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Don't Read This Or you may be an Internet addict.
WSJ ^
| 08/11/2006
Posted on 08/11/2006 7:04:56 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
A Canadian survey this month warns that the Internet can cause antisocial behavior. The survey dovetails with a decade of horror stories about people who can't stop spending too much time in front of their computer, even as their lives fall apart. An entire cohort of experts has sprung up to diagnose and treat what they call Internet Addiction Disorder, or IAD. Other experts, so far unwilling to elevate the behavior to addiction level, instead refer to PIU--Pathologic Internet Use, or simply, "internetomania."
Whatever it's called, it must be serious, because there are so many professionals and facilities now offering help for the condition and so many grim statistics accompanying warnings of a virtual epidemic--e.g., that 20% of children may be affected. Look closely, though, and most of the statistics are wild guesswork. In fact, the only thing certain about Internet addiction is that it has created a fresh niche for people who make their living marketing services to deal with the latest disorder.
The symptoms of this one, we are told, are not unlike those of alcoholism or compulsive gambling--featuring. similar destructive urges and psychological dependence. The effects range from ruined marriages to bladder problems caused by an unwillingness to take a break from the screen.
Accounts of the scourge pour in from around the globe. The University of Texas at Dallas offers advice for compulsive Internet users alongside information about eating disorders. In some countries, it has become an official matter, too. A government public-awareness campaign in Zurich cautions the Swiss: "Spending lots of time in virtual worlds, especially chat rooms, online games and sex sites, can lead to a dependence comparable to other addictions."
-snip-
And so it will surely go. For all of our sakes: You Internet addicts, real or imagined--please get a life.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: addiction; addictions; disorders; internet; toomuchinternet
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To: Responsibility2nd
Hummm? Well, at least I don't have to buy my cyber friends Christmas Gifts...that's a plus right there!
sw
61
posted on
08/11/2006 7:59:00 AM PDT
by
spectre
(Spectre's wife)
To: Responsibility2nd
I'm not addicted. And wearing the ink off my F5 refresh key just to see new posts isn't a symptom.
62
posted on
08/11/2006 8:00:50 AM PDT
by
KarlInOhio
("Advertisements... contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper" - Thomas Jefferson)
To: Responsibility2nd
Don't tell me, let me guess : the solution is a tax.
63
posted on
08/11/2006 8:07:26 AM PDT
by
mysterio
To: ichabod1
My Internet surfing isn't an addiction - I could get up anytime I wanted to and go cut the lawn, take out the garbage, rediscover my kids, try to recognize my Wife...
To: mysterio
Don't tell me, let me guess : the solution is a tax.Algore would think that's a great idea. After all, he invented the internet.
65
posted on
08/11/2006 8:15:17 AM PDT
by
Responsibility2nd
(Abortion is to family planning what bankruptcy is to financial planning)
To: Responsibility2nd
Is this meeting open to lurking? Mrs Mag says I should attend IA, but I can quit anytime.
66
posted on
08/11/2006 8:15:51 AM PDT
by
magslinger
(Without Freedom, Utopia isn't paradise after all. It's just hell in a fancy prom dress. Steven James)
To: magslinger
Now, now. You know the routine.
First of all, you must stand up and say
"My name is magslinger, and I'm an internet addict."
We will all smile warmly and say "Hi magslinger!"
........There will be cookies and punch after the meeting.
67
posted on
08/11/2006 8:25:25 AM PDT
by
Responsibility2nd
(Abortion is to family planning what bankruptcy is to financial planning)
To: evets
68
posted on
08/11/2006 8:32:55 AM PDT
by
Huck
(There is a $2.00 service charge for this tagline---do you still wish to proceed?)
To: Responsibility2nd
I think it's too late. I've been selling my body to pay the internet bill since late '98.
69
posted on
08/11/2006 8:34:07 AM PDT
by
TankerKC
(Step Back! Doors Closing.)
To: Responsibility2nd
Not a problem. Login to the the FA (Freepers Anonymous) 12-Step
on-line program....
~GCR~
70
posted on
08/11/2006 9:18:38 AM PDT
by
GoldCountryRedneck
("It's never too late to have a happy childhood" - unknown)
To: kitkat
My ISP went down for a whole day and I couldn't surf the internet. But, it's OK. I have my strait jacket tucked away in case it happens again.
Don't reach for the straight jacket! Get a backup connection with a cellphone, cheap dialup or DSL. Or hack the neighbors wireless.
71
posted on
08/11/2006 11:53:09 AM PDT
by
TalonDJ
To: Responsibility2nd
........There will be cookies and punch after the meeting.
and the meeting has free wifi for your convenience...
72
posted on
08/11/2006 11:54:16 AM PDT
by
TalonDJ
To: Responsibility2nd
A Canadian survey this month warns that the Internet can cause antisocial behavior...
That would explain the problem with my co-worker. :(
73
posted on
08/11/2006 11:55:12 AM PDT
by
EX52D
(Life is a stage, and we are merely players...)
To: Responsibility2nd; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; SandyInSeattle; Darksheare; ...
Thanks to LucyT for the ping!
74
posted on
08/11/2006 1:47:14 PM PDT
by
Slings and Arrows
(Visit www.greenhelmetguy.com! We'll put a corpse on the rubble for you.)
To: Responsibility2nd
Stories like that are for people who can't cut life online...
75
posted on
08/11/2006 1:50:50 PM PDT
by
Knitting A Conundrum
(Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
To: Responsibility2nd
.....I manage to keep my FReeping limited to just 18 hours per day. Light weight huh?
76
posted on
08/11/2006 2:02:58 PM PDT
by
Fiddlstix
(Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
To: Responsibility2nd
I manage to keep my FReeping limited to just 18 hours per day. LOL.
Help! My Internet is down at home, & I'm having FReeper withdrawals!
77
posted on
08/11/2006 3:53:24 PM PDT
by
MoochPooch
(I'm a compassionate cynic.)
To: rhombus
78
posted on
08/11/2006 7:53:44 PM PDT
by
phantomworker
("I wouldn't harm you for the world, but you are standing where I am about to shoot." ~ Quaker quote)
To: Responsibility2nd
Luckily for me, I don't have this problem. I manage to keep my FReeping limited to just 18 hours per day. Good for you, the FR intervention team won't have to go to your house.
Seriously though, any website can turn into an Internet soap opera with some people that are more interested in drama/flame wars than anything else. FR has done a great deal to keep Internet egomaniacs from barging in, but it will never be easy.
79
posted on
08/11/2006 8:42:05 PM PDT
by
xJones
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