Center for Internet Addiction

What if the Internet Went Down???

2012-01-19T00:20:00.002-05:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — If a day without Wikipedia was a bother, think bigger. In this plugged-in world, we would barely be able to cope if the entire Internet went down in a city, state or country for a day or a week.

Sure, we'd survive. People have done it. Countries have, as Egyptdid last year during the anti-government protests. And most of civilization went along until the 1990s without the Internet. But now we're so intertwined socially, financially and industrially that suddenly going back to the 1980s would hit the world as hard as a natural disaster, experts say.

No email, Twitter or Facebook. No buying online. No stock trades. No just-in-time industrial shipping. No real-time tracking of diseases. It's gotten so that not just the entire Internet but individual websites such as Google are considered critical infrastructure, experts said.

"Nobody would die, but there would be a major hassle," said computer security expert Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure in Helsinki, Finland.

If an Internet outage lasted more than a day or two, the financial hit would be huge, with mass unemployment, said Ken Mayland, a former chief bank economist and president of ClearView Economics. Eugene Spafford, director of Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, worries about bank runs and general panic.

Psychologically, too, it could be wrenching.

"I think it's easier to get off heroin," said Lisa Welter of New York City, who weaned herself for a month last year from just the social aspects of the Internet — she still paid bills online — and felt as if she was "living in a cave."

"There would be a sense of loss: What would I do with my time?" said Kimberly Young, a psychologist who directs the Center for Internet Addiction and Recovery.

On Wednesday, certain websites, most prominently Wikipedia, went dark to protest legislation in Congress that would crack down on pirated movies and TV shows. It was a one-day stunt. But it raises questions about our connectedness.

It is possible that hackers, terrorists, accidents or even sunspots could take down the Internet and cause areas to become cut off and unreachable, said Spafford, one of the foremost experts on computer security. The U.S. and other developed nations have multiple and robust routing systems that make it unlikely large areas would be affected, but smaller countries could be vulnerable to nationwide outages, Hypponen said.

The world only has to look back one year to Egypt to see what a sudden unplugging could spawn.

The government of Hosni Mubarak tried to stop protests in January 2011 by switching off the Internet. The shutdown halted businesses, banking operations and — at the height of the demonstrations — the ability of the protest leaders to organize and communicate with one another.

During the five days that the Internet was out, anti-Mubarak activists had to rely on help from abroad to spread their news and update Web pages. The outage harmed protesters' ability to organize or to counter government propaganda that portrayed them as agents of foreign powers, said Ahmed Saleh, who was in charge of managing the Facebook page that was credited with mobilizing thousands of Egyptians to take to the streets.

With the shutdown, the protests swelled as people unable to follow minute-by-minute what was going on took to the streets.

"No Internet meant that more people went down and realized that this was for real. The protests grew, and so did the anger against the government domestically and internationally," Saleh said.

He said the lack of Internet also allowed him to "live the moment" because he was not distracted with tweeting and posting on Facebook or analyzing the situation. This, he said, strengthened real face-to-face connections between people.

Nicholas Christin, associate director of the Information Networking Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, said that while a prolonged Internet outage would be uncomfortable, it might also bring out the best in people.

"I think you would find that people are very resilient," he said. "We would go back to the libraries."

Christin said he has gone a week without the Internet as part of a vacation. The first few days were rough, he said, but then "it was fantastic."

Christin did it by choice. Others had it imposed on them because of weather disasters or financial problems. They weren't nostalgic about it.

For three days, Jill Williams lost the Internet and power because of a California windstorm last month. Her small business requires her to use email to plan events.

"Those three days I felt deprived," she recalled in an email, responding to a Twitter request for anecdotes about going Internet-less. "The Internet has totally consumed my life, both business as well as pleasure."

Wyatt McMahon of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech University was having a hard time Wednesday just dealing with the shutdown at Wikipedia, which he leans on as a first step in his searches in his field, which combines statistics and biology.

If the entire Internet were lost, "that would be beyond catastrophic. Every single day, every single hour, if not every 30 minutes, I am using the Internet for work," McMahon said. "So if anything like that were to happen, it would bring everything to a screeching halt."

New brain study on addiction to violent video games.

2011-11-29T09:24:00.000-05:00

The age old debate over the effects of video games on the brain is back. On Monday, the Radiological Society of North America released information on a new research that shows violent video games can effect the brain. At the same time, News.com Australia reported that mental health professionals in Australia are considering video game addiction and internet addition as official mental disorders.

These studies are far from definitive, given the large volume of game studies over the years. But if games are classified as harmful or addictive, that could limit their reach. Parents might proactively decide to crack down on violent video games, which have become a big part of the mass market. Studies like this are a force that could shove gamers back into the closet.

The new research conducted by the RSNA took 22 young men, ages 18 to 29, and instructed 11 of the 22 males to play 10 hours of violent video games for one week and then stop playing completely the second week. Then, the other 11 men were instructed to not play any violent video games throughout the two week period.

Before, during and after the two week period, the subjects were given tests via MRI’s to monitor their brain function. The results showed that after the week of game play, there was less activity in the left inferior frontal lobe during the emotional test and less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex during the counting test. Yang Wang, a medical doctor and an assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine said, “These findings indicate that violent video game play has a long term effect on brain functioning.”

While these findings are coming to light, mental health professionals in Australia are being asked by parents to include video game addiction and internet addiction in the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The professionals might declare the addictions as an official disorder called pathological internet misuse. If that happens, parents are hoping this will encourage further study on the matter.

The news stirs up old memories of the negative stigma often associated with video games. As video games jump into the mainstream more and more every year, studies and alleged official disorders like the ones mentioned are likely to pop up from time to time and thwart the advance of games as a universal medium. It also shows that, despite a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue of violent video games is far from dead.

A new study Pew Institute finds most teens have seen bad behavior on social media sites:survey

2011-11-09T11:09:00.000-05:00

The majority of teenagers who use social networking websites say their peers are mostly kind to one another online, but 88% still say they've witnessed people being mean and cruel on such sites, according to a new study. Fifteen percent say they've been the target of bad behavior on social media sites.

The findings come from a report called "Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites: How American teens navigate the new world of 'digital citizenship,'" which is based on seven focus groups with teens and a survey of 799 youths 12 to 17 and their parents.

The study, conducted by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, found that social media use is widespread among teens, with 95% of 12- to 17-year-olds in the survey saying they use the Internet. Of those, 80% said they use social media sites.

When it comes to bad conduct online, 80% of teen social media users in the survey said they have defended a victim of meanness and cruelty and 79% said they have told someone to stop mean behavior on a social network site. However, 21% said they have joined in on the harassment.

"Social networking sites have created new spaces for teens to interact, and they witness a mixture of altruism and cruelty," said Amanda Lenhart, the study's lead author. "For most teens, these are exciting and rewarding spaces. But the majority have also seen a darker side."

Teens in the survey said they received advice about online safety from a variety of people. Parents were the top source, with 86% saying they have received advice from their parents about how to use the Internet safely and responsibly, and 70% said they have received advice from a teacher or other adult at school.

Teens in the survey reported that parents were also the biggest influence on shaping what they think is appropriate or inappropriate behavior when going online or using a cellphone. At the same time, 18% saidthat no one has influenced them about their attitudes toward online behavior.

Addiction to social networking causes serious mental health issues according to a new study

2011-10-27T13:55:00.001-04:00

The Millennial Generation’s, also known as the Me Generation, biggest distinguishing feature is the tech-savvy abilities of its members. Many students cannot remember a time when there was no internet, no cell phones, and most importantly, no Facebook or Twitter. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing; it seems to have gone from a privilege to a given. There are repercussions to constantly monitoring social networking sites that many students are unaware of and that pose significant health problems. One of them is FTAD, Facebook/Twitter Addiction Disorder.
Recent research in the area of addiction has shown that four in five students suffer from significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion and extreme isolation when forced to unplug from technology for an entire day. The study called “Unplugged” was jointly led by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) and the Salzburg Academy. The global experiment was done at 10 universities last year and showed students suffering withdrawal symptoms similar to those associated with drug addictions when quitting “cold turkey.” The conclusion provided a majority of almost 1,000 college students, in places like China, Britain, and America, who were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day.
One of the American students confessed their overpowering cravings were similar to the “itching like a crackhead,” giving new meaning to the nickname for the popular phone Blackberry: Crackberry. Most of the symptoms of addiction revolve around depression, anxiety, and isolation from the lack of news of what peers are doing.
There is no doubt of the popularity of social networking sites which allow many people to fulfill their basic social needs of feeling loved, accepted and part of a group. Dr. Michael Fenichel attributes the phenomenon of Facebook addiction to “the instant texting component the ability to post pictures and videos, play pop-psychology and pop-culture games and quizzes (applications), follow (slightly less than on Twitter) the every move, decision, feeling, and random thought of everyone in countless networks, and also maintain a homepage/wall for all to see and visit, makes this the best recipe for significant behavioral addiction, as it fills a large and ‘normal’ part of our lives.”
Student Emily Surovy, a sophomore, is an avid Twitter user who says, “[Twitter] puts you on a more personal level with people you’d never talk to in real life and makes you realize that they [celebrities] are people too.”
So far there have been six criteria identified in diagnosing FTAD. At least two or three must be present at any time during a 5-6 month period in order to be diagnosed. The criteria are:
1. Tolerance, referring to the increasing amounts of time spent of Facebook and Twitter to achieve satisfaction.
2. After trying to “get rid of Facebook,” it causes distress or impairs social, personal, or occupational functions such as the speed of your internet browser or the amount of time you spend obsessing about who wrote what on your wall.
3. Important social or recreational activities are greatly reduced and/or migrated to Facebook or Twitter. (Socializing with friends has moved from hanging out in a dorm to only conversing through the Facebook chat feature.)
4. If you express your affection for your boyfriend/girlfriend through Twitter or Facebook, or use the applications on Facebook to simulate a real date such as the FB Café World.
5. You have no idea who 8 of the 10 people in your friends list are and you have more than a 1000 friends.
6. You invite anyone you have met to become friends on Facebook and any notifications, messages, and invites give you a lift in your mood because you feel loved or popular.
As with any addiction, it is no laughing matter and should be addressed as quickly as possible. Gradually wean yourself off of Facebook and Twitter by cancelling the text message notifications, spend a set amount of time on each a day (no more, no less), hang out with friends in person, and call instead of messaging your friends.

The Dangers of Internet Gambling among Teenagers

2011-10-26T07:58:00.000-04:00

Internet Gambling has become an increasingly popular form of gaming. Through online web sites, users can gamble through interactive television and mobile phones. The convenience of 24-hour access, the ease of setting up an online account and the variety of sites from traditional betting, to casino gambling, to lotteries - makes Internet gambling very appealing.

