Internet Addiction Hype Disorder
I’m sure that some people really are addicted to the Internet. I’m probably one of them! I can and will “unplug” from time to time (“I can quit anytime I want,” he said…) but truth be told I’m online for large chunks of most days. I get tired and burned out and haggard like everyone else in the working masses, but I attribute it more to work than the mere experience of being online.
But there’s addiction and then there’s addiction.
According to a doctor in Israel, “10 percent of Internet surfers are afflicted with ‘Internet addiction disorder,’ which can lead to anxiety and severe depression. Internet addiction is classified by mental health professionals as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a mild to severe mental health condition that results in an urge to engage in ritualistic thoughts and behavior.”
Ten percent of “Internet surfers” is a lot of people. Like hundreds of millions. I think it’s going a little far to allege that hundreds of millions of people are experiencing a disorder from online use that can “lead to anxiety and severe depression.” So in essence one could also argue that eating food in great quantities can lead – for some, mind – to getting fat.
Meanwhile, a new study asserts that Facebook is costing Australian companies billions of dollars in lost productivity (hat tip: Lifehacker). This alarming conclusion comes about due to the speculation that “the cost to companies if one person in every organization spent an hour on Facebook instead of working.”
Note the use of the word if. In other news, if tortoises could fly, there would be a whole new magical way for Internet-addicted Facebook time wasters to commute to work.
I’m going to attempt to quell my Restless Leg Disorder while I ponder this one some more.
