Internet addiction can harm real relationships

“Technology can be seductive because it provides an instant reward - a text message from a friend, success in a video game or stimulating news on a Web site - that is not necessarily harmful…”

…But mental health experts say an addiction can form - just as with gambling - when people keep seeking that intermittent, unpredictable reward.
“The fact that it is unpredictable is what compels the brain to keep checking over and over and over,” said Dr. David Greenfield, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
“When people are afraid of not having their PDA or a phone with them, then it’s addictive,” Greenfield said.
Still, the question is: When does an addiction to technology become a problem?
Human contact suffers
Dr. Kimberly Young, founder and director of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery of Bradford, Pa., said it depends on individual circumstances.
“It’s not a time limit,” said Young, who has been studying Internet addiction since 1994. “You can’t diagnose alcoholism by how much someone drinks. ”
Also, she said, “it’s a generational thing. Go interview a 15-year-old, a 45-year-old and a 75-year-old, and you’ll have different views of…

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Internet addiction can harm real relationships

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