With the explosion of excitement about the Internet, there seems to be another

With the explosion of excitement about the Internet, some people seem to be a bit too excited. Some people spend way too much time there. Is this yet anther type of addiction that has invaded the human psyche7 In today’s lecture, I’d like to discuss the difference between normal enthusiasm and the abnormal addiction to Internet.
  First of all, psychologists are not even sure yet what to call this phenomenon. Some label it an "Internet Addiction Disorder". But many people arc addicted to their computers long before the Internet enters their lives. Some people are extremely attached to their computers and don’t even care about the Internet. Perhaps we should call the phenomenon a "Computer Addiction".
  Perhaps, on a broad level, it makes sense to talk about a "Cyberspace Addiction" -- an addiction to virtual realms of experience created through computer engineering. Within this broad category, there may be subtypes with distinct differences. A teenager who plays hooky from school in order to master the next level of Donkey Kong may be a very different person than the middle-aged housewife who spends $ 500 a month in American online chat rooms -- who in turn may be very different from the businessman who can’t pull himself away from his finance programs and continuous Internet access to stock quotes. Some cyberspace addictions are game and competition oriented, some fulfill more social needs, and some simply may be an extension of workaholicism. Then again, these differences may be superficial.
  The fact that the media is turning so much attention to cyberspace and Internet addictions may simply reflect the fact that this is a new and hot topic. It may also indicate some anxiety among people who really don’t know what the Internet is, even though everyone is talking about it. Ignorance tends to breed fear and the need to devalue.
  Nevertheless, some people are definitely hurting themselves by their addiction to computers and cyberspace. When people lose their jobs, or are divorced by their spouses because they cannot resist devoting all of their time to virtual lands, they are pathologically addicted. These extreme cases are clearcut. But as in all addictions, the problem is where to draw the line between "normal" enthusiasm and "abnormal" preoccupation, and we will now take a look at it.
"Addictions" -- defined very loosely -- can be healthy, unhealthy, or a mixture of both. If you are fascinated by a hobby, feel devoted to it, would like to Spend as much time as possible pursuing it, this could be an outlet for learning, creativity, and self-expression. Even in some unhealthy addictions you can find these positive features embedded within (and thus maintaining) the problem. But in truly pathological addictions, the bad outweighs the good, resulting in serious disturbances in one’s ability to function in the "real" world. Almost anything could be the target of a pathological addiction -- drags, eating, exercising, gambling, spending, working, etc. You name it, someone out there is obsessed with it. Looking at it from a clinical perspective, these pathological addictions usually have their origin early in a person’s life, where they can be traced to significant deprivations and conflicts. They may be an attempt to control depression and anxiety, and may reflect deep insecurities and feelings of inner emptiness.
  As yet, there is no official psychological or psychiatric diagnosis of an "Internet" or "Computer" addiction. Researchers have only been able to define the constellation of symptoms that constitutes a computer or Internet addiction in different ways. To make it more understandable, let’s now consider a list from the net. Although this is intended as humor, there is some truth in it.
  Signs That You’re Addicted to the Net
  You wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and stop and check your e-mail on the way back to bed.
  You get a tattoo that reads "This body best viewed with Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher."
  You name your children Dotcom.
  You turn off your modem and get this awful empty feeling, like you just pulled the plug on a loved one.
  You spend half of the plane trip with your laptop on your lap...and your child in the overhead compartment.
  You decide to stay in college for an additional year or two, just for the free Internet access.
  Now, let’s come to the premise as regards problematic or healthy Internet use that I’m thinking about a lot. It’s a problem when your face-to-face life becomes dissociated from your cyber life. It’s healthy when your face-to-face life is integrated with your cyber life.
  People become "addicted" to the Internet, or act out pathologically in cyberspace, when they have dissociated it from their face-to-face life. Their cyberspace activity becomes a world unto itself. They don’t talk about it with the people in their face-to-face life. It becomes an escape from their life. Cyberspace almost becomes a dissociated part of their own mind.
  On the other hand, healthy Internet use means integrating the face-to-face and cyberspace worlds. You talk about your online life with your real world family and friends. You bring your real identity, interests, and skills into your online community. You call on the phone or meet in-person the people you know online. And it works the other way too: some of the people you knew primarily in the real world, you also contact through email or chat. "Bringing in the real world" is an important principle for helping people who are addictively stuck in cyberspace. And it’s also a powerful tool for intervening with people who are addicted to misbehaving in cyberspace. How do you cure an acting out adolescent who is hiding behind cyberspace anonymity? Address him by his real name. Find out about his real world interests and talk to him about it. And if all else fails, contact his parents. That’s all for my lecture. Thank you for your attention!