"I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the Internet."
"I often check my emails forty times a day."
"I often spend more than three hours during one time on the Internet."
"I spend more time in chat rooms than with my real-life' friends."
These are some students' answers about surfing the Internet.
Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction (瘾) called Internet addiction. Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug use. People lose control of the time they spend on the Internet.
For example, one college student had been missing for several days. His friends were worried, and they called the police. The police found the student in a net bar. He had surfed the Internet for several days and nights.
Studies show that about 6-10％of Internet users become addicted. And people worry about the teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them. They spend more time in cyberspace (网络空间) than in the real world of friends and family.
Is "surfing the Internet" a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have these symptoms (症状):
You do not go to important family activities or you do not do your school work because you like to spend hours on the Internet.
You can't wait for your next online time.
You plan to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours.
You go out with your friends less and less.
