NEW YORK - More than one in eight U.S. adults finds it hard to stay away from
the Internet for several days at a time and about one in 11 tries to hide his or
her online habit, according to a study released on Tuesday.
A row of Apple computers at a cybercafe. A study by
researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in Silicon Valley
found that the United States could be rife with Internet addicts as
clinically ill as alcoholics.[AFP] |
The study by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine in
California found one in 8 adults admitted they needed to spend less time online,
saying this showed "problematic Internet use" is present in a sizable portion of
the population.
"We often focus on how wonderful the Internet is - how simple and efficient
it can make things," said Elias Aboujaoude, the study's lead author, in a
statement.
"But we need to consider the fact that it creates real problems for a subset
of people."
The study involved a nationwide telephone survey of 2,581 respondents in the
spring and summer of 2004 with researchers then examining the data and preparing
the report which appears in the October issue of CNS Spectrums: The
International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine.
The survey found that 68.9 percent of respondents were regular Internet users
and 13.7 percent found it hard to stay offline for several days at a time.
It found 12.4 percent often stayed online longer than intended, more than 12
percent said they saw a need to cut back on their Internet use, and 8.7 percent
tried to conceal "non-essential" Internet use from family, friends and
employers.
A smaller number, 8.2 percent, said they use the Internet to escape problems
or a bad mood, while 5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered because of
excessive Internet use.
Aboujaoude said the results do not show that people are suffering from a
clinical disorder, and he added that more research must be done to make any such
determination.
The study comes after several reports over the past decade concluded that
Internet and computer use can be addictive, including habits such as visiting
pornography Web sites to compulsive videogame play.
One report published earlier this year in the journal Perspectives in
Psychiatric Care said that the Internet may promote addictive behaviors and
pseudo-intimate relationships like "cybersex."
That study said that 5 percent to 10 percent of the population likely will
experience Internet addiction.
It said signs include a disregard for health or
appearance, sleep deprivation and decreased physical activity and social
interaction with others, as well as dry eyes, carpal tunnel syndrome and
repetitive motion injuries of hands and fingers.
