{"id":169,"date":"2008-06-21T03:36:45","date_gmt":"2008-06-21T03:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/?p=169"},"modified":"2008-06-21T03:36:45","modified_gmt":"2008-06-21T03:36:45","slug":"internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet addiction a mental disorder — really?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DiagnosticI ran across this Wired article<\/a> that mentioned an article in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry<\/em> that internet addiction be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 Really, people get a grip.<\/p>\n

This is the kind of stuff that causes non-psychologists\/psychiatrists to believe that all mental disorders are bunk.\u00a0 Addiction is a real problem and some people, especially those with addictive personalities can become addiction to just about anything: drugs, alcohol, gambling, people. In other words,\u00a0 just because some people get addicted to the internet, it doesn’t mean that the internet causes the addiction. There is nothing inherent in using the internet that causes people to become addicted to it.\u00a0 When someone exhibits addictive behavior it is far better to first look at what else is going on in that person’s life.<\/p>\n

Many of us in the computer field\/industry use computers daily and nearly continuously for hours.\u00a0 Are we addicted? No, we’re working.\u00a0 On the other hand, a lonely person who’s bullied at home, school, or work may turn to the internet for the interactions and support that they are missing in their daily lives.\u00a0 A relative of mine spent hours on the internet, everyone claimed she was addicted to it.\u00a0 But in point of fact, she was miserable in her life and was not getting any support at home or from her family.\u00a0 Addicted? It seemed that way but once she got divorced and remarried to someone she met over the internet the constant hours on line ended because she didn’t need the escape the internet was providing.<\/p>\n

There is a fine line between addiction and use as a relief valve or escape from an unpleasant situation.\u00a0 Labeling internet use over a certain number of hours, checking of email, desire to upgrade equipment, and so on as indicators of addiction seem to always come from people who don’t work on computers or write code for a living.<\/p>\n

Before deciding to label something an addiction, it would be better to actually study the use patterns across groups controlling for profession, life style, and other factors — this wouldn’t be brought up to the association.\u00a0 Perhaps if doctors learned to use computers as a tool to communicate information and assistance to their patients, they too might begin to check their email and consider upgrading their equipment and software.<\/p>\n

There needs to be a lot more research and serious study of the issue before even contemplating adding another item to the book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I ran across this Wired article that mentioned an article in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry that internet addiction be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.\u00a0 Really, people get a grip. This is the kind of stuff that causes non-psychologists\/psychiatrists to believe that all mental disorders are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,19,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-csa","category-rants","category-science"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nInternet addiction a mental disorder - really? - A Curious Statistical Anomaly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amperzen.com\/blog\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"davinci\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"davinci\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4344e39b0408fba0234cf68dcf6ea62e\"},\"headline\":\"Internet addiction a mental disorder — really?\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-06-21T03:36:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":433,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ecx.images-amazon.com\\\/images\\\/I\\\/41JuQ0SP3eL._SL160_AA115_.gif\",\"articleSection\":[\"CSA\",\"Rants\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amperzen.com\\\/blog\\\/internet-addiction-a-mental-disorder-really\\\/\",\"name\":\"Internet addiction a mental disorder - really? 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