Individuals who start experiencing a problem with Internet gambling become preoccupied with gambling creating a disruption in their personal, family, and social aspects of their lives. Studies found that teen-aged Internet gamblers were more likely to have a serious gambling than other gamblers. Teen-aged Internet gamblers were also more likely to suffer from health and emotional problems such as substance abuse, circulatory disease, depression, and risky sexual behaviors. According to the National Gambling Impact Commission, young children and teenagers are at the greatest risk to develop a problem with Internet gambling. They estimated that 16-24 year old males comprise 4% of Internet gamblers and 11-18 year old males comprise 4-7% of Internet gamblers, a significant increase with advent of online casinos (www.ncalg.org).

Brad, a 19-year old math major at the University of Minnesota lost his scholarship and had to resign from school because of his addiction to online gambling. “I didn’t start out thinking I would get so hooked,” he explained. “I started playing Texas Hold ‘Em after watching a poker show on TV. It was just something I did for fun. Then, I started staying up late, missing classes, spending tons of money; all my time was spent playing the game. It was more than winning and losing money. To be a good player, you’ve got to be smart and I liked the intellectual challenge and competitiveness of the game.”

Brad’s mother became concerned when she discovered Brad’s falling grades.

“I knew it was about the computer,” she said. “But no one seemed to believe me. A counselor at his school told me that it was just a phase but this was more than just a phase.” Parents and partners are usually the first to notice a loved one’s online gambling habit and the range of behaviors is similar to those for any type of gambling addiction:

Showing increased excitement when going online to find new gambling spots;
Rearranging schedules to permit more time for online gambling activities;
Feeling that a change in online gambling activities will bring good luck and subsequently increasing the size of their bets;
Chasing lost bets to try to catch up;
Placing larger bets and betting more frequently;
Boasting about winning and minimizing losses.
Going online to gamble when faced with a crisis or a stressful situation.

For the addict, these symptoms also result in changes in the person’s personality and routine behaviors. Suddenly there are unexplained absences from work, home, or other responsibilities. The addict becomes secretive, conceals or attempts to conceal how his or her time is spent at the computer, and outright lies about the real nature of his or her computer activity. Often, the gambling addict experiences mood swings, showing extreme highs when they win and extreme lows when they lose. Values go by the wayside and many violate their own principles. They begin to hide money, make secret loans, or make unusual, sporadic, or unexplained withdrawals from family bank accounts. Suddenly they find themselves capable of or actually stealing money from friends and family—then lying about it—in order to bet more, pay off debts, or recoup losses.

Internet Addiction Among College Students: 10 Startling Trends

2011-08-31T08:26:00.000-04:00

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a college campus that doesn’t have Internet. College students use the Internet for research, communication, and other educational activities. Of course, students also use the Internet for social media, news, and even online gambling, activities that can be fun and even enriching, but when overused, become a real problem. Some college students suffer from Internet addiction, unable to step away from the computer or put down mobile devices even for a day. Eighty-four percent of college counselors agree that Internet Addiction Disorder is legitimate, but at the same time, 93% of them have not been fully trained to diagnose Internet addiction, and 94% have insufficient training for Internet addiction treatment. The result? Falling grades, physical problems, and even clinical addiction. Internet addiction is a real problem for college students, and we’ve shared several trends that are worrisome.

1. Students have feelings similar to drug and alcohol addiction

Two hundred students were asked to abstain from all media for 24 hours, and were then asked to blog about their experiences. The words the students used to describe their feelings during the restriction period were typically the same words associated with a substance abuse addiction: "withdrawal, frantically craving, very anxious, antsy, miserable, jittery, crazy." It seems that these students are addicted to media, particularly in its online form. This is disturbing, but not surprising, as studies have already shown that Google can actually change your brain.
College students are especially susceptible to Internet Behavior Dependence
A college student case study revealed that college students are a "population of special concern" when it comes to Internet addiction, and they are disproportionately vulnerable due to psychological and environmental factors in their lives. When faced with an Internet addiction, college students have a hard time forming their identity and building intimate relationships. Online, students can "develop relationships devoid of the anxiety found in face-to-face relationships," and they "can take on any persona they desire, without fear of judgment on appearance or personal mannerism, and can avoid racial and gender prejudice." This type of adaptive behavior tends to diminish the social capacity of college students, leaving them unprepared for the development of real world relationships.
Online poker is prevalent on college campuses
Online poker joins two addictions together: gambling and online interaction, so its use on college campuses is especially worrisome. The University of Pennsylvania predicts that over 20% of college students play online poker at least once a month, and you can typically see lots of students playing online poker on a college campus. Although it can be a fun game, and many students may be able to maintain healthy lives while enjoying playing online poker, some simply can’t. At the University of Pennsylvania, researchers noted that among college gamblers that played weekly, over half of them had a serious problem with the habit. In some cases, students fail out of classes or gamble their tuition away, even turning to crime to pay debts created by online poker.
Students can’t go 24 hours without the Internet
When 1,000 college students took part in an international study on electronic media, they were asked to go without media for 24 hours. But many students in the study were not up to the challenge. A majority of students did not actually go without media for 24 hours, giving in and checking in with their phones or email. Students confessed, "I sat in my bed and stared blankly. I had nothing to do," and "Media is my drug; without it I was lost. How could I survive 24 hours without it?" The study revealed a physical dependency on media, especially Facebook and mobile phones. Students recognized that typing the address for their favorite sites had become muscle memory: "It was amazing to me though how easily programmed my fingers were to instantly start typing "f-a-c-e" in the search bar. It’s now muscle memory, or instinctual, to log into Facebook as the first step of Internet browsing." Other students recognized physical signs of withdrawal, sharing that "I would feel irritable, tense, restless and anxious when I could not use my mobile phone. When I couldn’t communicate with my friends, I felt so lonely, as if I was in a small cage in a solitary island."
Students are surfing, not studying
Students who spend a lot of time online are likely to neglect their studies. In many cases, students who performed well in school before developing an Internet addiction allowed their grades to crash, only then realizing the impact of Internet dependency. Counselors across the US have identified the problems of excessive Internet use, including: lack of sleep and excess fatigue, declining grades, less investment in relationships with a boyfriend or girlfriend, withdrawal from all campus social activities and events, general apathy, edginess, or irritability when off-line, and rationalizing that what they learn on the Internet is superior to their classes. Students may not realize the problem until serious trouble happens: "They flunk out of college. Their real-life girlfriend breaks up with them because all they ever want to do is play on the Net. Their parents explode when they find out their huge investment in their child’s college education is going to support all-night Internet sessions." By then, it may be too late to recover the damage.
The Internet is everywhere
Ninety-eight percent of students own a digital device. This prevalence throws gasoline on a spark: students who are already susceptible to Internet addiction have access online in computer labs, their dorm, and other places around campus, and on top of that, they have the Internet in their pocket at all times. Knowing this, it’s not surprising to find out that 38% of students say they can’t go more than 10 minutes without using a digital device, contributing to an ever-present existence of the Internet on campus.
Internet use can physically change your brain
In a study of Chinese college students who were online for 10 hours a day, six days a week, morphological changes in the structure of their brains were noted. Scientists found reductions in the size of the "dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area and parts of the cerebellum as high as 10-20%." Although at the same time, there was an increase in the "density of the right parahippocampal gyrus and a spot called the left posterior limb of the internal capsule." These changes happen to the detriment of short term memory and decision-making abilities.
Many students need intervention and treatment for their addiction, and it can lead to depression
We might joke about "Crackberries," but for some, the Internet is truly a significant concern. A study published in BMC Medicine indicated that 4% of the students who participated in their survey met the criteria for having a problem with online addiction. But perhaps the more disturbing fact from this study is that there is a "significant association between pathological Internet use and depression in college students," putting a population that is already at risk for mental instability in a precarious position.
Cyberbullies go to college, too
Although most of the news on cyberbullying focuses on adolescents, the fact is that cyberbullies exist on the college campus as well. It’s not surprising, considering how much time students spend online, and how much impact a college student’s online presence can have. In fact, a University of New Hampshire study reported that one in 10 students was abused online. College students have been the target of sexually violent rants, and one professor at BU had to persuade Facebook to remove his page, which he did not set up himself. Researchers believe that students are especially vulnerable to cyberstalking because "they live in a relatively closed community where class schedules, phones, and e-mails are easy to find." And sites like Rate My Professors may be helpful for students choosing classes, but some comments may be hurtful for faculty members. Thierry Guedj, adjunct professor of psychology at Metropolitan College reports, "It really hurts faculty members badly when they read these things about themselves online. People have become quite depressed about it."
Tech conditions can be dangerous to your health
College Candy’s list of tech conditions that can be dangerous to your health seems to be written as a joke, citing "Blackberry Neck," and "Glazey Dazey Lazy Eye," but these conditions really can be a problem. Using the Internet too much can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, a decline in physical fitness, and as a result, weight gain. Heavy users report carpal tunnel syndrome, eye strain, and headaches. Sleep disturbances can also stem from Internet addiction, as Internet use may lead to later bedtimes and less restful sleep. Additionally, researchers believe that the light from computer screens may affect circadian rhythms, creating a risk factor for insomnia.

South Korea Sets Up Internet Addiction Prevention Clinic

2011-08-11T15:37:00.001-04:00

Internet addiction clinics aren’t exactly a new thing, but South Korea has found the problem of Internet addiction to be so pervasive that they have set up a clinic not to deal with addiction, but to prevent it. StarCraft is a huge deal in South Korea to the extent that it is a professional sport, and it seems that this national obsession, in conjunction with the Internet at large, is having a negative affect on the nation’s youth.

The children at the camp who show warning signs of becoming raging internetaholics spend their time playing reality-based games, taking hikes, reading books and going to counseling sessions, all without the aid of internetahol. Because large-scale Internet connectivity and personal computers are relatively new to South Korea, many parents are simply at a loss to help their children find a healthy balance.

Doctors at the camp find that there are two distinct kinds of potential addicts, those who are in love with the anonymity of the Internet and those that enjoy the power and the vicarously violent behavior games provide. Both of these categories, of course, fit into the super category escapists who, for one reason or another, prefer the “wide web” part of the world. Patients at the camp often play video games to the exclusion of sleep and bathroom breaks, and according toGeek.com, one patient expressed that he gets angry when his parents call him away from the computer and that he knows this is bad but stopping is “too hard,” which is why he’s looking for help.

Clearly, the South Koreans see Internet addiction as a serious problem, which is good for them because it can be, especially when the phenomenon has hit so hard, so fast and kids are involved. It is certainly better to be safe than sorry, but as someone who was once a child who exhibited those symptoms at one point or another and turned out fine (depending on who you who you ask), this might be overkill. While South Korea seems advanced in their treatment and proactive response to Internet addiction, the US might learn from these measures to examine the toll Internet addiction has in America. While the US still seems skeptical about the existence of Internet addiction, prevention programs could be developed within our schools to reduce the amount of isolation from family that Internet use involves.

Do support groups help in addiction recovery?

