Eliza Aurore 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.
