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Study Probes 'Compulsive' Internet Use

A study by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers published in CNS Spectrums: The International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine provides hard data showing how patterns of Internet use have come to resemble those associated with other compulsive or addictive disorders for many users.

In a phone survey of 2,513 adults, researchers found the following:

13.7 percent (more than one out of eight respondents) found it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time
2.4 percent stayed online longer than intended very often or often
12.3 percent had seen a need to cut back on Internet use at some point
8.7 percent attempted to conceal non-essential Internet use from family, friends and employers
8.2 percent used the Internet as a way to escape problems or relieve negative mood
5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered as a result of excessive Internet use

Said lead author and director of Stanford's Impulse Control Disorders Clinic, Elias Aboujaoude, MD:

"In a sense, they're using the Internet to 'self-medicate'...And obviously something is wrong when people go out of their way to hide their Internet activity."

ABSTRACT: Potential markers for problematic internet use: a telephone survey of 2,513 adults.