an unsuspecting Internet addict (c. 1998)
Today’s post will be rather brief because I am going to try to buy tickets to the Angels / Yankees game tonight in Anaheim, and I need to leave soon if I am going to miss rush hour traffic. It should be a good game, and it will give me a chance to see Angel Stadium for the first time (thus crossing another one off the list of 22 ballparks I have yet to visit) and boo the Yankees mercilessly without having to fear the wrath of their fans in Yankee Stadium.
Don’t be upset. A short entry means you can turn your computer off and step away before you find yourself addicted to the Internet. That’s right, the United Press International is running a story based out of Tel Aviv, Israel stating that “Internet addiction should be grouped with extreme addictive disorders such as gambling, sex addiction, and kleptomania…” I’m sure you had no idea your hobby was so serious, did you? Well, prepare to see the cold hard facts.
Roughly ten percent of Internet users are addicts, a diagnosis that is currently being classified as a form of OCD. An amorous affair with such a cold, mechanical object can eventually lead to anxiety and severe depression (although in this psychiatrist’s opinion, people who spend too much time online are probably depressed and antisocial already). Dr. Pinhas Dannon is quoted as saying, “Internet addiction is not manifesting itself as an ‘urge.’ It’s more than that. It’s a deep ‘craving.’ And if we don’t make the change in the way we classify Internet addiction, we won’t be able to treat it in the proper way.”
I wonder what the treatment plan is, and whether or not prescribed medications are involved. If so, I think I’m beginning to feel myself coming down with a slight case of Internet addiction.
