Addiction to online gaming, e-mailing, chatting and viewing porn can lead to mental health problems and therefore should be officially recognised as a 'clinical disorder', according to a prominent American psychiatrist.
The article, by Dr Jerald Block, said there were four symptoms: suffering from feelings of withdrawal when a computer cannot be accessed; an increased need for better equipment; need for more time to use it; and experiencing the negative repercussions of their addiction. Block said that although text messaging was not directly linked to the Internet, it was a form of instant messaging and needed to be included among the criteria.
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