Calls for net addiction to be universally recognised

From vnunet.com 19.03.08

Excessive gaming and email/text messaging should be added to psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders, according to an article in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry.

Withdrawal and an associated sense of anger or depression when users cannot reach a computer, the constant need for better equipment and the feeling of social isolation and fatigue are all signs of technology-related mental disorders.

The conditions are difficult to treat because internet addiction is "resistant to treatment, entails significant risks and has high relapse rates".

I think many of the bloggers out there are all net addicts of varying degrees.  Some are more predisposed to it than others, of course. Still, I don’t count myself as a suffer - I just like the internet.  I can stop any time I like. No, seriously - I can.