Do You Suffer from It?

Internet Addiction is an impulsive-control problem and four subtypes have been defined:

Cybersexual  Addiction- Individuals who suffer from Cybersex/Internet pornography addiction are typically engaged in viewing, downloading, and trading online pornography or involved in adult fantasy role-play chat rooms

Cyber-Affair/Relational Addiction- Individuals who suffer from an addiction to chat rooms, IM, or social networking sites become over-involved in online relationships or may engage in virtual adultery. Online friends quickly become more important to the individual often at the expense of real life relationships with family and friends. In many instances, this will lead to marital discord and family instability.

Net Compulsions – Addictions to online gaming, online gambling, and eBay are fast becoming new mental problems in the post-Internet Era. With the instant access to virtual casinos, interactive games, and eBay, addicts loose excessive amounts of money and even disrupt other job-related duties or significant relationships.

Information Overload-The wealth of data available on the World Wide Web has created a new type of compulsive behavior regarding excessive web surfing and database searches. Individuals will spend greater amounts of time searching and collecting data from the web and organizing information. Obsessive compulsive tendencies and reduced work productivity are typically associated with this behavior.

Dr. Kimberly Young developed eight criteria to identify Internet Addiction:

1)      Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet?

2)      Do you feel the need to use the Internet more to satisfy yourself?

3)      Have you made unsuccessful attempts to control your Internet usage?

4)      Does it change your mood when you try to cut back on the usage?

5)      Do you stay online longer than intended?

6)      Have you ever risked your job or a significant relationship because of the Internet?

7)      Have you ever lied to anyone to cover up how much you us the Internet?

8)      Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping problems or reality even?

Answering "yes" to five or more questions may mean you suffer from Internet addiction.  Internet addiction is a global problem.

This was all provided by the studies at the Center for Internet Addiction and Recovery.