Psychologists disagree as to whether this computer obsession is really an addiction. Many therapists have added "computer addiction" to their lists of offered treatment, ![[cathy]](images/cathy1.gif)
and Ann Landers advises spouses complaining of electronic infidelity to treat Internet use as they would an alcohol or drug problem. On the other hand, some experts claim that it is more like pathological gambling than an actual addiction since it is a behavioral failure to resist a negative impulse rather than a physical dependence.
Studies of this relatively new phenomenon are sparse and often inconclusive. However, anecdotal evidence of computer addiction is bountiful. Most computer users are quite aware that they or others they know have the potential for use habits so excessive that they become a problem.
Computer addicts tend to lose all sense of time when they are on-line. They are drawn so deeply into the world of bytes and bits that they do not notice ![[cathy]](images/cathy2.gif)
entire days passing by. They forget to eat, sleep, go to school, and even care for their children. They shirk responsibilities, slack off at work, and miss appointments because they are unable to pull themselves away. The virtual world and the real world are competing for their attention, and the virtual world often wins.
Certain aspects of computer technology carry the most blame; most users do not get too carried away with Microsoft Word or Excel. MUDS, on the other hand, usually stand for "Multi-User Dungeons," but have also earned the title of "Multiple Undergraduate Destroyers" ![[cathy]](images/cathy3.gif)
because their addictiveness has led single-handedly to so many students flunking out of college. Other games with a reputation for addiction include Doom, Lode Runner, and even Solitaire. Just about every aspect of the Internet and the Web from email to chat-IRC to newsgroups has its own user base of self-proclaimed addicts. Many companies recognize the threat of these temptations to employee productivity and have banned all games from company computers, denying their employees Internet and Web access as well. Many colleges are beginning to include workshops on computer addiction as part of freshman orientation.
What is it that makes some kinds of computer use addictive? The list is as long and varied as the types of computing that are claimed to be addictive. Dr. Shaffer of Harvard says addiction results from indulging in a substance or an activity that produces a shift in mental state and triggers an alternate reality,![[cathy]](images/cathy4.gif)
"On-line service is not as reliable as cocaine or alcohol, but in the contemporary world, it is a fairly reliable way of shifting consciousness." "Compulsive gamblers are also drawn to the tug of war between mastery and luck. When this attraction becomes an obsession, the computer junkie resembles the intemperate gambler," he says, "Unlike stamp collecting or reading, computers are a psycho-stimulant, and a certain segment of the population can develop addictive behavior in response to that stimulant." [37]
Even more challenging than clarifying whether this is an addiction is determining the exact focus of the addiction. MUDs provide an enhanced ability for communication: are users addicted to the MUD itself (the medium of transmission) or communication (the end-result)? Heroin addicts don't blame the needle, should we blame computers for what they merely transmit to us? Is addiction to the Web any different or worse than addiction to TV? Does our predilection to TV make us more susceptible to the charms of the Web? Many people believe that the Internet just offers more of real life, more easily, and that's addictive enough.