Internet Junkies: Hooked Online

One In Eight Americans Find It Hard To Log Off
By JOANN KLIMKIEWICZ, Courant Staff Writer

Its abusers come seeking escape - maybe from stress, low self-esteem, the tedium of everyday life.Whatever may drive them, they seek out this temporary high, this fix of pleasure that pulls them back for more, and more still. They may be left riddled with guilt or shame afterward. Yet if they go too long without it, they may feel moody and uneasy.

The "drug" of choice is the Internet - that wonder of technology that was supposed to make our lives easier, our world more accessible, our relationships closer. And while it has succeeded in doing those things, it has also given rise to a wave of junkies, and possibly a new category of clinical mental disorder.Internet addiction, or compulsive computer use, is not a new concept.

The phenomenon was first tagged 10 years ago as social observers and behavioral scientists increasingly heard anecdotes of people whose compulsive Internet habits - gambling, pornography, online chatting and shopping - were dramatically interfering with their work and personal lives."It's getting more and more recognition," says David Greenfield, a clinical psychologist in West Hartford and an authority on the subject of Internet addiction. "It's a worldwide disorder, and it is clearly not going away anytime soon."What it's called - addiction, compulsive or pathological behavior, Internet-enabled behavior - is not as important, says Greenfield, as whether it's taken seriously.

And a recent study by researchers at Stanford University appears to be helping the cause - and may help them get the disorder recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in its next revised edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A task force is at work on the fifth edition, due out in 2012.The study reported that one in eight Americans exhibited at least one sign of problematic Internet use. About 14 percent said it was hard to stay away from the Internet for several days, with more than 12 percent saying they often stayed on longer than intended. Almost 9 percent said they tried to conceal "nonessential" Internet use from family and co-workers.

Experts say the study is significant and refocuses the debate because it's the most rigorous conducted on the subject to date - a nationwide, randomly selected telephone survey of more than 2,500 adults.Also reigniting the debate is a $5 million lawsuit brought against IBM by a former employee who alleges the company wrongfully terminated him for misusing his computer at work.James Pacenza admits he visited inappropriate chat rooms while on the job. But the Vietnam veteran says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which led him to "self-medicate" with the Internet and eventually develop an addiction.His attorney argues the company was wrong to fire Pacenza before first offering him assistance as they would a drug-addicted employee. They contend the condition merits protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company last month asked a New York U.S. District Court judge to dismiss the case."This may be the first lawsuit, depending on the outcome, that will actually force recognition of this as a problem," says Greenfield, founder of the Center for Internet Behavior.

But some psychologists don't see the value in classifying it as a new addiction."It does us no benefit to try to label it as a unique issue. [To call it] Internet addiction or compulsive disorder identifies the Internet as the stimulus, or the problem, and I don't think that's it at all," says John Grohol, a Massachusetts psychologist who runs the online resource PsychCentral.com and has written critically on the subject of Internet addiction."People watch too much TV. You could argue a person engaged in reading a book who doesn't want to put it down is addicted to reading that book," Grohol says.Grohol says the behavior shouldn't be viewed through the lens of the Internet but for whatever the underlying problem may be - poor time-management skills, depression, anxiety.

"My theory is, this happens over and over again in history," says Grohol. The telephone, the radio, TV - "When you introduce a new technology into society, it takes a generation or two before it becomes well integrated."But Greenfield says the technology and lure of the Internet is, in fact, different from TV or telephone because of its magnitude and 24/7 cheap, easy access to just about anything. Users perceive a certain amount of anonymity, lose their inhibitions online and, subsequently, their concept of time."It's almost impossible to self-limit and monitor your Internet use," says Greenfield. "Almost everybody abuses the Internet, even if they're not addicted. Even I do."Greenfield says that 6 to 10 percent of the estimated 150 million Internet users in the United States engage in compulsive or addictive behavior.

Overseas, in countries such as Korea and China, Internet addiction is a huge problem - a consequence of economic booms and sudden, easy access to the technology. The difference is those countries view the problem as serious and legitimate, offering clinics and treatment programs.

"We're lagging behind other countries" in terms of recognition and treatment, says Kimberly Young, a clinical psychologist in Pennsylvania and director of the Center for Online Addiction."I certainly don't take an alarmist position [on compulsive Internet use] or take a negative view of the Internet," says Young, whose 1998 book, "Caught In the Net" (John Wiley & Sons, $35), was the first to address online sex addiction. "But it's easy to minimize this, to say, `Eh, we're all addicted to the Internet,' because we're all so absorbed in it."But [the question is] is it causing a problem in your relationships? Are you in danger of losing your job over it? Do you lie about it? And that's really where the issue and need of diagnosis comes in."