family and participating in events outside the home. They also found that nearly 60% of the surveyed cut back on television viewing also, in which Erbing added that “the Internet could be the ultimate isolating technology that further reduces our participation in communities, even more than TV did before.” (Erbing)This is a relatively new disorder, and there hasn’t been much studying or research of it. So how does one know if he or she is a pathological Internet user? There are a few symptoms that are good indicators of a problem, says Kimberly S. Young of AddictionSolutions.com. “Neglecting family activities, social events, work, school in order to spend more time on the Internet is probably the biggest sign of Internet addiction.” (Young) But also suffering withdrawal symptoms, not being able to limit time online, constantly thinking about the next online session, and preferring to talk to cyber-friends rather than face-to-face conversations are also signs. There are about 3 distinct situations in which internet addiction can take form although they all are based on the need of personal contact, and ability to change personal status to gain peer recognition Online games, chat rooms, and cyber-sexual addiction. Greenfield tries to identify these separate cases. “One way a person becomes addicted to the net is through online games. It is a fantasy world where the player takes on the name of a character and they battle other on-line players accumulating “points” and status from other players. While online, the player feels in control of their destiny, yet off-line they feel less competent and maybe awkward when not playing.” (Greenfield) I have been part of this MUD gaming system, and I must say that it was exciting. Although I wasn’t that really interested in it after a few times of play, because the others were a lot better than I was, and I would lose almost every...
