Trabajo Práctico 3 (Comisiones Prof Heras)

Trabajo Práctico Nº 3

Addiction to Internet ‘is an illness’

New evidence shows that excessive use of the Internet causes people to suffer from isolation, tiredness and withdrawal symptoms

David Smith, technology correspondent

March 23, 2008

1. Tense? Angry? Can’t get online? Internet addiction is now a serious health problem that should be officially recognized as a clinical disorder, says a leading psychiatrist.

2. In the respected American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr Jerald Block writes that the disorder is caused by excessive gaming, viewing online pornography, emailing and text messaging. He says that the disorder is now so common that it should be included in medical text books. According to Block, Internet addiction has four main components:

• Excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time;
• Withdrawal symptoms, including feelings of anger, tension and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible;
• The need for better computers, more software, or more hours of use;
• Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation and tiredness.

3. Block says that in South Korea 10 people died from blood clots because they stayed seated for long periods in Internet cafes and another was murdered because of an online game. South Korea now considers Internet addiction one of its most serious public health issues. The government estimates that around 210,000 South Korean children need treatment. 80 per cent of them might need drugs that target the brain and nearly a quarter could need to go to hospital. Since the average high school pupil there spends about 23 hours per week gaming, another 1.2 million are at risk of addiction and require basic counselling. Many people are also worried about the number of addicts who stop going to school or leave their jobs to spend more time on computers. In China it has been reported that about 10 million adolescent Internet users could be considered addicts.

4. Dr Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, writes that it is more difficult to estimate how bad the problem is in America because people surf at home instead of in Internet cafes. But he believes there are similar cases, and says: “Unfortunately it is not easy to treat Internet addiction.” He told The Observer that he did not believe specific websites were responsible. “The relationship is with the computer,” he said. “First, it becomes a “significant other” to them. Second, they use up emotions that they could experience in the real world on the computer, through any number of mechanisms: emailing, gaming, porn. Third, computer use takes up a huge amount of time in their life. Then if you simply try to remove the computer, they feel they’ve lost their best friend. That can take the form of depression or rage.”

5. Harry Husted, a single 51-year-old from New York, spends 16 hours a day on the Internet. He insists that he is not addicted, but admits that he used to be. “I used to work with computers for eight hours, then get home and go online for another seven hours. I stayed up until two or three in the morning, or until I got so sleepy I had to go to bed. I didn’t care about friends, TV, or anything. After a while I realized what was happening and did something about it. Now if I use MySpace it’s only to advertise my business.”

6. Internet addiction clinics are opening all around the world, and many people are attending, apparently without irony, web discussion boards with names such as Internet Addicts Anonymous. The Centre for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, Pennsylvania, says Internet addiction has become a growing legal issue in criminal, divorce and employment cases.

7. Robert Freedman, editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry, said Internet addiction can be diverse. “In Korea, it seems to be mostly gaming sites. In America, it is Facebook. Additionally, it’s porn, it’s games, it’s gambling, it’s chatting with friends. All these things existed before, but now they’re a lot easier.”

8. To beat the addiction, he advised: “A self-help group might be a good place to start, but maybe a real group is better than an online one.”

© Guardian News & Media 2008

First published in The Observer, 23/03/08

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A: According to the article, are these sentences True (T) or False (F)?

1. The four basic components of Internet addiction are excessive use, withdrawal symptoms when the computer is not accessible, the constant need for better computers and software and negative repercussions on the user’s social life.

2. In South Korea, the main cause of Internet addiction is spending time on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace.

3. The average South Korean high school student spends 16 hours a day playing online games.

4. People have died as a consequence of their Internet addiction.

5. South Koreans go online at Internet cafes more often than Americans.

6. Internet addiction is easy to treat.

7. Online self-help groups are better than real ones to beat addiction.

B: Contextual reference: What do the underlined words in the text refer to?

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