Are Internet Addictions For Real? Serious?

Is it real or isn’t it? We are talking about Internet addiction. It originally came into being because of Dr. Ivan Goldberg. Whether or not he ever meant for it to be used as a real diagnosis remains to be seen. How he came up with it was he took the DSM-IV diagnosis of pathological gambling and did a spoof of it to come up with Internet Addiction Disorder or IAD.

Supporters of the diagnosis took it and ran with it. Keep in mind though that they do not use this diagnosis alone, it is often broken into other categories such as internet pornography, internet gambling addictions and inappropriate involvement in online social networking sites and so on. Consider the fact that these same behaviors when not done online but done in person are looked at unhealthy acts take on the label of net compulsions.

The people that are considered critics of this diagnosis point out the fact that it is not possible to be addicted to the internet, and that is for one simple reason. The internet is considered a social medium. They liken it to being addicted to the city that you live in.

Much as birds can not be addicted to flying, fish can not be addicted to the water, people can not be addicted to air. Where you stand on this diagnosis depends on you.

There is one underlying component that critics and supporters all agree on, all people that are considered addicted to the internet have a legitimate underlying diagnosis.

They also agree that the use of the internet may be interfering with daily activities or relationships but the reason for the use of the internet is due to those other underlying diagnoses such as pathological gambling, impulse disorders, depression, and anxiety and that the internet is really the patient’s way of "self medicating" to cope with that underlying diagnosis.

Now, are there people that spend to much time online? The answer is obviously yes, and it is not always for underlying pathological reasons. Note though, that there are people who also spend too much time reading, or listening to music, or writing, or watching television. We do not label them with addictions.

If you are trying to figure out whether your behavior or that of someone that you love is addictive think about what an addiction is. Consider the definition of the word. A new definition of addiction is a "compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit forming substance," it goes on to say "the condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something."

So, is what they are doing controlling their every action? Is being on the internet something that they can not live without? Are they looking for reasons to be online? If the answer to these questions is yes, then consider it an addiction. The next step then is figuring out why they have the addiction and getting help changing that impulsive self indulgent behavior for a behavior that is more appropriate.

Article written by Jessica Bradbury, she has a site dedicated to information pertaining to addictions, including understanding addictions and help with overcoming addictions /a>