Internet addiction is a growing epidemic in modern society, particular amongst the young. Left unchecked it can have serious consequences in both child and adult life, potentially impairing performance both at work and school and contributing to the deterioration of social relationships.
In South-East Asia in particular it has become a serious concern. In a March 5, 2010 article entitled "Girl Starved to Death While Parents Raised Virtual Child in Online Game," The Guardian reported that a Korean couple left their baby to starve while immersed in an online role-playing game for up to 12 hours at a time. If a child appears to suffer from the problem then getting him/her treated early can stop addiction problems in later life.
Internet Addictive Disorder (IAD) Symptoms
The first and most obvious sign of an internet addiction is that a teen prefers to spend time on the internet to doing anything else. They may rationalize that what they learn on the internet is superior to anything that they learn at school, while at the same time lying about what it is that they are actually doing online.
Other symptoms include sleep loss, declining school results and withdrawal from social activities both inside and outside of school. They are likely to become depressed, irritable and be prone to tantrums if denied access to their computer for any period of tie.
ChildNet publishes a useful factsheet that summarizes possible symptoms.
IAD Problems
IAD can result in a number of health problems, both mental and physic. All of the following are possible consequences:
- Poor diet or malnutrition – skipping meals in order to spend more time online or, as an adult, opting for fast food over healthier alternatives that take longer to prepare.
- Loss of sleep – staying up late playing games or surfing online.
- Gambling addiction – IAD as a child can feed into an online gambling habit in later life.
- Deteriorating physical health – lack of exercise, eye strain, loss of sleep and poor diet can contribute to the general deterioration of a person's health.
- Stunted social development – growing up is as much about learning social skills as school results. Spending too much time online can affect a child's progress in this area.
Internet Addiction Treatment Centers
Several countries now have IAD clinics devoted to treating those who suffer from an internet addiction. For example, in London the Capio Nightingale hospital has a specialist 28 day program for young addicts.
The best place to find out about IAD treatment centers is a local health authority or service. There is also useful information online at places likes Net Addiction.
Tips for Parents and Carers
It isn't necessary to take an affected teenager to a clinic, of course. There are a number of things that can be done at home. These include:
- Keep the computer in a shared family room rather than the child's bedroom. This should help prevent the child from playing late at night.
- Ration the amount of time that a child is allowed to spend online. Keep it to an hour or two a day and enforce one day off entirely a week.
- Try and engage in more family activities – e.g. day trips, board games, parent-child baking sessions.
- Encourage a child to engage in other activities by himself or herself. For example, keep the child from playing online until he or she has spent some time playing outdoors.
The internet is a pervasive influence in modern society and it can become a real problem for many people, particularly among the younger generation. Treating internet addiction doesn't have to be difficult – it can be done at home just by implementing a few new rules. Failing to identify and treat Internet Addictive Disorder early can have real consequences later in life and parents should take care to monitor the amount of time their child spends online.
References/Further Reading:
BBC News. "Tech Addicts Offered Treatment" (accessed March 19, 2010).
NetAddiction. "FAQs" (accessed March 20, 2010).
ChildNet. "Internet Addiction" (accessed March 20, 2010).