2011-07-24T16:34:00.000-04:00

While there is no direct evidence that support groups raise cure rates or

help patients physically overcome their disease, there is little question

that support groups provide the kind of hope, information, charity, love and

basic human contact that improve one's quality of life. Those suffering from

addiction and their loved ones are often encouraged to attend and/or participate

in a support group, in part because of the priceless information they find. This is

especially true in addiction support groups. Additionally, when one being their

journey of recovery, they often run straight to the internet, where it can quickly

become overwhelming. A support group is a place that provides a continuity of

information and individuals—whether it's in person hosted by a 12 step

program, or hosted by another organization, or whether it's online at such sites

as supportgroups.com, where the motto nicely sums up what an online support

group is all about: "A helping hand on demand." While in your recovery, the

reality is that the most valuable people in your life will probably include the

new friends you meet in a addiction support group—empathetic people who

know what you're going through and can give you reassurance or information or

just make you laugh at the right time.

Top 10 iOS Apps for Social Media Addicts

2011-07-18T08:16:00.000-04:00

I came across an article that discussed the most addicting apps related to the social media phenomena. Here is a list of the apps that will enhance your experience on those platforms and keep you connecting with all your friends and followers. Here are the current top ten apps that will do that for you.

1.Dragon Dictation – The premier in speech recognition software has created social media integration in Nuance’s 11.5 version of Dragon Naturally Speaking. Now, you can simply speak your tweet or Facebook status update into your iphone and say ‘Post to Twitter’ or ‘Post to Facebook’ and it’s done without ever touching your keypad. You can search Twitter just as easily. Simply say…’Search Twitter for vacation’.

2.Friendly for Facebook – This iPad app by Oecoway, Inc provides a full-screen view of Facebook photos and updates, with swipe scrolling. The best way to view Facebook.

3.Flowd – The entertainment social media app for music lovers. Follow your favorite music artists and share your favorite music venues with others using this location based app from Digas.

4.Justin.tv – Social media addicts will love the ability to interact with other viewers when watching one of the many channels available on Justin.tv, or your own live streaming video.

5.Twitter – There isn’t a true social media addict who doesn’t have the Twitter app on the iphone, it is an absolute necessity. It’s searchability is one of Twitter’s greatest features, allowing users to join in conversations of interest to them.

6.Hootsuite – Keep all your social networks in one place by using the Hootsuite dashboard. Preschedule postings to each of your different networks and setup columns for specific searches or feeds.

7.Trillian – Cerulean Studios has created the ultimate app for instant messaging. It combines all your different IM’s into one platform. Friends on Yahoo, Windows Live, Google Talk and several other IM’s will all show up in your Trillian. No need to log into different services. Plus you can begin a chat in Trillian on your desktop and then continue it on your iphone.

8.Tweetdeck – A fully customizable app that allows you to add columns and feeds from your social networks, post to your networks and keep up to date, on the go.

9.Tumblr – Tumblr has combined blogging and social networking into one world. Interactive Q&A sessions with your followers is about as social as you get on a blogging platform, and Tumblr provides that. It also allows privacy settings per post, or for your entire blog.

10.Tapatalk – Quoord Systems Unlimited realized that social network addicts also participate in forums. Tapatalk creates the mobile app for accessing and contributing to those forums from your iphone.

New apps are being developed on a regular basis. Some are great additions, and others need a bit more work from their developers. Your choices will continue to grow with time, of that you can be certain.

10 Disadvantages to Allowing Kids to Have Cell Phones in School

2011-07-05T14:54:00.002-04:00

Everyone, it seems, has a cell phone, including kids. Young people rely on their cells for communication with parents and friends, entertainment with games and music downloads, the list goes on and on. And like most adults, children take their cell phones with them everywhere they go, even into their classrooms at school. This situation has brought about considerable debate between school administrations and parents and students as to how cell phone use in schools should be handled. Here are 10 disadvantages to allowing kids to have cell phones in schools.

Distraction for the group: A ringing phone, or beeping text, or buzzing “reminder” are all distracting sounds that disrupt the classroom. School is a child’s “work” and if cell phones are going off, how much work is anyone getting done? It’s bound to happen- people forget to silence their phones, and then everyone is distracted.
Distraction for the individual: So, let’s say, for instance, that the cell phone is silenced or set to “vibrate only.” The rest of the class may not be bothered by the phone, but the person holding the phone certainly will be. Every time a message comes in or a phone vibrates, the first reaction is to stop what one is doing, including listening to a teacher present a lesson, and answer the call, or check the text. Learning can only be hampered by allowing this type of distraction.
Reduction in Learning: Even if cell phone use could be limited in a school, say during lunch and study hall time, there is still an environment of expectation that someone will call or text. Students are focusing on their phones and messages during times when prior to cell phones, students would talk about their lessons or homework for the day.
Disrespectful: Even if it is lunchtime or between classes, it’s rude to spend time texting or talking on a cell phone. Students need to develop face to face relationships, and if they spend a majority of their time at school communicating on their cell phones, they are not learning how to build a relationship in person.
Cheating: Cell phones offer a completely new way for students to cheat on tests and assignments. Students can text answers to each other while sitting in the same classroom. A student in a morning class can take a picture of the test questions with their phone/camera and text it to a friend who has the class in the afternoon allowing for more opportunities to cheat. A better policy is to just not allow cell phones in schools.
Theft: Cell phones are attractive, full of cool technology and expensive. Everyone wants the latest model. Schools that allow students to have cell phones in school have seen a tremendous increase in theft complaints. Best to leave them at home or in a locked car to prevent these thefts.
Loss: The multitasking student has a lot to keep track of and having a cell phone in school is just one more thing. It can get expensive to replace that lost, misplaced, or forgotten cell phone.
Breakage: Schools are not the safest places for cell phones. Students bump into each other, they slam books and bags into lockers. Things fall on the floor. This is an environment where a cell phone can be damaged. With the expense involved in purchasing a cell phone, it is best to leave it out of the school.
Invasion of privacy: Many models of cell phones come with cameras. Sometimes unscrupulous students will take pictures of other students, in the locker room, for instance, and use those pictures to instigate harassment or bullying.
Fueling the rumor mill: in the old game “telephone”, a message was whispered into the ear of a child who then passes that message on by whispering into the ear of the next child, and so on, until all students have heard the message. When the last person hears the message, he or she stands up and repeats the message to the rest of the class, finding much to his dismay that his final story bears little resemblance to the message as it began. Today’s “telephone” game is similar and texting messages can spread through students much faster, oftentimes setting off unnecessary and unfounded rumors and fears.

With easily accessible technology that cell phones offer, comes a whole new world of issues and problems for schools. If students leave their cell phones home and school boards create policies disallowing their use in schools, Pandora’s box of cell phone problems will not be opened.

10 Concerns Parents Should Have About Computers in Kids Rooms

2011-06-29T11:56:00.002-04:00

Many kids have their own cell phones and televisions. As computers have come down in price, parents can often afford to provide kids with their own computer as well. However, parents should give some thought to where their kid’s computers should be located. Your kid’s bedroom may not be the best choice.

Skype – Most computers today come with webcams, and Skype can be downloaded free. With this combination, your child can video chat for free with friends, relatives and, uh, strangers. The video communication is two-way. That means, whoever is on the other end will be peering directly into your home, more specifically into your child’s bedroom.
Chatrooms – Chatrooms have always been a bit unsafe for children to visit on the internet. It is easy for adults to disguise themselves as kids or for predators to present themselves as harmless and friendly. These situations can be more difficult to monitor when the computer is located in your child’s bedroom.
Screen time – Easy access can mean too much access. Between school and home, video games, TV, movies and surfing the net, kids spend way too much time in front of screens these days. Keeping it out of the bedroom can help cut down on the screen time.
Sharing – If your kids hangout in their room with friends, their friends will inevitably end up using the computer there. It can be difficult enough to monitor your own child’s computer activity, you don’t want to take responsibility for other people’s children too.
Youtube – Creating videos and posting them to Youtube or facebook to share with their friends has become a very common source of entertainment for kids. It has also gotten kids in serious trouble in some circumstances. This is less likely to happen if the computer is in public family space.
Environment – Computers all have fans to keep them cool. These fans can also attract dust to the computer and hinder its performance. Unless your child actually keeps their room clean and tidy, the physical environment may not be the best for a computer.
Surfing – Unless you are comfortable with your child wandering alone in any and all neighborhoods of a large city, you shouldn’t be comfortable allowing them to roam freely around the internet by themselves. There are plenty of dangers there of various types.
Maintenance – Although most kids know more than their parents about computers, they still don’t always take care of things the way they should, even it only means clicking a mouse. They may delay critical updates and warnings that are needed to keep their computer functioning properly. You are less likely to realize this until it is too late, if the computer resides in their bedroom.
Printing – If they use their computer for doing homework, then they will likely need to print material as well. That means either putting a printer in their room, going through the hassle of transferring files from one computer to another to print or creating the ability to do that over your home network.
Video Chat – Even if your child doesn’t turn on their webcam, they may access sites where others are using theirs, such as chat roulette sites. On these sites, you never know what or who is going to appear on your screen next. X rated scenes are not uncommon. Just another reason to keep the computer where it is easy for you to monitor the screen.

Kids are kids. They need their parents to take on the responsibility of watching out for them and not allowing too much freedom. They’ll have time enough for internet ‘privacy’, once they’re out on their own.

Statistics on Children Addicted to the Internet

2011-06-23T12:04:00.000-04:00

Researchers at the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) used the Parent-Child Internet Addiction Test converting it into a Mandarin version for children. They conducted the test to subjects who were 11 or 12 years old, and came up with basic result as below.

1. Based on the total test score, CWLF found that 9.9% of children are suspected to have internet addiction.

2. CWLF found that if percentage of children who answered “Often” and “Always” are combined, the top two statements are “Children spent longer time on Internet than expected” (31%) and “Children stated father or mother complained children had spent too much time online (27.1%).” It shows that children lack self-control when they use computer. They cannot manage time well and end up spending too much time on using computer.

Parent-child Internet addiction test	%of answering often and always
1. How often do you disobey time limits set by your parents for on-line use?	31%
2. How often do your parents complain about the amount of time you spend on-line?	27.10%
3. How often do you form new relationships with fellow on-line users?	26.60%
4. How often are you preoccupied with being back on-line when off-line?	22.70%
5. How often do you check your e-mail before doing something else?	20.60%
6. How often do you neglect your household chores to spend more time on-line?	18.10%
7. How often do you spend time alone in your room playing on the computer?	17.80%
8. How often do you prefer to spend time on-line rather than with the rest of your family?	15.70%
9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when asked what you are doing on-line?	13.60%
10. How often do you feel depressed, moody, or nervous when off-line which seems to go away once back on-line?	10.70%
11. How often do your grades suffer because of the amount of time you spend on-line?	10.50%
12. How often do you seem more tired and fatigued than you do before the Internet came along?	10.30%
13. How often do you choose to spend time on-line rather than doing once enjoyed hobbies and/or outside interests?	8.90%
14. How often do you snap, yell, or act annoyed if bothered while on-line?	8%
15. How often have you been caught sneaking on-line against your parent’s wishes?	7.20%
16. How often do you seem withdrawn from others since discovering the Internet?	6.80%
17. How often do you choose to spend more time on-line than going out with friends?	5.90%
18. How often do you become angry or belligerent when your parents place time limits on how much time you are allowed to spend on-line?	5.70%
19. How often do you throw tantrums with your parent’s interference about how long you spend on-line?	4.90%
20. How often do you receive strange phone calls from new "on-line" friends?	4.80%

Text addiction and time management

2011-03-07T00:47:00.000-05:00

A great article to share on who to prevent problems related to text addiction and addictive cell phone usage.

