Legion Troll
A fine upstanding poster
Four men sat around the living room and talked about their struggles with addiction, anxiously drumming their fingers on their legs and fidgeting with their shoelaces.
One man described the crippling problem: compulsive Internet use.
It is easy to scoff at the idea of Internet addiction, which is not officially recognized as a disorder in the United States.
Medical science has yet to diagnose precisely what is going on in the brains of the addicted, and there is no clear definition of what entails an Internet addiction.
Yet a growing number of experts say addiction to screens is becoming a major problem for many Americans, causing them to withdraw from their families and friends, and complain of deep anxieties in social settings.
Those who say they suffer from Internet addiction share many symptoms with other types of addicts, in terms of which chemicals are released into the brain, experts say.
The pleasure centers of the brain light up when introduced to the stimulus.
Addicts lose interest in other hobbies or, sometimes, never develop any.
When not allowed to go online, they experience withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, depression or even physical shaking.
In the United States, there is no definition of Internet addiction. It is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which sets the official standards for disorders in the United States.
Other countries, however, do officially recognize some forms of Internet addiction as serious conditions. In South Korea, Internet addiction has a formal definition; there, sufferers are diagnosed and sent to government treatment centers. In China, militaristic government “boot camps” have treated millions. Japan, too, has tested an Internet “fasting camp” for people.
But researchers say the problem in America needs more study.
Kimberly Young, a physician who founded the first-of-its-kind Center for Internet Addiction in 1995, has had little luck getting her patients financial support for their treatment. “Insurance companies are so tough that even when we have a drug addict that needs work, they don’t really want to pay,” she said. “We live in a tough world when it comes to health insurance, mental health and addiction — especially to something new like the Internet.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/for-many-young-americans-compulsive-internet-use-is-a-very-very-real-struggle/2016/05/20/be637a24-130d-11e6-8967-7ac733c56f12_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_draw2