• Do you use internet more than 8 hours a day?
• Is internet is your mail mod of communication with friends and relatives
• Do you use social tools of Internet so much that you are nearly out of touch with real world?
• Are you more connected to their online/virtual friends than real world friends?
• Do you have profile at orkut, friendster, facebook, hi5 and other similar social networking websites?
• Do you prefer to listen music and watch movies/tv shows online rather than on you TV set?
• You send excessive text and emails to your friends
• You haven’t met more that 30% people in you address book
• Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet?
• Check your mailbox several time a day?

If you answer 5 or more of above question as yes, then chances are that you are suffering with a disorder known as Internet addiction. Internet addiction is basically defined as problematic use of internet for services such as e-mail, chat, browsing websites for long hours etc.

Internet addiction was the editorial topic in the current issue of American Journal of Psychiatry. It the editorial issue Dr. Jerald Block, psychiatrist by occupation talked about symptoms, users experience, treatment, causes and risk factors linked to internet addiction.

Dr. Block mentioned that Internet addiction symptoms include, withdrawal feelings when a computer cannot be accessed, desire for better equipment to use; willingness to spend more and more time online. According to Dr. Block 86% of internet addicts are also suffering from other form of mental illness and disorders. Stats say that around 10% of internet users suffer from internet addictions and majority of them are young males and middle-aged women.

Negative effects of Internet addiction: Though internet addiction is not directly linked with physical risk factors still spending long hours online causes disturbed sleep patterns due to late night log-ins. Often such abnormal sleep schedules cause excessive fatigue often effecting ones academic or work functioning and may weaken one’s immune system etc.

Internet misuse among employees has been a serious concern for top management of various companies. According to market research survey of 1,000 companies it was observed around fifty-five percent of executives believed that time spend surfing the Internet for non-business purposes effects the performance and employee effectiveness of the job. Though internet addicted person are in very small scale currently but this amount may increase as internet traffic is going to be doubled by 2010. Some of effective treatments of internet addition are:

• Practice the opposite time in Internet use
• Use external stoppers
• Set goals
• Abstain from a particular application
• Use reminder cards
• Develop a personal inventory
• Enter a support group
• Family therapy.

Reference : www.netaddiction.com

Posted by: Vinay Kumar
(Search Engine Optimization company India)

Trackback this Post | Feed on comments to this Post