Net Addiction Addiction

 First introduced by a New York based psychiatrist, Ivan K. Goldberg in 1995 as the “Internet Addiction Disorder”.  He warned his audience of this as if he was writing a passage in the DSM-IV (the diagnostic guide used by mental health professionals).  But since then, his parody has raised questions to whether “netaholism” should be recognized as an impulse control disorder or not.  Many people of the psychology profession are pushing for this recognition.  One psychologist, David Greenfield claims that “a staggering 11 million internet users are addicts – nearly 6 percent of all people online”.  And another pschyologist, Sherry Turkle finds that people find satisfaction in relieving their problems through the internet, whether to solve or act out their problems.  She even argues that the net is easily addicting just like gambling.  "It's a communications medium, it's not like heroin, which shuts you down and makes you dependent…Besides, she adds, many people on the Net are creating something or contributing to their intellectual or emotional growth…You don't see compulsive poetry-writing or sculpting in the DSM-IV." To conclude, net addiction exists but it will take sometime to be recognized as one.  In the future, a possibility of medicine or even relief groups could spring out.  You will just never know…

What do I think about this article?

            People today depend on the computer for many purposes.  It is used for good, like online posting of ideas and points of views, or even bad, like posting inappropriate graphics.  Whether one’s behaviour is ethical or not, a goal is still being achieved.  This goal is one of personal choice, which results in happiness and relief.  In my opinion many people have and will become addicted to the internet.  But I do not find it as much of a problem as gambling or substance use and abuse.  To finish off, I see no problem to internet addiction; it’s just the question of whether it is for right or wrong conduct that bothers me. 

Are you a net addict? Take the test below

http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/internet_addiction_test.htm