LPAC's Bibliography of Related Articles on:

Internet Addiction

• Caught in the Net by Kimberly Young, Ph.D., (John Wiley & Sons), 1998.
• Internet Addiction Guide by John M. Grohol
• The Psychology of Cyberspace by John Suler, Ph.D.
• The Selfish Brain: Learning from Addiction by Robert L. DuPont, M.D. (American Psychiatric Press, Inc.), 1997 and (Hazelden), 2000.
• What is Normal Internet Use? by Leonard Holmes, Ph.D.
• Virtual Addiction: Help for Netheads, Cyberfreaks, and Those Who Love Them by David N. Greenfield, Ph.D. (New Harbinger Publications), 1999.

Internet Addiction
By Kenneth Search

Phil, a bank loan officer, is fired from his job owing to recurrent violations of his employer’s policy regarding computer use. Phil was cruising the Internet at work, viewing pornography and participating in chat rooms in which the topic is sex and participants engage in online sexual play.

Janet is a single parent working a job that pays barely enough to meet expenses and whose relationships with her three children seem to lurch from one crisis to another. She is spending much of her time away from work online, mostly in a chat room with a core group of people who talk together about their daily trials and tribulations, find relief in jokes and good humor, and encourage one another with empathy and concern. Phyllis increasingly sees the chat room and relationships therein as reality and is less and less involved in “real-time” relationships. She finds that the Internet more and more shields her and removes her, at least in the short term, from the reality of her job and family stresses.

Joe, a high school junior, finds himself spending hours a day online “hanging out” with friends in teen chat rooms, downloading music, and viewing pornography. As a result, he is increasingly isolated from his family, short on sleep, and falling further and further behind in schoolwork.

Edith, a widow and a retired teacher, finds her online video gambling leading to serious financial problems. However, it is a price she is willing to pay—the time online blocks out her loneliness and her anger and hurt toward her children, who she feels largely ignore her. (All these examples are amalgams of typical misusers/abusers of the Internet and do not represent specific individuals.)

Do you know any of these people? Are you like any of these people? It is a rare individual in 2004 who is still unaware of the pervasiveness of the personal computer and Internet in our homes and workplaces. Computer use has led to some very good things—increased business productivity, easy access to resources for learning and personal growth, and opportunities for recreation and relaxation. Unfortunately, for many of its users, the growing availability of the Internet also has led to abuse and unhealthy dependency.

According to a survey conducted by Dr. David Greenfield among almost 18,000 computer users (“Lost in Cyberspace: The Growing Problem of Compulsive Internet Use,” Paradigm Magazine, Spring 2000), between 4 and 6 percent of computer users admitted to Internet use that was problematic, and an additional 6 percent engaged in computer behaviors that “met the strict criteria for Compulsive Internet use.”

It was not until the mid-20th century that the medical community formally recognized the reality of alcohol addiction as a genuine disease, and still later before other drug use and gambling were added to the list of potential “dependencies” (addictive illnesses). During the last few years a number of treatment providers have begun helping people who appear to be addicted to the Internet in much the same way the alcoholic is addicted to alcohol.

Using the terminology of the medically authoritative Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Revised), any addiction can be seen as an impulse control disorder. Below is a set of criteria for Internet addiction based on that view (courtesy of the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery). Meeting at least five of these criteria indicates Internet dependence; one to four is a sign of abuse. Note how closely these criteria resemble those used in diagnosing alcoholism or pathological gambling.

• Unsuccessful attempts to stop or control computer use.
• Dishonesty related to computer use.
• Problems in significant life areas as a result of computer use.
• Spending increasing time online in order to get the same reaction achieved previously in less time.
• Escaping feelings while online.
• Experiencing anxiety, irritability, mood swings, restlessness, depression, and/or insomnia when not able to use the Internet.
• Experiencing both euphoria and guilt from computer use.
• Preoccupation with computer use or related activities; more and more time online.
• Financial problems related to computer use.

Internet dependence often is linked to other addictive disorders. Most typically, Internet addiction is co-present with or part of sequential addiction to sexual, gambling, or shopping/spending addictions.

Internet abusers and addicts frequently find that the abuse creates or exacerbates existing family dysfunction (“You spend more time on that computer than you do with me or the kids”) and job-related difficulties (“Jack, you’re just not keeping up with your workload” or “If we find you misusing your computer once more, you will be discharged”). Online gambling or shopping abuse also can lead to such illegal behaviors as kiting checks or embezzlement, with significant legal consequences.

In the workplace alone computer abuse is endemic. According to a survey cited by Libby Zivalich (“The Tangled Web: Combating Internet Addiction in the Workplace,” Business Journal, November 22, 2003), “on average, employers report that workers spend 8.3 hours—or more than one entire workday—accessing non-work-related [Internet] sites . . . each week. One out of every four employees reported feeling addicted to, or compulsive in, his/her use of the Internet.”

If you, a family member, a friend, or a client is struggling with problematic use of the Internet, help is available. And as indicated in the sidebar above, you can even use the Internet itself to locate that help.

Kenneth Search is an outpatient services specialist at the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery at Proctor Hospital, Peoria, Illinois. He can be reached at 309/691-1004.

© 2004 by the American Bar Association. Reprinted by permission

Out of Control on the Internet
I never considered my Internet use to be addictive, but I see now that it was. It was exciting, interesting and fun, and I was completely transported away from difficult problems in my life.

It’s easier to see, in retrospect, that as my hours on the net at home, and then at work, increased, my family and work relationships deteriorated, and my functioning and even my judgment were affected. My neglect of personal and professional responsibilities resulted in, first, my wife, then my law partner, calling it “quits” unless I got help. Even then, I still thought there was nothing wrong with what I was doing.

