e about a greater variety of subjects, from a greater variety of institutions or educators/trainers. But no matter how great and significant the effects of the Internet in our lives might be, there are some quite considerable consequences and drawbacks. A very important disadvantage is that the Internet is addictive. One of the first people to take the phenomenon seriously was Kimberly S. Young, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She takes it so seriously, in fact, that she founded the Center for Online Addiction, an organization that provides consultation for educational institutions, mental health clinics and corporations dealing with Internet misuse problems. Psychologists now recognize Internet Addiction Syndrome (IAS) as a new illness that could ruin hundreds of lives. Internet addicts are people who are reported staying online for six, eight, ten or more hours a day, every day. They use the Internet as a way of escaping problems or relieving distressed moods. Their usage can cause problems in their family, work and social lives. They feel anxious and irritable when offline and craved getting back online. Despite the consequences, they continue using regardless of admonishments from friends and family. Special help groups have been set up to give out advice and offer links with other addicts. Internets Anonymous and Webaholics are two of the sites offering help, but only through logging onto the Internet. The study of 100 students by Margaret Martin of Glasgow University found: One in six (16%) felt irritable, tense, depressed or restless if they were barred from using the Internet. More than one in four (27%) felt guilty about the time they spent online. One in ten (10%) admitted neglecting a partner, child or work because of overuse. One in twenty five (4%) said it had affected their mental or physical health for the worse. Another Ph.D. psychologist Maressa Hecht Orzack posits that people use the Int...
