Psychologists in China are pushing for Internet Addiction to become classified as a disease. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) symptoms include staying online for more than six hours a day, instead of working or studying, and having adverse reactions from not being able to get online.
Many people will already fit this criteria, and in the not too distant future the majority of people in this country might. More and more people are spending time online while they watch television, many more are using the interent when ever they are away from their computer via their mobile and even through items such as their alarm clocks. It won’t be long before the internet is everywhere we go, and is constantly running in the background of our lives. Being such a vital part of our lives people are going to have adverse reactions when they can’t access the internet.
For example if your car is connected to the internet for secure access, for route information, for traffic information, to tell you who needs picking up today, to tell the people at your destination that you’re on your way, etc, you’re not going to be very happy if you can’t get online!
I’m not saying that there aren’t people who have an actual problem that is affecting their lives, just that they need to be very careful and pay very serious consideration to future possibilities when defining this disorder.
Source: Guardian
