Addicted to the Net? Log On and Find Out
- Share via
Does your mouse finger twitch when somebody says “Yahoo!” in conversation? Have trouble finding addresses that use funny words like “Street” or “Avenue” instead of “https://www”? Find yourself staring out your apartment window waiting for a different image to download?
Maybe it’s time for some professional help.
Dr. Kimberly S. Young, a University of Pittsburgh psychologist, has created a Web site “dedicated to promoting awareness of the phenomena of Internet Addiction.” According to the Web site, cyberspace is such a powerful draw that people get “addicted to the Internet in the same manner one would become addicted to drugs, alcohol, or gambling.”
The first step is to take the site’s self-test for Internet addiction, which asks questions such as “Experienced any type of withdrawal symptoms (e.g., increased depression, moodiness, or irritability) when you are off-line?”
There are another 250 questions after that one. Anyone with the patience to fill out this online questionnaire has got to be addicted.
The site can be found at https://www.pitt.edu/~ksy/
Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at [email protected]
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
