His parents have tried everything to get him to cut back, but attempts to cut access to the Internet or his computer have resulted in threats to run away or commit suicide. Writer Leslie D'Monte reports that Naresh is showing symptoms of being addicted to the Internet:
While mental health experts agree that the Internet has provided valuable service to people looking for support groups and treatment options through websites, newsgroups and email lists, they also caution that Internet surfing, gaming and texting can become an addiction akin to "being on drugs".
A survey of British Internet users, in fact, uses the term "discomgoogolation" to refer to a distressing condition, characterized by anxiety and stress at not being able to access the Internet.
These users showed changes in brain activity and blood pressure. An editorial last year in the American Journal of Psychiatry stated that internet addiction is a common compulsive/ impulsive disorder that should be added to the psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders which will be updated in 2012.
Though some parents may be hesitant to describe their children's computer obsessions as addictions, evidence is mounting to support the belief that people can, indeed, be addicted to video games and the Internet.
Labels: video_games, addictions, internet
Posted By: Aspen/CRC