Virtual addiction, is it virtually nothing?

How many of you spend at least 3 hours at your PC everyday? Or feel a constant urge to update your Facebook status, tweet something or get to the next level of that game? Rosie Khdir investigates the reality of Internet addiction…

What is Internet addiction exactly?

Internet addiction is term that has been used for over ten years now, referring to people who excessively use the Internet. But isn’t that true of almost anyone these days?

Virtual or Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is classed as an obsessive use of a PC and that can be under the category of information searching, gaming, gambling, watching porn or forging online relationships.

In a report by Childnet International it was stated:

“Researchers in Taiwan have argued that more than 20 hours per week constitutes Internet addiction. This figure has been echoed in the research conducted in the U.S. and Europe.”

They also noted the following as symptoms of the disorder: lack of sleep, feeling empty, depressed or irritable when not online, withdrawal anxiety, less investment in real relationships, declining school results and rationalising that what you learn on the Web is superior to school.

Getting lost in cyberspace

It is so easy to lose yourself in the funny articles, YouTube virals, tweets and a world of warlords and let’s face it we all get sucked in at some point.

One of the most notorious forms of online addiction is with gaming. The popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) World of Warcraft (WoW) has reportedly ruined friendships, ended marriages and basically destroyed some people’s sense of reality.

Ben Alexander is a prime example. This 19 year old WoW addict spent so much time playing the game that he got thrown out of the University of Iowa! Luckily for him, the US thinks it has found a treatment, the aptly named RESTART centre, which is located suspiciously close the Microsoft headquarters.

This centre is effectively rehab for people who obsessively use video games, Facebook, eBay, Twitter, text messages and other such technical applications.

Is it really an addiction?

Some countries clearly take it seriously and believe that excessive Internet use can cause mental health problems. But in a society where almost everything is online, is it really fair to say excessive use equals addiction?

Think about everything people can do online today: read the newspaper, get travel updates, watch TV and movies, listen to music, contact friends, store photos, banking, pay bills, book a holiday, shop, date…need I go on?

This analysis of virtual addiction may have been more relevant in a time when the Web was very new, but now almost our whole world revolves around it; it has become the norm.

I know I use the internet a hell of a lot more than 20 hours a week. I am a blogger, therefore my working life is online; that’s 37.5 hours a week, not including the Facebook stalking done on my own time.

Obviously there are exceptions, as with certain people who are addicted to gaming and online gambling, but that is just it, they are addicted to those specific actions, not the Internet itself. Dr. John M Grohol summed it up very well on his website PsychCentral:

“…generations of children, teens, and young adults [are] now growing up with it [the Internet] as a standard part of their communications repertoire.”

Just be careful

As we enter an age of ever-more portable Internet hubs (smartphones, netbooks and ultraportable laptops) our use of it will only grow. I do not think this is a sign of an addiction, just of human nature as we adapt to our new technologies.

Obviously certain aspects of Web use can be addictive, like gambling and gaming – and in some cases frequent Facebook status updating (very annoying by the way) – but can be a form of escapism for those who are depressed.

I say we focus on getting to the real route of peoples problems before laying the blame on the Web like it is some kind of drug.

NOTE: If you feel you are getting hooked on something whether it is a game, a chat room or online casino then seek advice from a doctor or self-help group.

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Image credit: expacked.wordpress.com