You wake up in the morning, turn off the alarm and fire up your computer. Just checking for new messages. A cup of coffee later, you’re looking at online news. You shower, get dressed and head out the door to work. No big deal. You’re using the Internet as the Good Lord intended – as a news source, a way to communicate with friends, and maybe as an easy way to order a book or a new pair of shoes.
So when does Internet use become an addiction? It’s an easy question to answer. It becomes compulsive and harmful when the hours online get in the way of the rest of your life.
Online addiction isn’t considered an official disorder, but compulsive Internet use can become every bit as destructive as full-blown alcoholism or drug addiction when it comes to the harm it can bring down on your family, friends and your own self-esteem.
There are mental health professionals who say Internet addiction mirrors other disorders. According to Stanford University’s Impulse Control Disorders Clinic, Internet addiction has a lot in common with impulse control disorder, obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCD) and substance abuse.
It falls into the impulse control disorder category due to its similarity to impulsive gambling and compulsive shopping. And it is like OCD when it becomes a ritual or a repetitive behavior.
Internet addiction also takes on the appearance of substance abuse in that, like alcohol or drugs, it results in a release of dopamine in the brain. Internet use produces a feeling of pleasure when you view sexual material, for example, or get better at a game online. Spending more time behind the keyboard is necessary to maintain that dopamine rush, and when withheld, the Internet user might suffer withdrawals.
And now, with the advent of MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, the applications that can become an addiction are greatly multiplied. Consider the poor soul who thinks she has to update her Facebook every single hour. Or the twitterer who feels compelled to tell all his friends about a twisted knee he received while surfing. Who really cares? Who has time for all this?
What are the symptoms of Internet addiction? Research from several sources, including Dr. Kimberly S. Young, director of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, cite more than a half dozen signs of potential Net addiction.
- You have a preoccupation with the Internet. Even when not online, you’re thinking about your previous Internet activity or planning for your next online encounter.
- You need to spend more time online to get the same satisfaction.
- You have unsuccessfully attempted to control the time spent online, or you’ve tried to cut back on using the Internet – even vowed to shut down the computer for good.
- You discover that any attempt to cut back or stop Internet use results in restlessness, moodiness, depression or irritability.
- You find yourself repeatedly staying online longer than you intended to.
- You have placed a loved one, your school or career in jeopardy because of Internet use.
- You have lied to family members, a therapist, employer or others to conceal the extent of your Internet involvement.
- You use the Internet as a means of escape from everyday problems or responsibilities, or to relieve feelings of depression, sexual frustration or anxiety.
Research by Stanford’s Impulse Control Disorders Clinic shows that the typical Internet addict is a single, college-educated, white male in his 30s who spends about 30 hours a week on the computer – outside of work. And while your first thought might be Internet pornography, the Stanford researchers say porn sites are just one part of the problem. Pornography and online gambling get all the press, but Net addiction takes on many forms.
If you jump up during dinner to run upstairs and check your e-mail, you might be a Net addict. Or if you take your laptop to the bathroom with you, there might be a problem. If you’re buying more “great deals” than you can afford on eBay, it’s time to take a second look at your favorite pastime. And if you’re spending more intimate hours with online pornography than with your own spouse, you should know that your priorities are way off base.
Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach, California, is one of the few treatment centers in the country that provide inpatient treatment for process disorders such as Internet addiction. And while an online obsession is a problem of compulsion stimulation much like alcoholism, the prescribed solution differs considerably.
Abstinence is a key goal of therapy for alcoholics and drug addicts, but the Internet is such a big part of the workplace that any effort to remove all access could prove to be a significant financial burden to the sufferer.
Morningside Recovery employs a psychotherapeutic approach called cognitive behavioral therapy, a process that helps Internet addicts “unlearn” their unhealthy thinking process, replacing those thoughts with healthier goals and ideas. To accomplish this, a therapist helps the addict develop an empathy for those who are most hurt by their online addiction, including family, friends and bosses. By helping the Internet addict recognize how his or her actions affect others, they can be motivated to change those actions.
Morningside’s clinicians also help addicts identify the triggers that prompt uncontrolled use of the Internet. Those triggers could be boredom, depression, sexual stimulation – any “person, place or thing” that sparks a negative reaction.
Through this cognitive behavioral therapy, a client can be taught alternative actions in which they can become engaged, like calling a friend or taking a walk.
Anything but signing onto the Internet.
If you or a loved one is spending too much time in front of the computer and you think there might be a problem, call Morningside Recovery’s inpatient representatives for more information about Internet addiction.
