Caught in the 'Net?

By Allison Yang

A moment of bliss in the digitalized life of an AIM-junkie:

PhatYaleLuver: We’ve been talking online for a while.

PhatYaleLuver: And I really dig the way you look on those WebCam photos, the way you rock those x-html skillz, and all those cute e-roses you’ve sent me.

QTMoroccan16: So..do you wanna go exclusive? Block everyone else on our lists so we can talk only to each other, 24/7, soul-to-soul, Ethernet-to-Ethernet?

PhatYaleLuver: Oh yes! I thought you’d never ask!

ROGER KUO/YH

How do you know you’re addicted to the Internet? Here are some tell-tell signs: You turn your head sideways to smile. Your girlfriend gives you the almighty “we-need-to-communicate-or-else” talk, and you ask her to sign up for AOL Instant Messenger so you can work out the problems the “High-Tech” way. Or maybe your girlfriend is the Moroccan 16-year-old.

To most, the notion of "Internet Addiction" seems to be a hybrid product of pop-psychology and the inevitable hype over new technology. Such low-brow jokes taken at the expense of “Web-geeks” are a dime a dozen. But to those at “Caught in the Net,” a support group for compulsive Internet users at the University of Maryland, these jokes lead to bitter smiles at best but more often uneasiness and frustration.

To the so-called "Netaddicts”, surfing the Internet is for much more than entertainment or relaxation: it’s an intoxicant leading to a dependency that’s surprisingly similar to those associated with alcoholism or compulsive gambling. The fantasy world created by games, MUD’s, and chats have infringed on their real lives.

Some would sacrificed time for rest and eating for an extra hour of slaving dragons and rescuing princesses in entrancing games; some have become well-known anti-socials while trapped in their dorm rooms chatting as their altered egos for hours on end. In the worst cases, students were forced to drop out of school because of the cumbersome debts they accumulated with compulsive day trading and online gambling.

In the largest study to date – an NBC News survey of more than 17,000 people last year, psychologist David Greenfield found that 6 percent of Internet users – a total of 11 million people in the world – have the potential of becoming addicted. College students and teens, along with single women, are the most vulnerable to compulsive Internet usage. According to the American Psychological Association, as much as 8 percent of college students have used the Internet in ways that are considered “pathological,” a condition where the mood altering effects of the medium interfere with one’s professional, social, or personal life.

Why are college students such easy targets for Internet Addiction? The most obvious reason is the easy and unlimited access to the computers. The instant, interactive, and unregulated nature of the Internet is not only a pleasant distraction from the humdrum academics, it also serves as a imperfect remedy for loneliness. Dr. Janet Morahan-Martin, a professor of psychology at Bryant College, interviewed 277 college students, and found that “compared to others, pathological users scored significantly higher (on a standard loneliness scale), were more likely to go online to relax, talk to others with similar interests, meet new people and for support.”

Depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem are associated with Internet Addiction. The association, however, does not imply causation. The Internet may not be the root of depression or loneliness, but it does intensify these problems by serving as a temporary escape from these issues.

A third-year computer science major at Yale comments that computers do not cause depression, but rather attract people who are depressed. “I spend at least 40 hours a week sitting in front of the computer. It hasn’t affected me in any way. I think that the Internet attracts people who are unhappy and alienated. Undeniably, some people who are shy and awkward in the real world feel more confident in the virtual world, where anonymity is the rule of the game and you get to reinvent yourself.”

Studies show that college freshmen are the most prone to over-reliance on the Internet. Thomas Yae (TD ‘O3) believes that for some the Internet eases the difficulties of the transition from high school to college. “Say you’re away from home for the first time, and homesickness strikes or something unpleasant happens at school. Who do you turn to? Definitely not that guy from across the hall you’ve just met last night at Naples. You email or AIM your best friends at home. And that becomes enough and you stop making the effort to get to know folks here. This is an extreme example, but I’ve seen it happen to people I know.”

At Alfred University in western New York, the problem of Internet misuse has become serious – 42% of freshmen-dropouts in 1995 reported some degree of computer dependency, which is often coupled with depression. The administration has taken drastic measures to alleviate the situation. The grades of all freshmen, along with the numbers of hours they log on to the school Ethernet system, are monitored. A student gets an immediate visit from the residential adviser if his GPA drops while his Ethernet records begin to show marathon, late-night hours.

Dr. Marie Baker, a substance abuse counselor at University Health Services, comments that there are no on-campus support groups for student with compulsive Internet usage problems to her knowledge. The Department of Mental Hygiene, however, offers free and confidential counseling and therapy to all students. “Though I can not release the exact details of the therapy methods because of confidentiality policies,” Baker comments, “but I can say that we do offer individually-tailored and extensive counseling for all students with problems relating to compulsive behavior and addiction. A simple phone call to Urgent Care guarantees you help.”

Surprisingly, given the recent upsurge of public concern over the problem, most psychiatrists are still unsure whether “Internet Addiction” actually exists. The debate is rooted in the fact that the addiction, while does lead to withdrawal-like symptoms such as irritation and depression, does not involve an actual chemical intoxicant.

A team of British scientists has shed new light on this debate. In January 1999, they reported that they have traced the level of dopamine released in the brain during computer game-play and general computer use. The chemical upsurge, known to be a key element of physical addiction, is roughly equal to the increase caused by illegal amphetamines, known as "speed." It is also found in a prescription dose of the anti-hyperactivity medicine, Ritalin.

Putting the science aside, Yale students offer some intuitive explanations for Internet Addiction.

When I first came to Yale, socially things were not looking bright," a Calhoun junior recollects, “All of a sudden I wasn’t popular anymore. Every face I saw was new – that was intimidating. It was a tough time and I remember talking on AIM with my then boyfriend from home for hours a day. In hindsight, I probably should have spent those hours meeting new people and forming new friendships.”

The Internet, however, has taken a much more negative influence on some. A Branford sophomore admits that his brief status on academic probation can be attributed to the Internet and particularly computer gaming. “It was exciting. One minute I was a knight or an evil sorceress, the next I’m the ruthless conqueror masterminding the destruction of an alien world.”

He is describing Dungeons and Dragons, a Multiple User Domain game that is played by sending online messages to other players. “There is a whole other fantasy world online. You’re playing with thousands of people from around world. It was like finding a great book – you get hooked instantly.”

His obsession became so severe that after failing a course for the first time in his life, he asked his suitemates to hide the joy-stick, mouse, and key board of his laptop. “I knew I had to go cold-turkey about it. This sounds ridiculous now, but had there been a Gamers Anonymous then, I’d have joined.”

On a granter scope, people from all walks of live – not just college students – are finding themselves “caught in the ‘Net.” A mother of three in Florida was charged of child neglect: she spent over 12 hours online each day and failed to give her ill child timely medical care. Also there are many well-publicized cases of pedophiles using the Internet as a means of targeting children. The most well-know case involved former Disney executive Patrick Naughton, arrested in September for arranging to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he met online. He pleaded not guilty, using an unusual defense argument that his actions were grounded in an online fantasy world.

Internet addiction can cause as much havoc in people’s lives as alcoholism. College students across the nation are learning this lesson the hard way. It is an addiction can be controlled. The treatment is one of moderation and not of complete abstinence or elimination.