"Are You an Internet Addict? First U.S. Addiction Center Opens"
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 September 10, 2009
The first internet addiction treatment center opens in the United States
The first U.S. center, a 5-acre facility called ReSTART, opened in July 2009 in Fall City, Wa. It offers a $14,000, 45-day program to help internet users who suffer from IAD (Internet addiction disorder) - those having serious obsessions with computer games, text messaging, IM-ing, blogging, chronically visiting porn destinations, and social networking sites, also called "TwitterFaceSpacing" (a portmanteau coined by our own WorldTime News Report researcher, Kareem Barrett).
Researchers worldwide have determined that internet addiction is a real, and very dangerous, addiction. Up to 30 percent of South Koreans under 18, or about 2.4 million people, are at risk of Internet addiction, said Ahn Dong-hyun, a child psychiatrist at Hanyang University in Seoul. One Beijing judge, Shan Xiuyun, claimed that 85 percent of juvenile crime in the city was Internet-related. Many addicts blame job loss, divorce and physical illness on being locked into one position behind the computer screen for over 4 hours a day.
According to Dr. Kimberly Young of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, Pennsylvania, addiction warning signs are being preoccupied with thoughts of the Internet; using it longer than intended, and for increasing amounts of time; repeatedly making unsuccessful efforts to control use; jeopardizing relationships, school or work to spend time online; lying to cover the extent of Internet use; using the Internet to escape problems or feelings of depression; physical changes to weight, headaches or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Are you an internet addict?
There are 11 signs of Internet addiction, according to Hilarie Cash, executive director of the ReSTART center for Internet addiction.
3 of the following symptoms suggest abuse, 5 or more addiction:
1 Increasing amounts of time spent on Internet
2 Failed attempts to control behavior
3 Heightened euphoria while on Internet
4 Craving more time on Internet, restless when not there
5 Neglecting family and friends
6 Lying to others about use
7 Internet interfering with job and school
8 Feeling guilty or ashamed of behavior
9 Changes in sleep patterns
10 Weight changes, backaches, headaches, carpal tunnel
11 Withdrawal from other activities
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