A study conducted by researchers at Stanford University indicates considerable and rising rates of Internet addiction among U.S. users.
The study, which asked more than 2,500 people about their Web habits, found that almost 14 percent said it was difficult to be offline for more than a few days. Eight percent said they use the Internet as a means to escape the real world, and a similar portion admitted to hiding their Web habits from their partners. Researchers said these kinds of behaviors are not unlike those exhibited by people with problems such as alcoholism. According to the study, the profile of a typical user who has problems with Internet addiction is a single, college-educated, white male who spends more than 30 hours per week using the Internet for “non-essential” purposes. Elias Aboujaoude, one of the researchers in the study, said that it is important to remind ourselves that despite all the benefits of technology, “it creates real problems for a subset of people.” Indeed, six percent of the respondents said their addiction had adversely affected their relationships with other people.
BBC, 18 October 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6062980.stm
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