A woman' s husband divorced her because she spent too much time on the Internet. But she continued to surf the World Wide Web. She did this so often that she forgot to take her children to the doctor or get the kids enough food. Her husband asked the court for the children.
But he needed someone to support her illness. " I had to write a letter to the judge," said Dr. Jonathan Kandell. " The judge did not believe there was such a thing as Internet addiction. "
Is there? Some psychologists say that Internet addiction is real, just like gambling or drug abuse.
At the University of Maryland, a doctor started an Internet addiction support group after he watched a few addicted students nearly failed school.
How can you tell if you have an abnormal pattern of Internet use? Do you need to spend increased amounts of time on the Internet to achieve satisfaction? And when you' re not online, do you have fantasies or dreams about the Internet?
Tyler Johnson, 17, a high school senior in Abbotsford, British Columbia, spends more than six hours a day online and more than an hour reading his email.
Tyler dropped out of school sports, and now, every day after school until 3 or 4 o' clock in the morning, he plays games on the Internet.
Dr. Kandell guesses that many addicts don' t get help because they don' t know they have a problem. " I think we' re about a year away from having people recognize it' s really a problem," he said. " It' s out there. There' s no question. "
