Internet addicts suffer withdrawal symptoms like drug addicts...

A new study shows that when heavy Internet users go offline, they undergo withdrawal symptoms similar to those experienced by drug users.

The study, carried out by researchers at Swansea and Milan Universities, is the first into the immediate negative psychological impacts of Internet use.

Sixty volunteers, with an average age of 25, were first tested to determine their level of Internet use — particularly, whether they used the Internet obsessively or to the detriment of their social relationships and jobs.

They were then were told to surf the net, visiting any sites they liked, for 15 minutes, after which they were tested for mood and levels of anxiety. The volunteers whom the earlier round of testing indicated were “addicted” to the Internet reported increased negative moods after they stopped surfing the net, suffering a “comedown” that researchers said was not unlike that experienced by people after using the drug ecstasy. Full story...

Related posts:

1. Is the Internet driving us mad?
2. Life is serene without the internet, says teen hacker...
3. Generation of kids at risk of "screen addiction"
4. We can't live without the Internet, say 75% of UK youths...
5. We spend 12 hours a day staring at screens...
6. South Korean clinic tries to cure internet addicts...
7. 14 internet addicts in China flee treatment centre...