Earlier this week, CNN published an article called "Why moms are at risk for Internet addiction":
I'd heard about Internet addiction before, but always assumed it was something limited to socially challenged guys who played too much World of Warcraft. Now it seemed my Internet "habit" was slowly but surely crossing the line.
It turns out I'm not the only mama who plugs in and zones out. Coleen Moore, coordinator of resource development at the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery in Peoria, says that she's seeing more and more women coming in for Internet addiction. They're young, they're often new mothers, and they're addicted to blogs, message boards, and Second Life, she says.
This struck a chord with Leticia at Tech Savvy Mama:
A mental disorder?!? I find that insulting. I'm online a lot both personally and professionally but I don't think my use of the internet should be classified as a mental disorder. Why is a mom's reliance on technology any different from that of a digital native?
I am more likely to sit down at the kitchen table and open my laptop to read the news online via The Washington Post or CNN's homepage than turning the pages of the actual paper that is thrown on our front steps each morning. Rather than picking up the phone to arrange a playdate or to call a babysitter for a night out, I message on Facebook.
Is this so wrong?
After watching our program on South Korea's battle with Internet addiction and viewing our interview with Dr. Jerald Block, Leticia felt a little more concerned:
As I watched, I couldn't help but wonder if this is where we might be headed in a number of years. Perhaps South Korea is facing these problems first because they are more wired than we are. As I've been blogging I've come to realize that it is a reality in many homes due of the sheer numbers of parents who ask me about curbing their children's time on the internet and hear my students talk about the time they spend on the computer doing things other than homework. While our country may not be where South Korea is now, I have to wonder if we get there at some point in time.
To balance the fears that are naturally raised in our discussions of Internet addiction, I wanted to highlight a few segments of the live discussion we held on Wednesday. Dr. John Grohol of PsychCentral was one of our panel of experts, and he gave a different perspective on Internet addiction and the way technology is affecting our brains. We asked:
How can parents approach a situation where they fear their children are playing video games too much or spending too much time on the Internet? Is it possible to address the problem without going into the realm of an "official" disorder?
Dr. John Grohol: Absolutely, no need to get into the labeling issue to still address problem behavior in your children.
See more of this and other Dr. Grohol responses about Internet addiction and similar issues below.
-Jeff
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