 'Internet Addiction' based on its superficial similarity to common
addictions such as smoking, drinking, and gambling. Internet Addiction has
even been championed as an actual disorder by some psychologists.
Take this simple survey to see if you compulsively use the internet.
trouble? Everyone's situation is different, and it's not simply a matter of time
spent on-line. Some people indicate they are addicted with only twenty
hours of Internet use, while others who spent forty hours on-line insist it is
not a problem to them. It's more important to measure the damage your
Internet use causes in your life. What conflicts have emerged in family,
relationships, work, or school?
What most people online who think they are addicted are probably
suffering from is the desire to not want to deal with other problems in their
lives. Those problems may be depression, anxiety, etc., a serious health
problem or disability, or a relationship problem. It is no different than
turning on the TV so you won't have to talk to your spouse, or going "out
with the boys" for a few drinks so you don't have to spend time at home.
Nothing is different except the modality.
What some very few people who spend time online without any other
problems present may suffer from is compulsive over-use. It's not the
technology (whether it be the Internet, a book, the telephone, or the
television) that is important or addicting -- it's the behavior. And behaviors
are easily treatable by traditional cognitive-behavior techniques in
psychotherapy, as well as other non-traditional means.
Ten years ago, the only people who spent a majority of their leisure time on
the computer were paid members of the technology industry. Today,
however, surfing the Web has become a pastime as social and marketable
as bar hopping or going to the movies. As the web has become a part of
mainstream life, some mental health professionals have noted that a
percentage of people using the web do so in a compulsive and
out-of-control manner. In one extreme (1997) Cincinnati case, unemployed
mother Sandra Hacker allegedly spent over 12 hours a day secluded from
her three young and neglected children while she surfed the Web. For
better or for worse, this phenomena of compulsive Internet use has been
termed 'Internet Addiction' based on its superficial similarity to common
addictions such as smoking, drinking, and gambling. Internet Addiction has
even been championed as an actual disorder by some psychologists.
Take this simple survey to see if you compulsively use the internet.