Defriend Day Etiquette: Why It's OK To Unfriend On Facebook (POLL)

2011-03-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

A great article on defriending on Facebook. It is something to think about especially if you are addicted.

Chinese Man Dies After 3-day Video Game Binge at Internet Cafe

2011-02-23T13:53:00.000-05:00

A Chinese man dies after a three-day video game binge.

This is such a sad news, but there are times when people are desperately addicted to these games, and Internet addiction is a huge problem in China.

What is especially odd about this case is that the man was at an Internet café outside of Beijing. During the three-day video game binge, the man did not sleep, and he ate very little.

How could this happen in a public place? You would think that somebody would have stopped this man, before he got to the point of death.

China continues to battle Internet addiction. Researchers believe that there are tens of millions of Chinese who suffer from this illness. Even in the U.S., people tend to spend a lot of time online.

The Chinese man slipped into a coma right inside the Internet café. Once that happened, he was rushed to a clinic, but he died shortly after he arrived. Proving further evidence of the man’s addiction, authorities say he had spent over $1,500 in the past month just on Internet gaming.

Despite his death occurring in the café, police have ruled out the possibility of murder, even though they have taken several computers from the shop as part of their investigation. Apparently, the shop was quite small, with only six computers. That makes it even more unbelievable that this man was allowed to die after a three-day video game binge.

Protecting your Digital Afterlife

2011-01-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

This is a great article. Consider what happens to all your information online after you die.

Do you think we need to protect what we say online more for when something happens?

Another view of Internet addiction and the ecomony

2011-01-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

I just got off the telephone with a client whose husband became unemployed 2 years ago. He spends most of his days gaming with other women over the Internet. She yells that he does not contribute to the household income, and she, a physician, does most of the bill paying. The problem progresses as he does little to look for employment, even through job-seeking websites such as Monster.com only to focus his time on gaming.

This piggybacks on my last blog post that the economy is making it too easy to use the Internet to fill those voids that are missing. Having a job provides a structure in one's life that goes missing when suddenly unemployed. There is also a sense of purpose when one is working - "I have to get up early in the morning" or "I have someplace I have to be" that prevents idle time to be misused for activities that can be viewed as 'time-wasters'. The husband in this case is also left with a "honey-do" list of household chores that are not completed. Again, the wife suspects his gaming use has become a major distraction and has become increasingly frustrated.

I am starting to monitor more closely the impact of unemployment and the current economic recession on the impact of Internet misuse and its potential for addiction. It seems highly correlated. I would be curious to hear more stories about this trend. Do you feel this is something that can easily happen? Have you seen it in your own family or community? This may be a new but unwanted phenomenon.

Internet addiction and the economy

2011-01-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

What to do when the economy is suffering and you are recently laid off, go online! That is the best way to find a new job using tools such as Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com. However, what I am finding is that many unemployed people are using the Internet as a form of distraction. It has become the great time waster. These are people who once had demanding jobs, went to work on a daily basis, who are suddenly left with nothing to do except look for a new job. The boredom sets in and they use the Internet as a medium to pass the time.

It is not a bad thing to use the Internet to waste time. Even those of us who are employed use the Internet to fill those gaps with a check of email, Twitter, or Facebook during the workday. The problem is that during bad economic times when people are unable to find new employment they become depressed and anxious. Bills pill up. Payments become past due. Nothing feels good until they get themselves out of their financial holes. Chatting online, using Facebook, Farmville, Second Life, or any other social media tool becomes a way of escaping the depression and anxiety, at least for the moment.

In this New Year, I predict we will see more cases of Internet addiction. This morning I was already interviewed by a radio station in Albany, NY, reporting on a study done that showed even when people did not go online for one-day that they experienced signs of withdrawal similar to an alcoholic or drug addict.

We live in a culture dependent upon technology. That is a good thing. That is not what we mean when we talk about addiction. The addiction comes from the unhealthy use of this technology where it distracts and detracts from life goals such as finding a job or staying in a healthy relationship.

We need to look more closely at how the Internet is going to fill the void created among the unemployed. Some of it is in the name of making new contacts to find a job and some of it is the ultimate time waster that will prevent them from finding that next job.

What Your Child's Facebook Addiction Says About Your Parenting Style

2010-11-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article by Lisa Haisha, founder of Whispers From Children's Hearts Foundation that appeared in the Huffington Post.

Drugs, unprotected sex, drinking, bullying, smoking -- the list of parental worries often seems endless. And just when you think you have all the potential problem areas covered, your child or teen suddenly seems "addicted" to Facebook and other online social media sites. Is that even possible?

According to psychologist Kimberly S. Young, Ph.D. of the Center for Online Addiction, teen Internet addiction is becoming a growing problem. While there aren't any hard numbers to indicate just how many teenagers are becoming addicted to the Internet, Young estimates that five to 10 percent of Internet surfers suffer from some degree of Internet addiction.

Additionally, a recent Canadian study involving more than 5,000 children and teenagers revealed that 70 percent of parents know little or nothing about their kids' online activities. The study, which was conducted by the Ottawa, Ontario-based Media Awareness Network, also found that 70 percent of 13- and 14-year-olds admit to visiting private and adults-only chatrooms. What's more, most of these teenagers freely admitted that they were breaking family rules by visiting these chatrooms.

Another study from York University in Canada claims that Facebook users are "insecure, narcissistic, and have low self-esteem." So, does your child's Facebook habit mean you're a bad parent? No. But it does mean you have to establish some new rules and household routines. Here are a few things to consider:

1) Facebook Shouldn't Become a Surrogate For Real Friendships and Activities

Everyone needs face time with other people, not just screen time. Physical presence with others promotes deeper connection, and all people need to be touched, hugged and attended to. Therefore, just as you likely have rules about TV time and phone time, you also need a rule about Internet time.

Of course, kids today need to be online for school projects and learning opportunities. The problem is when parents automatically assume their children are online for educational purposes and don't question the child's real Internet use. Realize that it's easy to look busy at the computer, as if serious learning were taking place (just think how often you "look busy" at work when the boss walks by). That's why parents need to take a sincere interest in what their kids are doing online, beyond installing Internet monitoring software.

This is about talking with your kids, learning about their school projects and friends, and asking them thought-provoking questions about their day. For example, rather than simply asking, "How was your day at school?" (which typically elicits the response, "Fine"), ask something like, "What was your favorite part of today?" or, "What three new things did you learn today?" Such questions prompt more than a one-word answer and help you build connection with your child.

2) Help Your Child Uncover His or Her Passion

Everyone needs a purpose in life; your children are no different. If you want your children to limit their Facebook time (or time on other social media sites), you have to help them find an alternative. Simply saying, "Don't go on Facebook so much," won't prompt any change in behavior, as your children won't have any other activity to do that engages them. Therefore, as you start talking with your child more, probe to uncover his or her likes and dislikes.

There are so many things kids can get involved in these days, from sports to dance to groups of specialized interests. There are also numerous volunteer options, such as with a local humane society, senior center, library, museum or non-profit organization. Essentially, no matter what interests your child, chances are there's some way for your child to put that interest to good use.

When kids have a passion for something, Facebook and other social media sites will no longer seem important. Rather, they'll have a bigger desire to fuel their passion. And if their passion is something you or another sibling or friend can get involved in, too, that will make the transition to the new activity even easier.

3) Teach Your Children How to Use Facebook

One of the challenges with social networking sites is that they subtly teach children to commoditize relationships. In a child's mind, if someone has 4,000 Facebook friends and the child only has 400, it means that the other person is more valued. That's the kind of lazy logic that creeps into many kids' thinking.

To combat this type of thinking, ask your kids, "How many of your Facebook friends actually contribute to your life? How do these friends add value to you? What do you know about these people other than what they post on Facebook?"

Additionally, teach your children how to use Facebook responsibly. For kids, Facebook is a way to talk about homework and common interests with peers, and a way to keep extended family updated about daily happenings. For example, if your child gets the lead in the school play, makes the varsity team or gets all As, that's information worth posting on Facebook, as it eliminates the need to call and tell everyone the good news.

However, if your child is friending people they don't know, that's when Facebook becomes dangerous and opens the door to cyber-bullying, bad influences, and unforeseen dangers. Help your child realize that for their purposes, Facebook is not for meeting strangers around the world. They need to keep their network to known friends and family only.

4) Take a Proactive Approach to Facebook

Remember that Facebook can become catnip for attention-starved kids. Sadly, there are some kids who are basically raising themselves. They have no structure, no discipline and no one to give them the healthy attention every child craves and needs. Facebook can feed into this hunger for attention by incentivizing kids to "act out," post provocative pictures of themselves, or post shocking statements that can boomerang back on them and hurt their future.

Therefore, even if you're not on Facebook or think it's nothing more than a dumb waste of time, you can't ignore Facebook or social media any longer. Your kids are using it whether you approve or not. That's why you have to educate yourself about social media and be proactive in terms of how your children use Facebook. By getting involved in all aspects of your child's life, including their cyber life, you can teach them how to use Facebook responsibly and instill in them a true passion worth pursuing.

Family Dynamics and Adolescent Online Gaming Addicts

2010-11-26T20:49:00.000-05:00

As part of the recovery process, families are significantly impacted by online gaming addiction. Not only are parents or spouses hurt by a loved one’s addiction but an addiction to online gaming can be caused by a breakdown in the family system, especially among children and teenagers. Adolescent gaming addiction is a major issue in our society as teen online abuse is growing at an alarmingly high rate. Adolescence alone, regardless of the involvement in the Internet, is an extremely challenging and complex transition for young individuals. Exploring and attempting to discover one's identity as an adolescent can be an overwhelming stage in one's life. In the event that an adolescent is using online games to develop his or her identity, the more likely it will disrupt the family. A young, impressible son or daughter is now exposed to adults with different customs, values, and belief systems. A mother or father can become worried about personality changes taking place the more a son or daughter plays the game.

