Educação pode mudar sua vida

Tense? Angry? Can‘t get online? Internet addiction is now a serious health problem that should be officially recognized as a clinical disorder, says a leading psychiatrist.

In the respected American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr Jerald Block writes that the disorder is caused by excessive gaming, viewing online pornography, emailing and text messaging. He¹ says that the disorder is now so common that it should be included in medical text books. According to Block, Internet addiction has four main components: Excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time; withdrawal symptoms, including feelings of anger, tension and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible; The need for better computers, more software, or more hours of use; Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation and tiredness.
Block says that in South Korea 10 people died from blood clots because they stayed seated for long periods in Internet cafes and another was murdered because² of an online game. South Korea now considers Internet addiction one of its³ most serious public health issues. The government estimates that around 210,000 South Korean children need treatment. 80 per cent of them⁴ might need drugs that target the brain and nearly a quarter could need to go to hospital. Since⁵ the average high school pupil there spends about 23 hours per week gaming, another 1.2 million are believed to be at risk of addiction and require basic counselling. Many people are also worried about the number of addicts who⁶ stop going to school or leave their jobs to spend more time on computers. In China it has been reported that about 10 million adolescent Internet users could be considered addicts.[…]
Dr Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, writes that it is more difficult to estimate how bad the problem is in America because people tend to surf at home instead of in Internet cafes. But he believes there are similar cases, and says: ―Unfortunately it is not easy to treat Internet addiction.‖ He told The Observer that he did not believe specific websites were responsible. ―The relationship is with the computer," he said. "First⁷, it becomes a significant other to them. Second⁸, they use up emotions that they could experience in the real world on the computer, through any number of mechanisms: emailing, gaming, porn. Third⁹, computer use takes up a huge amount of time in their life. Then¹⁰ if you simply try to remove the computer, they feel they‘ve lost their¹¹ best friend. That can take the form of depression or rage."
Harry Husted, a single 51-year-old from New York, spends 16 hours a day on the Internet. He insists that he is not addicted, but admits that he used to be. ―I used to work with computers for eight hours, then get home and go online for another seven hours. I stayed up until two or three in the morning, or until I got so sleepy I had to go to bed. I didn‘t go out to get the groceries and I didn‘t care about friends, TV, or anything. After a while I realized what was happening and did something about it. Now if I use MySpace it‘s only to advertise my business.‖
Internet addiction clinics are opening all around the world, and many people have turned, apparently without irony, to web discussion boards with names such as¹² Internet Addicts Anonymous. The Centre for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, Pennsylvania, says Internet addiction has become a growing legal issue in criminal, divorce and employment cases.
Robert Freedman, editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry, said Internet addiction can be diverse. ―In Korea, it seems to be mostly gaming sites. In America, it is Facebook. Additionally, it‘s porn, it‘s games, it‘s gambling, it‘s chatting with friends. All these things existed before, but¹³ now they‘re a lot easier."
To beat the addiction, he advised: ―A self-help group might be a good place to start, but maybe a real group is better than an online one."