The Internet has and will continue to revolutionize our world. Already, its impact has been compared with the discovery of the atom. The web has become an essential tool of communication, commerce, research and industry, and, according to some, is only in an early stage of its evolution, with incredibly sophisticated applications yet to be developed. As a means of communication, and as a source of information and entertainment, the net can significantly enhance our quality of life. A small but significant percentage of Internet users, however, can be lured into a pattern of compulsive or “addictive” use with potentially serious personal and/or professional consequences. Lawyers are not immune, as several have consulted LCL for assistance following unsuccessful attempts to control this behavior. What is it about the Internet that, for some of the people who use it, results in potentially destructive behavior? Why do some people put themselves at risk for loss of job, failed relationships, financial harm? To answer this question, it can be helpful to look at two things: the biochemical reaction of the brain to certain types of stimulation, and specific stimulating features of the Internet. First the brain: Recent brain research is helping us to achieve a better understanding of the nature of addiction to both chemicals and behaviors. According to Robert L. DuPont, MD, author of The Selfish Brain: Learning from Addiction, repeated experiences of pleasure induced by chemicals or certain behaviors stimulate neurons located in the so-called “pleasure centers” (the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens) deep in the central brain, causing the release of dopamine, 1 of the 3 major neurotransmitters. A surge of dopamine can be triggered by a variety of drugs, and also by certain pleasurable experiences (e.g., sex). Once the brain “learns” the connection between the experience and the sensation, even the anticipation of the experience can activate the release of dopamine.

The release of increasing amounts of dopamine in the pleasure centers (which may occur over a period of escalating substance use, or with other repetitive pleasurable behaviors) appears to be a strong factor in the suppression of higher brain functions, as the powerful effects of this more primitive part of the brain attain greater dominance. The result is loss of control over the behavior and addiction-induced distortions in perception and thinking, including dishonesty manifesting as denial, rationalization, justification, minimization, etc. Loss of control and dishonesty (or denial) are basic characteristics of addiction. Brain biochemistry helps explain the “insidious, cunning and baffling” nature of addictive behavior: people soafflicted don’t fully know why they do what they do, and make up excuses that seem to explain their irrational and self-destructive behavior.

It goes without saying that this explanation is the ultimate simplification of an amazingly complex biochemical system with countless subsystems. The power of the experience of pleasure, reward, and pain to shape behavior in all species speaks to its role in the survival of the species and helps explain why these mechanisms are hardwired into our brains.

Although socio-cultural factors (such as cultural tolerance for addictive behaviors, accessibility, individual values, etc.) play an important role, genetics seem to be the strongest determinant of individual vulnerability to the impact of certain kinds of chemical and experiential stimulation on the brain’s pleasure centers. The addictive process instigated by these behaviors, DuPont notes, is distinct from the processes of mere positive and negative reinforcement in which one tends to repeat behaviors that make us feel good or behaviors that offer relief from emotional discomfort. There are a variety of ways in which Internet use may set this neuro-biological process in motion:

• The potentially intense experience of power, excitement, exhilaration, accomplishment, satisfaction, even arousal, as a result of being able, at any time, to instantaneously connect to a vast source of information about almost anything from countless resources worldwide.
• A sense of adventure, similar to gambling, created by the unknown of what the next “log-on” may bring, whether it is the acquisition of new and interesting information, or interactive opportunities such as simply communicating with a friend, the potentially more problematic on-line shopping, gambling |or other gaming, private chat rooms, pornography, on-line affairs and cybersex.
• The gratifyingly disinhibiting effect of the net user’s anonymity, permitting:
  • Accelerated intimacy and social connection that can appear to be more honest than verbal communication;
    Engagement in fantasy, or the creation of a whole new identity, all of which can be very pleasurable.
  • A sense of timelessness, in the absence of markers that delineate other activities, e.g., a TV show, which may be mesmerizing but ends at a predetermined time.
• A hypnotic effect, some theorize, of moving images on the computer screen (or television).
• The multimedia appeal (of color, stereo sound/music, speed, flashing graphics).

David Greenfield, a psychologist whose interest in the addictive potential of Internet use was piqued by his own initial experience, found a growing number of people in his practice who were suffering consequences of compulsive use of the net, and noted that the mere act of connecting to the Internet is intoxicating to many people. For most, the novelty wears off in a matter of days or weeks, but for others (he estimates 6% based on a 1999 survey conducted on abcnews.net to which 18,000 people responded), a compulsive or addictive pattern develops, often from the intensely stimulating effect of pornography and cyber affairs, and frequently becomes a major factor in marital conflict and divorce. How does one know whether their use of the net constitutes an “addiction?” The short answer, which is similar for virtually all chemical or behavioral addictive or compulsive behaviors is: Is it creating problems in any other area of one’s life? Are relationships, occupational functioning, personal finances, mood, health, or general wellbeing adversely affected? Has anyone complained about your behavior or the results of your behavior?

How can one overcome this behavior, at a time in American life when so many pieces of our lives involve computers? Unlike substance use and gambling (but similar to addictive sex or eating), recovery via abstinence would be difficult, though not impossible. A combination of self-regulation and abstinence from certain kinds of web sites is called for, but will not be easy to achieve. Because behavioral and mental health problems tend to grow in a climate of secrecy, talking about the problem with a therapist, and/or supportive friends or family is an important first step. A therapist can further help the individual formulate very specific strategies to support abstinence, however that is defined, and assist with the management of predictable withdrawal symptoms that can be very challenging in early recovery. Because the Internet is a valuable research and communication tool in the work of law, many lawyers, of necessity, spend significant portions of time on the net.
 

Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Inc., Winter 2005