|
The short answer is "yes." While the term "addiction" is a semantic thicket, it's certainly possible that excessive Internet use can impair your sleep, career, relationships, and bank account. As this Psychology Today article explains, roughly five to ten percent of Internet users develop problems. Approximately the same percentage of people who drink or gamble develop an addiction. According to the Center for Online Addiction, many people with Internet dependence problems are drawn to chat rooms and multi-user fantasy games. The open-ended, social nature of these environments can be very enticing. And,
of course, the Internet has done little to help people with pornography issues. How do you treat Internet dependency? With self-discipline and counseling. A number of public resources available, such as this twelve step program. There's even a public survey to help determine if you have a problem. Just don't let the results keep you away from Ask Yahoo!.
|
