"I began to suspect I had an Internet addiction problem when I would get up at 3 am to surf the Net and would then talk to a friend who hadn't been to bed yet. He was still surfing the Internet at 3 o'clock."
Gary Tate and his friend are not the only ones suffering from 'Internet addiction disorder' or IAD.
The term was coined in jest by New York psychiatrist, Ivan Goldberg, in early 1995. To his surprise, people were soon actually reporting such a disorder.
Goldberg fabricated and posted a list of IAD symptoms on psycom.net, a site he operates and which sponsors Internet-based information services for mental health professionals. He intended it to be a parody of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). To compound the joke, he also started an Internet addiction support group online "akin to holding an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in the middle of a cocktail party".
The irony is that Dr Goldberg named a disease he did not believe existed. "I don't think Internet addiction disorder exists any more than tennis addictive disorder, bingo addictive disorder, and TV addictive disorder exist. People can overdo anything. To call it a disorder is an error," says Goldberg.
Dr Kimberly Young, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, believes that Internet addiction is as serious a mental problem as any other. She has been researching the subject since 1994 and has also started a Web site for IAD victims, the Center for On-Line Addiction. The site has an Internet Addiction Test, which helps you find out your level of addiction.
"Like in other addictions, multiple addiction, depression, anxiety, trauma, and interpersonal difficulties are associated with this disorder," says Young. "Further, it has been accepted as scientifically valid in the courts."
So what is Internet addiction really? And does it exist?
The Internet Addicts Recovery Club, a club for self-professed Internet addicts, has members giving some clues. "Life before the Internet, I watched hours of mindless movies and TV. Now that I have the Net, I don't watch TV anymore... I'd stay addicted to the Internet until death comes to me or my computer!" says one member.
"I chat so much online that I type in my sleep. I have 17 email addresses. I have so many screen names and passwords in my head… if the computer boots me off, oh god, I am like I need oxygen. I literally drove 30 minutes to my best friend's house to use her computer connection to check an email I was awaiting…" says another.
Does this mean that a fascination for the Net, to the exclusion of all else - food, family, work - is an indication?
Clinical psychologist, Dr John Grohol, says "What most people online who think they are addicted are probably suffering from is the desire to not want to deal with other problems in their lives. Those problems may be a mental disorder (depression, anxiety, etc.), a serious health problem or disability, or a relationship problem. It is no different than turning on the TV so you won't have to talk to your spouse, or going out with the boys for a few drinks so you don't have to spend time at home."
While certain factors are inherent in people suffering from IAD, there are certain things about the Internet as a medium that makes it potentially addictive. Unlike television, it offers unlimited opportunities for social contact and that too, with strangers. A person can be uninhibited, thanks to the anonymity. People can also live out their fantasies, and the marginalised can get a sense of belonging on the Net that they may not be able to find so easily in the 'real' world.
As more and more people get hooked to the Net, it is becoming increasingly difficult to skirt the issue. Broken marriages, lost jobs, sleeplessness, stress, reduced attention spans, Web rage, are just some of the things being reported.
However, DSM-IV - which sets the standards for classifying types of mental illness - does not include 'Internet' or 'computer' addiction as a category. But that may be because the medium itself is new, and the research inadequate.
W M Auckerman, the Editor of Computing Japan magazine sums up the issue in a lighter vein: "If surfing the Web is disrupting your family life, interfering with your work or chronically robbing you of sleep, then you may have a real psychological problem. But if you're simply an overenthusiastic Net surfer, just recite this prayer in times of need:
Almighty Webmaster:
Grant me the serenity to know when to log off,
The courage to know when to check email,
And the wisdom to stay away from chat rooms.