Internet addicts should be considered mentally ill

[Hairbautt]

http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/picture.php?albumid=25&pictureid=4159"Internet addiction should be considered a true mental illness, according to a recent editorial published in the prestigious American Journal of Psychiatry. Jerald Block MD says excessive online gaming, porn surfing along with e-mail and text messaging are signs of mental collapse and “merit inclusion” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V)."

"Block pointed to ten deaths in South Korean Internet cafes as sure signs of addiction. He adds that the average high school student in South Korea plays online games 23 hours a week and that more than 210,000 children required treatment for excessive gaming and Internet usage in 2006. Chinese figures show that 13.7% of teenagers are addicted to the Internet, according to Block.

You can read Dr. Block’s editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry here."

:source: Source: Neowin.Net (http://www.neowin.net/news/main/08/04/05/internet-addicts-should-be-considered-mentally-ill)

[killuminati96]

not having a life = mentally ill now haha

Maybe this can be classified as a disability then and the government can start giving us checks every month. :w00t: "i can't work..i'm addicted to the internet" lmao

[SaveFerris]

So how much money do I get? :)

[Hairbautt]

Money would be nice.

There's certainly more than one way of living, but I think they're talking 'bout extreme cases of addiction here. Like people who never go outside. Or people who have some sort of obsession with checkin' their email.

[DasFox]

Internet Addict right here!

WoOT! ;)

[JohnHenryDoe]

Pure propaganda. Always looking for a cause. Can't people just be mentally ill? Does it always have to be caused by something? Guaranteed there is a money scheme somewhere involved.

[rokie]

Another net addict! please give me a cure!

$

[cook123]

yep very very true mates... we are all living examples of it...

[Hairbautt]

I havn't moved past the first stage yet (denial).

[100%]

Internet addiction tests
http://www.google.co.in/search?q=internet+addiction+test&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[The Flying Cow]

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

20 - 49 points: You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage. (I got 28)

It is addictive people. This doesn't mean not having a life. Maybe the fact it is addictive is the reason people choose the "online" life. A "second" life. It doesn't make you a loser, just maybe you've got a lot of shit going on in your real life, and come online for a cyberhug. WTH lol. It is addictive, there is no doubt about it.

When I stopped having internet for 3 or so weeks, I didn't "miss" it, but I certainly remember I got a lot more done in terms of reading (a book, in this case George Orwell's 1984) and other stuff.

It is time-consuming also. So even though teh test tells me I'm an average addict, we have to realize time burns away when you're online, a bit like when you fasten yourself a doobie, or a pinch of psylocibin.