Family dynamics can play a role in the development of online gaming addiction. Children who are going through life transitions such as their parents recently divorced, they recently moved, or they are adjusting to a new step-parent are at greater risk for developing an addiction to gaming. In particular, children of substance abusing parents are shown to have an increased risk of using gaming as means to cope with problems such as school problems, health problems, delinquency, sexual problems, mental issues, and developmental issues. To complicate matters, it is much harder for a teen to recover from gaming addiction, especially when the computer is often a necessary component of their home and school environments. This chapter explores the impact to the family caused and created by online gaming addiction. Specifically, readers learn the family dynamics associated with the addiction and ways to rebuild a broken family system.

Younger Children More Vulnerable to Video Game Addiction

2010-11-02T08:05:00.004-04:00

A question that I often get is how young should my children start to use the Internet. Or, how young should my child be before he or she should start gaming online? Mainly, this is due to the violent content contained in many games that are available. Parents are increasingly worried about how these games impact childhood development. One consistent factor in developing compulsive or addictive habits related to gaming addiction among children is that the younger they start online makes them more at risk to develop an addiction to online gaming. For example, a recent client of mine who was already 21 started gaming by age 12. In his younger days, Dan was drawn to Gameboy, Sony Play Station, and Nintendo with his friends, and gradually progressed to X-Box. He was able to manage how much time he spent gaming until he went on X-Box live. “It was like a whole other world opened up to me,” he explains. Suddenly, he was able to interact with fellow players inside of sit beside friends while playing the game.

Gaming had already become a large part of his personal identity, and despite having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) he was able to sit in front of the computer for hours. His parents became concerned when his gaming habit turned into an obsession. “He went into a trance-like state every time he went online but unlike other hobbies, he never lost interest in this,” his mother explained. “When he quit the track team, which he loved, we knew he had a serious problem and the game took over his entire life.”

What tends to happen is that parents initially see gaming as a healthy recreational activity among children but then it becomes more apparent that there is a problem as the child gets older. Say when the child goes to college and fails freshman year due to gaming. Say the child is put on probation or academically is expelled from college and loses a scholarship only to move back in with the parents. This is usually when parents see the ramifications of gaming in full bloom. They see how a son or daughter has let other important areas of life go by the wayside just to spend time gaming. One mother said that her son had three computer screens in front of me going from one game to the next. He was 22, kicked out of college, and living in her basement. She had no idea where to turn as he had no other goal except to play the games.

In general, there is not an ideal age to introduce online gaming to children. It is more important that clear time limits are used from the very beginning. This is important! Otherwise, without time limits, a child can play games for hours. With time limits, children then should be encouraged to engage in other offline activities - social clubs at school, learning to play a sport, learning to play an instrument, spending time with family, whatever the activities, these should be social and engaging for the child. The fear is if children start gaming so young, they will not to engage in social activities at school or at home, and the result is that gaming will always be their only focus.

Poor Social Relationships Linked to Video/Online Gaming Addiction

2010-11-01T08:07:00.001-04:00

A large part of gaming is about making social relationships. Gamers often make friends with other gamers and it is these friends who may even first introduce the gamer to the game. Ultimately, online gaming is a social activity. Most online games include copious amounts of chats, allowing players to interact with each other in the guise of the characters they represent. The social aspect is a primary factor in many game addictions. Many people are lonely, have never felt like they belonged. People get a sense of belonging in the game. In some cases, it provides the only friends they interact with. Gamers can become hooked on this social fantasy world. Why chat with player in some low-tech Internet browser when you can go destroy the undead, complete epic quests, and chat in a large graphical extravaganza? Gamers can join guilds that provide a great sense of community and accomplishment when they take out those big monsters. Gamers are trying to make their mark on the world in these games and many like this aspect. Being the person with the biggest sword or highest level is what makes them keep playing.

Gaming provides individuals with an outlet for their imaginations. Especially among adolescents and children who are academically bright and who feel under-stimulated in school, they turn to the game as a place for adventure and intellectual stimulation. Such games also lure players with complex systems of goals and achievements. They drawn into the virtual fantasy world of the game and they internalize the game as a real place and others characters are seen as real people and not fictional characters. Especially in goal-oriented games such as “EverQuest” players engage in activities to develop their characters from one level to the next and compete to find valuable in-game elements such as armor and weapons. Players can find themselves wrapped up in the game for hours as they struggle to gain one more skill or weapon. Children who have problems in school due to low stimulation then may turn to video games or online games as a way to stimulate themselves. It has become a growing trend that children with high IQs, SAT scores, grade performance in general have been most vulnerable to gaming addiction. It might be something that teachers need to screen for regarding asking more questions of children about computer use in general and gaming use specifically. If we can find ways to prevent the problem through awareness and early detection, we can better stop the problem.

Low Self Esteem Associated with Online Gaming Addiction

2010-10-28T20:31:00.002-04:00

I receive so many questions about online gaming addiction. I have a new book available on Kindle 'When Gaming Becomes an Obsession: Help for Parents and their Children to Treat Online Gaming Addiction" and thought that I would take excepts from the booklet. It seems a good way to handle some of the questions I get. The next few posts will focus on risk factors associated with gaming addiction.

"Individuals who suffer from low self-esteem are at greatest risk for developing an addiction to online gaming. In one case, I worked with a 20-year-old from Rochester, NY who was kicked out of RIT. When I asked him about his gaming, he said that his life seemed to be important when he was playing the game. He was important in the game, but in real life, he was someone who couldn’t make friends and wasn’t fulfilling his parent’s expectations. He had failed school, not so much because he couldn’t pass the tests, but he couldn’t make it to class. He was someone who didn’t have a direction in his life, and because of this, didn’t feel good about his life. But in the game, all that changed. He was good at the game, had a network of fellow gamers who he felt were his closest (and only) friends, and he felt validated and confident when playing the game."

The Signs of Online Gaming Addiction

2010-10-24T09:28:00.003-04:00

i have received a few reporter questions this week asking to define the signs of online gaming addiction. Online gaming has exploded, there is to doubt of that. What form does the addiction take? Is it just a matter of time? Not really, although I have treated gamers who spend every waking hour gaming. For today's post, I thought I would share what has become accepted as a main criteria to watch for when assessing online gaming addiction. Please answer "yes" or "no" to the following:

Do you need to play online games with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve the desired excitement?
Are you preoccupied with gaming (thinking about it when offline, anticipating your next online session)?
Have you lied to friends and family members to conceal extent of your online gaming?
Do you feel restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop online gaming?
Have you made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop online gaming?
Do you use gaming as a way of escaping from problems or relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression?
Have you jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, or even risked your marriage because of your online gaming habit?
Have you jeopardized a job, educational, or career opportunity because of your online gaming habit?

If you (or a loved one) has answered "yes" to three or more of the above questions, you may be addicted to online gaming. These are common warning signs that you have lost control, lied, or possibly risked a relationship to support your gaming behavior. It is not easy to break the habit - too much is involved in gaming (the multi-user games especially are hard to break). Help and further resources are available online at netaddiction.com - or if you wish to set up an individual session, please feel free to call our center.

Can online gaming be positive social behavior?

2010-10-22T08:11:00.000-04:00

Can online gaming build social values and behavior?

The game, Urgent Evoke, is funded by the World Bank to the tune of $500,000 and launched today. It will continue for 10 weeks and features weekly challenges.

A reporter had asked me what I felt about the utility of using online gaming to promote social behaviors. I thought this was an interesting question. I think games are a great way to promote social benefits. It certain is a better way that some others and it helps gamers learn about social values. It seems like a great partnership. We live in a society that has declined in the volume of community service it provides, so games would be one way to help teach young people service values. It should not be contained to Africa but other geographic areas would benefit as well. Already, 400 people out of 3,500 is a great start, and the game just launched so only time will tell how many more sign up and how effective long range service mindedness can be encouraged through gaming. Online gaming is a great way to reach people that otherwise brick-and-mortar avenues may not. In my clinical practice, gaming behavior transfers to real life, this is part of treatment. A 16-year old might be a great leader of a popular guild online but in real life suffers from low self esteem. Treatment encourages the transfer of these skills to benefit others by using this young person's leadership skills. So, yes, skill sets learned through gaming can transfer to real life, and online learning can also transfer to real life behavior.

This all comes at a time when online gaming has become increasingly popular - yes, addictive to some, but a popular way to reach out to people. It seems for both young adults and adults.

It would be interesting to hear from online gamers on your thoughts on the effectiveness of this?

Some interesting statistics on Internet addiction

2010-10-20T09:06:00.000-04:00

While the Internet has opened the world to many in ways never imagined, new studies continue to replicate prevsiou studies that I have conducted from the 90s and reinforce that Internet overuse can become harmful.

Examples of Internet addiction include online gambling, gaming and shopping, obsession with pornography, blogs, social media and chat rooms.

The hardest part is determining how much time is too much. When you’re looking at someone who spends a great deal of time on the Internet, you’re trying to determine if they’re spending an exorbitant amount of time doing that as opposed to everyday living. If it’s causing you a problem in your life, then it’s a problem.

Internet addiction is similar to substance addictions in that many of the same symptoms are present.

If you’re more interested in spending time with the thing you’re addicted to than you are with your family and friends, then that’s a symptom. If you’re preoccupied with the thing you’re addicted to, then that’s a symptom. Those things are the same for any addiction.

Internet addiction can lead to more serious symptoms, including health problems from a lack of sun or exercise, increased senses of loneliness and depression and the loss of social skills. If left untreated, Internet addictions can increase the likelihood that the individual will get divorced or fired, or have financial, academic or sexual problems.

Internet addictions can be very serious.

Whereas treatment for substance addictions focuses on abstinence, Internet addiction treatment focuses on abstaining from the specific problem, not necessarily from the Internet itself. The reason for that is that it’s not realistic in today’s job market for an individual to never use the Internet.

A person who is an alcoholic should never drink again. The goal (of Internet addiction treatment) is to never engage in the problematic aspect of the Internet. If your addiction is centered around social networking, then our goal for you would be to stop using Facebook or the other social networking options available.

Certain groups of people are more at risk.

Teens are more at risk because, let’s face it, they have been raised in technology their entire life.

Other at-risk groups include people who are immobile or homebound, people who lack social support, people who suffer from depression or anxiety disorders, and people who have addictive personalities.

One of the later large-scale studies conducted on Internet addictions was completed in 2006 by Stanford University’s School of Medicine, which interviewed 2,513 adults in a nationwide telephone survey.

Researchers said 68.9 percent of respondents were regular Internet users, and one in eight displayed at least one possible sign of problematic Internet use.

The team, moreover, said:

That 13.7 percent found it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time.

That 12.3 percent had seen a need to cut back on Internet use at some point.

That 8.7 percent attempted to conceal nonessential Internet use from family, friends and employers.

That 5.9 percent thought their relationships suffered as a result of excessive Internet use.

Elias Aboujaoude, the study’s lead author, said he was particularly concerned by the number of people who hid their nonessential Internet use.

