Whilst sitting in the hairdresser’s today reading a magazine I wouldn’t normally look at twice I came across an article about Facebook addiction – part of Internet addiction – a growing epidemic.
At first, I thought it must be some kind of joke but with treatment centres’ opening in the UK, US and China it’s clearly more of a problem than I’d imagined. Further research shows that studies indicate increasing levels of internet addiction in a number of other countries such as Italy, Pakistan, Iran, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Net addiction expert Dr Kimberly Young poses the following questions to help diagnose Facebook addiction.
Are personal relationships taking a backseat to Facebook? Do you think about Facebook even when you’re offline? Do you use Facebook to escape problems or homework? Do you stay on Facebook longer than intended? Have you ever concealed Facebook use?
If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’ you might be a borderline addict.
Is the lure of instant social gratification or entertainment too tempting? Are people turning to the internet en masse after losing their jobs in the recession? Whatever the reason, people are getting desperate for treatment, either for themselves or for loved ones.
In China, worried parents send their teenage children to training camps. Until July last year some Chinese clinics also offered electric shock treatment although this has now been banned.
In the US and UK, cognitive-behavioural talk therapy is the norm at special ‘cold-turkey’ rehabilitation centres.
So far the UK only has one centre and it’s aimed at helping teenagers (also known as ‘screenagers’). As well as providing afflicted teens with the opportunity to ditch their internet habits the treatment also focuses on teaching them traditional face-to-face social skills at the residential unit. It’s offered by the Capio Nightingale Hospital and you can find out more here.
Ironically, many sources for internet addiction are available on Facebook and Twitter. I guess they have to be wherever their best customers are!
The major resource used for this blog post was http://www.netaddiction.com/ but you can look them up at Facebook here or find Dr Kimberly Young on Twitter here.
I wonder if any of our followers qualify as Facebook, Twitter, or Net addicts?
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