Internet addicts should be considered mentally ill

[shadow2get]

Source

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:10
Chicago (IL) – Internet addiction should be considered a true mental illness, according to a recent editorial published in the prestigious American Journal of Psychiatry. Jerald Block MD says excessive online gaming, porn surfing along with e-mail and text messaging are signs of mental collapse and “merit inclusion” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V).

Block pointed to ten deaths in South Korean Internet cafes as sure signs of addiction. He adds that the average high school student in South Korea plays online games 23 hours a week and that more than 210,000 children required treatment for excessive gaming and Internet usage in 2006. Chinese figures show that 13.7% of teenagers are addicted to the Internet, according to Block.

Internet addiction is a real mental illness because it exhibits four characteristics said Block. The first is that online addicts lose the sense of time or neglect basic needs like sleeping and eating. Addicts also feel anger or depression when their computers are inaccessible. Block claims that online addicts continually buy better computer equipment or software. Finally, he says online addiction has serious negative repercussions like social isolation and poor achievement. Basically, he’s just described most World of Warcraft players I know. Trust me, I know hard it is to quit.
Interestingly enough, Dr. Block owns a patent on a way to restrict computer access. According to the Journal, this was not considered to be a conflict of interest in publishing the editorial.

You can read Dr. Block’s editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry here.

I think most of the users in this forum will be called as Mentally ILL according to the Journal's doctors.

[hullap]

WTF.
the doctors are mentally ill if they think that

[Gigacore]

lol, i'm mentally Ill

[napster007]

Dude if my mom see's this....i'm going strait to a Max security facility

[casanova]

Addicts also feel anger or depression when their computers are inaccessible

Only this holds true for me.

Block claims that online addicts continually buy better computer equipment or software

Even this would have hold true for me but ........

[hullap]

Originally Posted by napster007

Dude if my mom see's this....i'm going strait to a Max security facility

Yup, im scared too

[shashank_re]

OT: Hey Giga how was your exams man?

[hullap]

Originally Posted by shashank_re

OT: Hey Giga how was your exams man?

I think there is a THING called PM

[DigitalDude]

Originally Posted by shashank_re

OT: Hey Giga how was your exams man?

offtopic post is like talking to someone in particular in a group discussion.. things you dont bother that others are hearing...

like saying "hey dude stop your talking and tell me what hap to the command and conquer DVD that I gave you 3 days back??"

PM is for things you bother that other people need not/should not know.

like "hey dude come here *whisper* look at that chick.. yeah the one in blue tops "






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[shashank_re]

^^OK dude sorry.Afterall iam also mentally ill!

[Gigacore]

well, fine shashank

[DigitalDude]

in Korea they have special camps for people seriously addicted to internet from a long time ago hehe

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/20/k...h-crafts-drum/ must read for the pic and comments



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[Faun]

lol...am just loled, not mentally ill

[Cool G5]

Now they will say addiction to all things are bad.Even though we are using it for good purpose.
I am not stuck to the pc for the whole day.Just come here to get knowledge,help others & some relaxation with friends.
What is wrong in this???

Some findings are balderbash.

[sysrq]

Please please PLEASE ban me from this forum anyone?

[kalpik]

^^ Thanks for asking so politely! Done

[legolas]

really???
both to the shadow2get and Kalpik !!
wouldn't this mean that all the IT company people including the giants like M$, Apple and other companies, the programmers and other geeks should be the first??? why blame gamers Asylums wont be enough to accommodate that many people

[teknoPhobia]

www.theinternetisboring.org

[legolas]

^ ^ and??

[casanova]

The problem is when working in an IT industry, you do take frequent breaks but this doesn't go with gamers. I remember the times I used to play Ragnarok in a cyber cafe. I use to visit the cafe at 5pm and leave at 12 midnight when the cafe was closed and then search for some place where I can eat my dinner.

Now, working in an IT company, I manage to take break every 1.5-2 hours.

[legolas]

But do you know, game companies employ psychologists to design games, levels and action sequences in a way which increases the adrenalin in your body (and serotonin, i guess) which pumps and pushes you to play without stopping??? Its the game developers to blame in those cases. Also, the same principle is used in Casinos (well, its where all started from). Are we going to close the Casinos?? or put in asylum the addicted poker players or casino gamblers??

[nvidia]

Is it possible to sue these people legally for calling us mentally ill?

[legolas]

^ ^ he he... possibly in the US!! They sue for everything, isn't it? Not sure about the status in India though

[nvidia]

^^It might be possible in Europe too....
The EU also sues everyone for everything

[casanova]

Lets do it and get a huge amount from it. So we can buy newer hardware and what all as said in the survey.

[teknoPhobia]

Originally Posted by legolas

^ ^ and??

and what?

That about sums up the state of the internet today.

[legolas]

That is what I did not understand. thanks.

[DigitalDude]

Originally Posted by teknoPhobia

www.theinternetisboring.org

lame attempt

this is like saying s3x is booring to your g4l in bed



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[ax3]

count me in 2 ....

[The Conqueror]

It is true, we actually ignore food and sleep due to computers
so this proves that everything should have LIMIT , when it exceeds limits, it causes problems