“Obviously something is wrong when people go out of their way to hide their Internet activity,” he said in a news release. “We often focus on how wonderful the Internet is — how simple and efficient it can make things. But we need to consider the fact that it creates real problems for a subset of people.”

Internet usage in general has clearly increased over the past decade, with 68.7 percent of homes boasting Internet access in 2009, compared with 41.5 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

What are the signs of Internet addiction?

2010-10-18T07:51:00.002-04:00

Even though I have been studying Internet addiction since the 90s, I keep getting the same question among reporters and clients alike, what are the signs of Internet addiction? Is it a matter of time? Yes, to some extent. If someone spends excessive time online for recreational purposes and it cuts into other needed tasks or duties for work, school, or within relationships, the use of the Internet could be considered compulsive. To fully define signs of Internet addiction, a set of diagnostic criteria were developed (in 1998 published in my first article on Internet addiction, this is also referred to as the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire, an eighth-item screening instrument) to help see if you match the profile.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think about previous online activity or anticipate next online session)?
2. Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?
3. Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop Internet use?
4. Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use?
5. Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
6. Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet?
7. Have you lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet?
8. Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?

If you answer 5 or more, you most likely fit the DSM-criteria for Internet addiction.

Internet addiction treatment

2009-08-20T21:16:00.002-04:00

Centers have existed since 1995 that specialize in treating Internet addiction. Proctor Hospital offered one of the first inpatient settings and several have sprung up across the US. It is something that is slowly evolving and being addressed as a serious condition, requiring inpatient residential care. More will be discussed related to inpatient care in the years to come. For now, the biggest treatment strategy that works is cognitive-behavioral talk therapy, used on an outpatient basis. Treatment studies can be read online at http://www.netaddiction.com/ under ARTICLES but we have long-term data suggesting recovery upon 12 weekly sessions and upon six-month follow-up. This is a good start to a larger dialogue where we need more data on treatment options and treatment efficacy for each. Right now, it seems treatment centers are opening without using standardized techniques or assessment procedures. We need more collaboration on what will work and development of clear standards of practice.

New at Twitter

2009-08-20T21:13:00.001-04:00

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DrKimberlyYoung

China Web Addiction Clinics

2009-08-20T16:29:00.002-04:00

A story out of China explores the aggressive treatment approach used in Internet addiction recovery. A 14-year-old boy allegedly beaten at a boot camp in China for young Internet addicts was in critical condition - less than three weeks after a youth at a different camp died, Chinese state media reported.

Internet use has skyrocketed in China, especially among teens. And Chinese parents have turned to hundreds of training camps that offer to wean their children -- mostly teenagers -- from excessive Internet use.

There are at least 400 private rehabilitation clinics or camps in the country, according to a recent survey by the China Youth Internet Association, adding that China has 10 million teenage Web addicts.

The injured youth's mother told Chinese media that her son "got addicted to online games and frequented Internet cafes ... at the end of last semester, my son said he didn't want to go to school."

The mother, Li Shubing, saw an ad for the training camp and hoped her son could be helped, she told China Daily. The parents signed a contract with the center and paid 5,000 yuan (about $730), she said.

In a separate incident, 15-year-old Deng Senshan died after his parents sent him to a summer training camp for his Internet addiction, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua. That camp was in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Authorities detained several counselors and were investigating the incident. Injuries found on the body indicated the teen had been beaten, Xinhua reported.

China is in the process of classifying Internet addiction as a mental illness, according to China Tech News. Medical experts have called for laws and regulations to govern treatment.

Last month the government banned electro-shock therapy as treatment for Internet addiction after abuses were reported. Internet users claiming to have received the treatment wrote in blogs and forums about being tied down and subjected to shocks for 30 minutes at a time.

These seem harsher treatment methods than the cognitive-behavioral talk therapy used in the US. We need treatment outcome data to support use of various treatment methods, unfortunately, to date, there is only one study showing the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Studies need to be conducted that examine what treatments work the best with what patients suffering from Internet addiction.

Facebook Addiction and Jealousy

2009-08-14T23:07:00.002-04:00

A new peer-reviewed study suggests the time spent on Facebook by college students is directly related to feelings of jealousy toward their romantic partner. The view is self-perpetuating as jealousy leads to more time on Facebook searching for additional information –- a behavior that exacerbates their jealousy. In fact, the escalating cycle may become addictive, according to a study reported in CyberPsychology & Behavior. The article is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/cpb.

Amy Muise, MSc, Emily Christofides, MSc, and Serge Desmarais, PhD, from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), surveyed young adults involved in romantic relationships.
They discovered time on social networking sites such as Facebook can lead to new knowledge about their partners that can make them jealous. The jealousy, in turn, leads them to spend more time involved in online surveillance in an effort to uncover even more jealousy-provoking information.

Can Facebook bring out a vicious cycle? Does using Facebook have a negative impact on relationships and bring out feelings of jealousy? It seems that the activity itself can create a problem in relationships if done to excess. That is, using Facebook can hurt a relationship if a partner is spending all their time talking with online friends instead of going to the movies or to dinner with a spouse.

In the new world of social networking, jealousy can parallel the ways that relationships behave offline. A harmless comment can trigger trouble. Something that hurt a once stable relationship.

Facebook Addiction

2009-03-18T09:56:00.002-04:00

I am one of the content experts for Addicted.com, a great resource for addiction recovery. I received a recent question regarding Facebook addiction. I am receiving more email on this issue lately so I thought I would repost my answer.

Facebook has become an indispensable way to find old friends, schedule events, play games and even send virtual gifts. But if you’re doing more living online than off, it might be time to reassess. Many students (and adults) are now seeing Facebook more as an addiction than a networking tool, and psychologists are starting to agree.

Ask yourself some of the following questions: Are personal relationships taking a backseat to Facebook? Do you think about Facebook even when you’re offline? Do you use Facebook to escape problems or homework? Do you stay on Facebook longer than intended? Have you ever concealed Facebook use?

If you answered yes to any, you might be a borderline addict. Frequent Facebook visits actually cause something psychologists refer to as intermittent reinforcement. Notifications, messages and invites reward you with an unpredictable high, much like gambling. That anticipation can get dangerously addictive. It is an entire world where one can easily be seduced and sucked in. I have many friends who consider it a time-waster yet they are on it everyday. A few tips for cutting down your Facebook habit is first, keep a log to track your Facebook usage. If you’re shocked by what you see, try the following:

List your Facebook goals. Why did you originally sign up? Is your goal to network? Is your goal to have 5,000 friends? Are these people that you really need to keep in touch with?

Record what you actually do on Facebook. How many times to check status updates of friends? How many notifications do you receive? How much time do you search for new friends on People Search or Classmate search? Facebook can be a time-consuming activity if you let it. Once you see how much you do certain activities you will be able to use that as a baseline to control and moderate your usage.

Make a Facebook schedule. Limit time to maintaining your original goals. Update your e-mail addresses to avoid relying on Facebook messages.Only check it once a day. These are ways to unhook yourself from the behavior without having to completely remove Facebook from your life

Money and Internet Addiction by Neal Frankle, CFP ® - Guest Blogger

2009-02-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

The fuel that runs addiction is shame. Even if you are blessed and no longer acting out on the internet, the shame can linger on for years. One of the components of that shame is often financial. We have shame about the hours we wasted indulging our addictions, rather than being productive. We have shame about the money we spent to momentarily quiet our addiction. We have shame about the money we could have earned and spent to benefit our family – and didn’t.

That lingering shame can hurt us and lead us to act out in other ways. You might not be acting out on the computer but are you acting out with money?

To find out, look at your relationship with money and ask yourself a few questions. Consider the way you spend, invest, borrow, save and plan Are you powerless over some aspect of your financial life? Does some part of your financial behavior make your life unmanageable? If you feel you need to work a recovery program around money you are not alone. You can work a program and get the same benefits of recovery. Many resources are available and you deserve the blessings of a life full of joy and peace.

I know. The first step is the most difficult but also the most rewarding. Take an honest look at your financial life. You don’t have to suffer anymore. If you need help, just ask. It’s all around you.

Women prefer Internet over Sex

2008-12-17T17:06:00.002-05:00

Nearly half of the women questioned by Harris Interactive said they'd be willing to forgo sex for two weeks, rather than give up their Internet access, according to a study released Monday by Intel, which commissioned the survey.

While 46 percent of the women surveyed were willing to engage in abstinence versus losing their Internet, only 30 percent of the men surveyed were willing to do likewise.

The U.S. survey, which queried 2,119 adults last month, found that the gap grew even wider for both men and woman who were 18 to 34 years old. For woman, the percentage of those willing to skip the sheets in favor of the Web rose to 49 percent, while it climbed to 39 percent for men.

This says so much about our dependency upon the Internet. Beyond addiction, we are focused on creating a connected world. Asking people to give up email, Facebook, or MySpace would mean giving up social relationships. The Internet is a large part of how we relate.

Being online also is more than information searching. We NEED the Internet to do research, book hotels, make airline reservations, or trade stocks. It is a tool that goes beyond anything we first imagined. Forget addiction - giving up the Internet for average people would be difficult for anyone! It is our reality, which makes diagnosis of addiction tricky when we have come to rely upon online use in our daily lives.

Porn in Libraries

2008-04-26T08:42:00.004-04:00

The debate of unrestricted access to porn in public libraries is back in the news. Some say that librarians should not be censors to public content available online. On the same side of this argument are those who say the library's so-called, "shoulder tap" policy that allows patrons to object to what others may be watching is also too restrictive. "Is there a problem here or do we have people who want to engage in censorship?" said American Civil Liberties Union.

Early in my career, I spoke at the American Library Association regarding this issue, hearing from many librarians who had to deal with men coming to the library to view porn offending other patrons. They also complained of not feeling comfortable in the role of censor. Feeling that this was not part of their job description.

The debate will surely continue. Not one ounce of doubt about that. The Internet is publicly accessible at a library, and should libraries be censoring any objectionable materials. It isn't just porn but hate sites or access to violent games, for example, may not be something that parents want their children to view. Given these issues, do you believe libraries should censor porn at public computers?

Pathological Computer Use

2008-04-09T20:26:00.002-04:00

Pathological Computer Use (PCU) is a proprosed diagnosis for the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). PCU consists of excessive computer use, withdrawal, tolerance, and serious negative repercussions due to excessive computer use. The debate, to some extent, is in the term. Research has used Internet addiction, Problem Internet use, Pathological Internet use, heavy Internet use to describe the same behavior. As another opinion question, what term do you think best describes the problem?

Should Internet Addiction be in DSM?

2008-03-28T19:16:00.006-04:00

In the American Journal of Psychiatry for March, an editorial offers the opinion that Internet addiction is a 'compulsive-impulsive' disorder, and should be added to the official DSM guidebook of disorders. The editorial characterizes net addiction as including 'excessive gaming, online sexual pre-occupations and e-mail/text messaging'. From the article: 'Like other addicts, users experience cravings, urges, withdrawal and tolerance, requiring more and better equipment and software, or more and more hours online, according to Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Dr. Block says people can lose all track of time or neglect "basic drives," like eating or sleeping. Relapse rates are high, he writes, and some people may need psychoactive medications or hospitalization."

