For some addicts, a casino can be the root of all evils. For others, a fix can come from visiting their favorite Web site, according to a study to be presented in November.
"[I'm online] pretty much like, 24/7," said Brian Park, an accounting junior.
Internet addiction disorder affects up to 10 percent of all Internet users and is often sub-categorized with obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to psychologists at the Tel Aviv University Be'er Ya'acov Mental Health Center in Israel.
The National Institute of Mental Health Web site says obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by a constant urge to indulge in certain behaviors to the point of affecting day-to-day life.
The behaviors may range from excessive hand washing to feeling the need to be online all day.
Park said he isn't necessarily surfing the Web incessantly, but he does tend to multi-task in front of his computer while he researches for homework or waits for instant messages from friends.
Dr. Pinhas Dannon, a psychiatrist at the Tel Aviv University Be'er Ya'acov Mental Health Center, said he wants Internet addiction to be taken more seriously, according to a press release on Aug. 18.
He said in the release he believes the mental affliction should be on par with the more extreme addiction disorders, like kleptomania or gambling addiction.
"Internet addiction is not manifesting itself as an 'urge.' It's more than that. It's a deep 'craving,'" Dannon said in the press release. "And if we don't make the change in the way we classify Internet addiction, we won't be able to treat it in the proper way."
Dannon said there are two age groups at the highest risk of developing Internet addiction: teenagers and men and women in their mid-50s who suffer from loneliness after their children have left for college or their own lives.
Symptoms of Internet addiction disorder include loss of sleep or employment over Internet usage, anxiety when away from the computer and isolation from family and friends and deep depression, according to the press release.
Undeclared freshman David Rogers said that his Internet usage does not affect his day-to-day life.
"I could see how it could, though," Rogers said. "It's easy to keep surfing to the next page and the next and messaging back and forth with friends."
Dannon said he and his colleagues have submitted their findings to the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology and plan to present the study at the annual meeting of the National Gambling Council in Las Vegas.
Internet addiction is an inevitable product of modernization, Dannon said.
"They are just like anyone else who is addicted to coffee, exercise, or talking on their cellular phone," Dannon said of people with Internet addictions. "As the times change, so do our addictions."
Reach the reporter at: brittany.mccall@asu.edu.
