What are the effects of Internet addiction?

Like most addictions, Internet addiction disrupts relationships with family and friends and tends to replace education and other positive activities. A spouse or partner who discovers this behavior usually feels “cheated on,” as real a betrayal as any infidelity, and one that can lead to a break-up. In addition, Internet addiction creates risks and losses in the workplace. For example:

• Nearly 55% of workers exchange potentially offensive messages at least once a month (PC Week).
• Personal e-mails – 47% of employees send up to 5 per day, 32% send up to 10 daily, and 28% receive up to 20 per day (Vault.com).
• Almost one in five people go to cybersex sites while at work (MSNBC poll, June '98).
• 68% of companies characterize messaging misdemeanors as widespread, with losses estimated at $3.7 million per company a year (Datamation).
• Recently a major US computer manufacturer installed monitoring software and discovered that a number of employees had visited more then 1,000 sexually oriented sites in less than a month. Twenty people were fired for misusing company resources (USA Today).

Treatment for Internet Addiction

Treatment for people who have been diagnosed with Internet addiction is very hard to find:

• Not all psychologists or physicians acknowledge that the disorder is real.
• Many psychologists do not know how to diagnose, treat, and follow-up for these patients.

Spouses or other family members who become aware of the addiction may try to intervene.

Just as an alcoholic’s spouse or child may pour contents of bottles down the drain, the Internet addict’s family may try to monitor computer use, put blocks on chat rooms, or make frequent calls to the person to interrupt computer activity. While these interventions may have brief effect, the only lasting change will occur when the addict fully realizes the costs being paid for his or her behavior: loss of family, job, money, etc. Treatment alternatives include:

• quitting “cold turkey” – can work for some, but is particularly difficult for people who work in a job where computer use is a requirement
• 12-step group programs developed from the Eating Disorder model to help participants gradually reduce the addictive behavior
• other methods similar to the treatment of alcohol or drug addictions
• psychotherapy with an addiction specialist
• professional counselors offering chat and telephone counseling at reasonable rates to provide immediate assistance for individuals, partners, and parents in crisis
• clinics specializing in treatment of computer or Internet addiction, such as those at Proctor Hospital in Peoria, IL and at Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA.

continue: Therapy for Treating Internet Addictions

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Reviewed: 03/2006