Going back to 1994, when I started to study Internet addiction, many did question its validity. Today, documented cases in Italy, Germany, China, Taiwan, and Korea as well as the US, support that Internet addiction is a serious condition.

Last summer, doctors from the Internet Addiction Recovery Center in Beijing had visited with me to personally discuss my work on Internet addiction. They had repeatedly asked me why in America we didn't have more treatment centers for Internet addiction. In China, the government had funded their clinic and were considering opening several more. They were surprised that Internet addiction was being debated as a disorder. To a large extent, in the US, accurate estimates of the prevalence of the disorder are lacking. Unlike in Asia, where Internet cafés are frequently used, in the US, computers are mainly accessed from home. Further, attempts to measure the phenomenon are clouded by shame, denial, and minimization.

Internet addicts often suffer from other psychological problems such as depression or anxiety, masking signs of Internet problems, especially if therapists do not routinely screen for it.

As the psychiatry field gains a deeper understanding, Internet addiction may very well appear in the next DSM. The movement towards its inclusion grows as more professionals are urging a closer examination of the problem. As an opinion question, do you think Internet addiction be included in the next DSM?

Impact on marriage

2008-02-06T10:29:00.001-05:00

I received an emaiil today made me want to share this. Repeatedly, studies find that Internet use has a negative impact on marriages. In my first study on Internet addiction, over 50% of respondents said that they suffered marital problems because of their Internet use. It is how I first got involved with this study, as a friend of mine's husband became addicted to chat rooms, which led to their divorce.

In the email, Maggie has been married for 3 years and they do not have children. She writes, "We are both 28 and I thought we had a strong, open and honest relationship; other than the normal marital issues. He started playing World of Warcraft and finds playing this game takes his mind off his concerns, but it has become a problem, he plays all the time. Everything we had together seems to be slipping away."

"I mentioned to my husband that I didn't want to be replaced by a cybergame, and I think that is finally penetrating. After I mentioned that I felt intimacy between us was difficult (to put it mildly) with a computer in the way, he seemed to realize that I was seriously feeling pushed aside. For the past few weeks he hasn't been spending as much time on it. Now I hope this continues, but it is early to tell! I don't want his GRUDGING attention, so I guess I will have to be patient and persistent. I know our relationship IS first for him, so I think he will fight this "addiction." I will suggest we play together - in real time, not online! I do have a backgammon board somewhere (now why didn't I think of that myself...)"

Even if online relationships aren't sexual or involve cybersex, they can still lead to marital problems. Just the basic neglect of the marriage can impede intimacy and trust for a couple. Maggie feels confused yet hopeful that she can regain his attention in a meaningful way.

One Mother's Story

2008-01-31T08:39:00.000-05:00

Looking at my last post, asking for your opinions on Internet addiction, I heard from one mother today. She worked in Public Health and had gone to three different psychologists to get her son help for his addiction to World of Warcraft. Known to players as WoW, she compared his addiction to heroin and described her son's state when he came home from college in vivid detail. “He came home from his first year of college. He was thin, emaciated, like a stick, like he hadn’t eaten in months. His skin was pasty and white. He was hairy, hadn’t had a hair cut in forever. His eyes were blood shot from lack of sleep. Our son was a good-looking, muscular guy who used to like being active. Now he is this zombie doing nothing else by staring at the computer. Now he wants to quit school. His father and I just don’t know what to do.”

Parents are looking for help for online gaming addiction. The Online Gamers Anonymous site was started by a mother whose son became addicted to EverQuest, subsequently committing suicide in front of the computer.

Managing online gaming for a son or daughter is difficult. Parents need to watch for signs. Much of my posting focuses on the person dealing with the addiction but we see that not only do the addicts suffer but so do family members.

Is Internet addiction real? Your Opinion

2008-01-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

I enclosed an article published in 2000 entitled, "Is Internet Addiction Real?" Some of the point is that it shows where we as a mental health field were at that point in time. We were asking the question as this concept was so new and still evolving. Today, we do have more research, more findings, and more clinical treatment settings devoted to Internet addiction recovery. I thought it would be interesting to ask the same question today to see what online users thought.

One of the true signs of addiction is that a person experiences negative consequences as a result of something, whatever it may be - alcohol, drugs, or sex. With alcohol and drugs, a few common consequences are DUIs, jail time, and the loss of a job and/or relationship. A natural consequence for sex addicts is catching STDs. What are the consequences of Internet addiction?

In August 2005, a 28-year-old South Korean man died – not by committing suicide, but after playing the game Starcraft at an Internet café for 50 hours straight. By all reports, the man had not slept properly and had eaten very little in that time. While no autopsy was performed, he was believed to have died from heart failure stemming from exhaustion. A 13-year-old Chinese boy died falling from a building. His parents are suing Blizzard Entertainment, makers of World of Warcraft. The boy was allegedly re-enacting a scene from the game. In the Nevada, a couple ignored their two toddlers to the point of neglect due to their gaming addiction.

The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a boy age 22 months and a girl age 11 months, were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors saw them after social workers took them to a hospital, authorities said. Both children are doing well and gaining weight in foster care.

Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. The 10-pound girl also had a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration. Her brother had to be treated for starvation and a genital infection. His lack of muscle development caused him difficulty in walking, investigators said. The prosecutor said, “They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games.”

Attorneys said the Reno couple was too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing “Dungeons & Dragons” series, to give their children proper care.

Studies from China, Germany, Italy, Iran, Pakistan, and India have also documented cases of Internet addiction. Given the dramatic effects reported and studies on the consequences of compulsive use of the Internet, the question is "Do you think Internet addiction should be given the same status as other addictions?"

Internet addiction an epidemic in Korea

2007-11-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

Compulsive Internet use has been identified as a mental health issue in other countries, including the United States. However, it has reached epidemic levels in South Korea because of the country’s nearly universal Internet access.

According to an article that appeared in the New York Times, itt has become a national issue in recent years, as users started dropping dead from exhaustion after playing online games for days on end. A growing number of students have skipped school to stay online, shockingly self-destructive behavior in this intensely competitive society.

Up to 30 percent of South Koreans under 18, or about 2.4 million people, are at risk of Internet addiction, said Ahn Dong-hyun, a child psychiatrist at Hanyang University in Seoul who just completed a three-year government-financed survey of the problem.

They spend at least two hours a day online, usually playing games or chatting. Of those, up to a quarter million probably show signs of actual addiction, like an inability to stop themselves from using computers, rising levels of tolerance that drive them to seek ever longer sessions online, and withdrawal symptoms like anger and craving when prevented from logging on.

To address the problem, the government has built a network of 140 Internet-addiction counseling centers, in addition to treatment programs at almost 100 hospitals and, most recently, the Internet Rescue camp, which started this summer. Researchers have developed a checklist for diagnosing the addiction and determining its severity, the K-Scale. (The K is for Korea.)

In the US, the prevalence of Internet addiction appears less than Korea with estimates of 5 to 10 percent of the population who suffer from the problem. The issue of Internet addiction continues to raise significant concern as more therapists see clients who suffer from Internet-related problems, including online gaming, online affairs, Internet pornography and Internet gambling addictions.

Treating Internet Addiction

2007-11-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

The October issue of the CyberPsychology & Behavior Journal published the first study to examine treatment outcomes with Internet addicts. The study conducted by the Center for Internt Addiction Recovery examined 114 patients over 12-weekly sessions and upon six-month follow-up after termination. Results showed that clients gained symptom management by the 3rd session and were able to maintain complete recovery after 12 sessions and at six months after treatment ended. The main and most successful treatment with Internet addicts is cognitive-behavioral therapy and the study supports that CBT is the primary therapy to use in treating Internet addiction. This is the first study to examine specific treatment variables with Internet-addicted patients and shows long-term potential in treatment recovery.

To learn more please read the full article published by Mary Anne Liebert entitled, "Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy with Internet Addicts: Treatment Outcomes and Implications" is published by CyberPsychology & Behavior, Vol. 10, No. 5, pages 671-679 (October 2007).

AMA considering Video Game Addiction a disorder

2007-06-22T15:26:00.000-04:00

In today's headlines, the American Medical Association is considering video game overuse an addiction. While they say a final diagnostic classification for the behavior is a ways off, studies have been conducted and clinical evidence is mounting to support the validity of this new syndrome.

Dr. Martin Wasserman, executive director of MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, helped spearhead the new proposal, which has resulted in a 10-page report submitted to the AMA by the group's Council on Science and Public Health.

"The concern came up because one of our psychiatrists here in Maryland was seeing older people who were losing their social contacts," specifically because of their overuse of video games, Wasserman said. "It was ruining their family life. So, it was not unlike gambling addictions or alcohol, where it was having a profound impact on the lives of individuals."

According to the AMA report, one soon-to-be-released British study polled 7,000 "gamers" and found that 12 percent of them met World Health Organization criteria for addictive behaviors.

Statistics released in 2005 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), an industry group, estimated that 70 percent to 90 percent of American children play video games. The typical gamer is a 30-year-old male who spends about seven or eight hours a week gaming.

The ESA survey also found that video game overuse was most prevalent among the approximately 9 percent of video game users who play against others online in Internet-based "massive multiplayer online role playing games."

The new AMA report defines "heavy game use" as two or more hours a day, but Wasserman, a pediatrician, said addictions are best defined by their impact on an individual's life and psyche.

We have already discussed in prior blog posts that online gaming has become problematic for many. These new studies bring to light the issues and continue to add to the growing dialogue of how new technologies can clinically impact individuals and families.

Are you an obsessive online gamer?

2007-03-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

As a follow-up to my discussion on online gaming addiction, I received this email from a recovered gaming addict that I wanted to share. I wanted to hear from other gamers to see if physical numbing or problems also result from intensive playing.

"Hello: I play World of Warcraft which I'm sure must be responsible for a great deal of online addiction. I have gone through periods of playing somewhat intensively which I may do for up to 4 hours 4 evenings in a week but then I am suddenly so bored with it that I don't touch it for a month or two then repeat the cycle. So maybe a binge addiction! Anyway, the purpose of this message is to comment on your online survey: Are you an obsessive online gamer? I am a nurse and one thing I have noticed is that frequently people are playing to a point of physical harm. I am in a guild that actually meets every once in a while in San Francisco (so real face time with fellow guildies which I think is unusual) and often they have what seem to me to be tendonitis and other repetitive stress/overuse injuries such as Carpal Tunnel (although as a nurse naturally I would leave diagnosis up to the physicians!). Also I often hear (on Ventrillo which many gamers use for audio) or see (in online comments) remarks that people have tingling or numbness in the nerves of their hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders, or necks, any of which could be the onset of more serious conditions. People seem to accept all this as part of gaming, especially heavy gamers who go on "raids" (something I'd never do) which take hours and hours maybe three times a week to complete. Therefore I think you need to add a question to your online gaming questionnaire: HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED/CONTINUED TO PLAY AN ONLINE GAME AFTER YOUR HANDS OR AMRS BEGIN TO HURT? In this case I am not even addressing lower back pain and possible damage to spine/cartilage, or damage to vision, both of which I suspect as a result of computer use. I think it would be good to see something on your questionnaire about this."

The Rise in Teen Online Gambling

2007-02-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

While doing some research on Internet gambling, I came across some amazing statistics. Two days after Congress cracked down on online gambling, new data released from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania show that more than one million young people currently are using Internet gambling sites on a monthly basis. Among males 18 to 22, Internet gambling doubled in the past year.

The new data are being released by the National Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth, which has tracked gambling among young people ages 14 to 22 since 2002. Based on the survey's most recent estimates, approximately 850,000 males ages 18 to 22 gamble online at least one a month. The corresponding number for males between 14 and 17 is 357,000.

Among the 18- to 22-year-old age group, weekly use of Internet gambling sites increased from 2.3% in 2005 to 5.8% this year, a statistically significant increase.

With a rise in online gambling comes a greater danger of addiction, according to Nancy Petry, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut’s Center for Gambling Research and Treatment.

In a recent study, Petry found that Internet gamblers were more likely to have a serious gambling than other gamblers. Furthermore, Internet gamblers were more likely to suffer from health and emotional problems such as substance abuse, circulatory disease, depression, and risky sexual behaviors.

As teens and pre-teens go online with greater frequency, the risk for addiction and the form it takes becomes greater. Old favorites such as sports betting and casino games still dominate the Internet but in the future there will be more opportunities that could draw new gamblers into the fold. People can go online and bet about whether Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will get married or if Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s marriage will last. They can bet on the outcome of the Oscars or who will win on Survivor. These are the new kind of bets that are done by people who might not normally visit a gambling site.

What is Internet misuse and what is addiction?

2007-01-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

After my last blog entry, I received several emails from therapists, many whom are EAPs who have seen cases like IBM in their practice. They would treat an employee who did something wrong using the computer and was fired, or on the brink of being fired.

They asked me how they could diagnose Internet addiction and differentiate that from general misuse of the computer. This is a very relevant question to ask in our technology-rich society. The symptoms are based upon DSM criteria as follows:

1. Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think about previous online activity or anticipate next online session)?
2. Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?
3. Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop Internet use?
4. Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use?
5. Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
6. Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet?
7. Have you lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet?
8. Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?

Answers should evaluate non-essential computer/Internet usage (i.e., non-business or academically related use). Clients are considered addicted when answering “yes” to five (or more) of the questions over a six-month period, when not better accounted for by a manic episode. Associated features among addicted individuals include: (1) ordinarily excessive Internet use, (2) a neglect of routine duties, (3) social isolation from family members and friends, (4) being secretive about online activities or a sudden demand for privacy when online, and (5) significant changes in normal sleep patterns (depravation). While many people may spend too much time online that in itself is not the only criteria to diagnose addiction. Therapists must also evaluate how the Internet is impacting a client’s life and look beyond diagnosis as purely a function of time.

Internet Addiction and Wrongful Termination

2006-12-03T16:53:00.000-05:00

In a story dated 11/20/06, InformationWeek published the article, “IBM Worker Says He Was Fired For Chat Room Addiction”. A former worker for IBM was suing the firm for wrongful termination because he claimed he was addicted to online chat rooms.

James Pacenza admits that he spent time in chat rooms during work hours, but claims his behavior is the result of an addiction and that IBM should have offered him counseling instead of firing him. Mr. Pacenza is seeking more that $5 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

IBM is expected to file a motion to dismiss the case, but this raises a significant concern for other firms who may be at legal risk and liability because of the Internet. As Internet addiction gains legitimacy as a clinical syndrome or addictive disorder, companies who provide access to the Internet may be at risk for similar wrongful termination claims.

Whether you agree that Internet addiction is protected mental disability or not, the case opens the door for potential liability. It is foreseeable that other similar cases could be launched creating new problems and costs for employers.

While the research in the employment field has focused on misuse or abuse of the Internet in the workplace, little has specifically looked at the potential for addiction and how this impacts employers. Questions such as, “How do firms protect themselves from similar wrongful termination claims?” “How do firms define employee Internet abuse?” and “What are the best practices to implement policies and procedures regarding employee Internet addiction?” arise.

It would be prudent for firms to examine the option of rehabilitation, if warranted, rather than termination for workers, not only because of the legal ramifications, but for the practical benefits. Workers who are terminated create poor employee morale and increase other costs for firms such as job turnover, recruitment of new workers, production delays, and training costs.

Beyond offering counseling for Internet-addicted employees, best practices for businesses should also be applied such as job redesign, sensitivity training for employees on responsible Internet use, and collaborative sessions with managers, predominantly from IT and HR to work together on appropriate policies, monitoring strategies, violation procedures, and training.
Linking these issues together, companies will be in a better place to protect themselves and address the practical employment issues that surface from such wrongful termination claims. Employers can also work with EAPs to help develop appropriate referral systems for employees suspected of being addicted to the Internet and examine how to monitor employees who may be at risk for developing such problems.

Is MMORPG Addiction Real?

2006-11-05T15:09:00.000-05:00

I have received a tremendous amount of interest on the general question - are role-playing games addictive? From campus newspapers to national television news, stories about online gaming addiction are rapidly becoming a new hot issue. Within this context, you have to ask – does the behavior meet the standard definition for compulsive behavior? Using the DSM, the reference guide for psychiatric practice, many of our clients do fit the criteria. Certainly not everyone who plays games becomes addicted. However, over the last decade, more research has come out citing symptoms, risk factors, and treatment for video game addiction – and addiction to Massive Multi-user Online Role Playing Games.

Signs of online gaming addiction include a preoccupation with gaming, loss of interest in other activities, academic problems for students, social withdrawal from family and friends, using gaming as an escape, and continuing to game despite its consequences. We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of calls from parents concerned about a child’s online gaming habits in the last year. Gaming has become a particular problem in Korea and China where new clinics addressing the problem have opened and a new Detox Center for Video Game Addiction opened in Amsterdam this past summer for intensive inpatient treatment.

Given the growing number of treatment centers and documented cases of gaming addicts, I think we have moved beyond the question on whether gaming addiction exists but rather we need to focus on understanding the dynamics associated with the problem. Some researchers have identified specific personality types who are most vulnerable to develop an addiction to role-playing games. Other research has investigated cognitive or brain changes among gamers and yet other research have looked at the social dynamics of computer-mediated communication in multi-user gaming. This is all helpful to gain the type of academic and clinical understanding essential to dealing with problem use.

I think one way to deal with the issue is to educate parents on the potential harm that can come from online gaming. As with other addictions, education and awareness are perhaps the greatest ways to deal with prevention. From the cases we have seen, children with low self-esteem, who are highly intelligent, socially withdrawn, and who have a family history of addiction appear the most vulnerable to developing an addiction problem. If parents, as the ones most likely to first notice the signs of addiction, could be alerted to them, then they would be better able to act more swiftly to reduce the potential for problems to develop.

Finally, as part of the dialogue in the field, I have published a new article "Addiction to MMORPG: Symptoms and Treatment" that gives a basic summary of the problem, signs of addiction, and treatment issues involved. You can link to http://www.netaddiction.com/articles/addiction_to_mmorpgs.pdf to view the article.

Stanford Study on Internet Addiction

2006-10-19T21:30:00.000-04:00

I was interested in this new study conducted by Stanford School of Medicine Researchers on Internet addiction. In the past, studies conducted on problem Internet use utilized adopted DSM criteria that suggested that people suffered from impulse control disorders. In a first-of-its-kind, telephone-based study, the researchers found that more than one out of eight Americans exhibited at least one possible sign of problematic Internet use. The findings follow results from previous, less rigorous studies that found a significant number of the population could be suffering from some form of Internet addiction.

"Our telephone survey suggests that potential markers of problematic Internet use are present in a sizeable portion of the population," the researchers noted in their paper, which appears in the October issue of CNS Spectrums: The International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine. "We often focus on how wonderful the Internet is - how simple and efficient it can make things," elaborated lead author Elias Aboujaoude, MD. "But we need to consider the fact that it creates real problems for a subset of people."

Aboujaoude, clinical assistant professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of Stanford's Impulse Control Disorders Clinic, said that a small but growing number of Internet users are starting to visit their doctors for help with unhealthy attachments to cyberspace. He said these patients' strong drive to compulsively use the Internet to check e-mail, make blog entries or visit Web sites or chat rooms, is not unlike what sufferers of substance abuse or impulse-control disorders experience: a repetitive, intrusive and irresistible urge to perform an act that may be pleasurable in the moment but that can lead to significant problems on the personal and professional levels.

According to preliminary research, the typical affected individual is a single, college-educated, white male in his 30s, who spends approximately 30 hours a week on non-essential computer use. While some may hear this profile and assume that a person's Internet "addiction" might actually be an extreme fondness for pornography, Aboujaoude stressed that pornography sites are just one part of the problem.

"Not surprisingly, online pornography and, to some degree, online gambling, have received the most attention - but users are as likely to use other sites, including chat rooms, shopping venues and special-interest Web sites," he said. In the Stanford study-which Aboujaoude said is the first large-scale, random-sample epidemiological one ever done-the researchers conducted a nationwide household survey and interviewed 2,513 adults. This study confirms past findings on Internet addiction and further validates the existence of the disorder and its potential for widespread misuse. Further empirical evidence on the disorder helps researchers and clinicians understand the effects of the Internet when misused or abused and I think provides a greater understanding of its prevalence.

Online Gaming Addiction

2006-09-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

Over the past year, we have received a growing number of phone calls from parents who are increasingly concerned about their child's online gaming habits. They are sure that there is a problem but counselors unfamiliar with online gaming addiction don’t understand how seductive they can be. One parent that I had worked with told me she had gone to talked to her son’s guidance counselors, the school psychologist, and two local addiction rehabilitation centers. "No one had ever heard of someone getting addicted to X-Box. They all told me it was a phase and that I should try to limit my son’s game playing. They didn’t understand that I couldn’t. He had lost touch with reality. My son lost interest in everything. He didn’t want to eat, sleep, or go to school, the game was the only thing that mattered to him. When I told him to get offline, he yelled, screamed, and once, he pushed me. This isn’t my son. He’s a quiet and loving boy. Now, I don’t know who is."

While many people play online games without developing any addictive or compulsive type of behavior, it seems that some users do go beyond normal limits. In trying to understand the behavior better, what are your thoughts on the potential of online gaming addiction? Do you believe it can become addictive? Do you believe that certain personality traits place some users at greater risk to develop an addiction to online games?

Are you an Internet addict?

2006-06-26T13:33:00.000-04:00

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