The other day,a chat message popped up on my Facebook from a high school classmate I have not talked to in 25 years. Actually, even in high school I don’t think we spoke. The message was, “Is that you in this picture?” It included a link which of course I clicked on! The idea that a photo of me is floating around Facebook that I have not seen? Too hard to resist!

The message seemed believable -it did not occur to me it was spam. Then I saw on the same person’s wall a disclaimer – he had nothing to do with the chat messages all his Facebook friends were receiving from him.

The marketer in me admired the clever way someone had ensured a probably near 100% click through rate – who would not click on such a question from a trusted “friend” on Facebook?

Note to self — Facebook really is taking over the marketing world.

But the human in me was mad. A Facebook bug potentially exposed user’s names and photos to phishers and spammers. This is pretty big and a reminder of how naive we are. Think about how much information you reveal about yourself on Facebook and via Facebook. Not just your status updates, friends and photo uploads. Every chat you have, every message you send via Facebook, every app you use — its’s all stored in some unfathomably huge database just waiting for greedy marketers to get their hands on it, not to mention some CIA agents. For a real Facebook addict, uploading and updating every moment of their life, this should be very concerning. How much information about your life, what you do, where you go, who you correspond with and what you write – do you want logged into a database, just waiting for apps to pull it out and use so they can sell you something, consider you for a job without every contacting you, maybe profile you for a crime committed. I don’t know. The power of this thing seems beyond imagination! And it is bound to boomerang for more than a few people.

Kids are spending hours on Facebook and for some, it turns into addictive behavior. parents should stay aware of how their children use Facebook and how much time they spend using it. Take our Facebook Use Quiz to find out if you should be concerned.

Ever wonder if you are the only one addicted to checking your Facebook account every 10 minutes throughout the day? Do you change your status 10 times each day? Well, you are not alone. You may even be in the majority.  Thousands, if not millions of others are just like you. But most are afraid to admit that they are on Facebook so much. They are embarrassed. The expression ‘Get a Life” has been changed to “Get a real life”, as people laugh at those who can not stay off of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

See in real time what people around the world are revealing about their Facebook Addiction. You won’t believe how epidemic Facebook addiction really is!
See Below

It seems like everyday, medical professionals, school counselors, the media or someone is talking about another addiction epidemic related to the new era of technology we have entered in the last decade. Whether these are addictions, compulsive behaviors or dependencies, the fact is that we are undergoing a major shift in how we communicate with each other, how we learn, how we gather information, how we play, and more. And we seem to be lost without many of the things we could not even have dreamed of having just a decade ago.
Here are some of the new addictions that could not have been fathomed just a few years ago:
1. Cell Phone Addiction
Cell phones are a great invention that seem to have made life so much easier. Yet they also gave people a way to be in constant touch and some people get addicted to that– constantly sending text messages, calling people to update them about everything they are doing. Cell phone addiction has often identified among tweens and teens and is becoming a global phenomena. In some cases, teens and young adults spend hours each day using their phones.

2. E-mail Addiction
Some people are so dependent on email and the feeling they get when mail arrives to their Inbox, they may send themselves mail or register for newsletters just to ensure a constant flow. If a person is constantly checking their email – before they eat, while they, after they eat, on the way to the bathroom, just before heading out of the house, first thing they do when they get home . . . they may have developed a compulsive behavior. With that said and given how many people work today using email to communicate throughout the day, it may be hard to differentiate between compulsive email use and healthy email behavior.

3. eBay Addiction
I only bought one item on eBay and it was 10 years ago. It just did not do it for me. But thre are many people who are spending time on eBay all day and it becomes about more than just hunting for bargains for things they need. It becomes an addiction to the hunt itself. The thrill of finding something , the thrill of ordering it and the thrill of receiving it by mail make for an experience that can be very addictive and is always available. Many people get a rush from winning the bidding on eBay items similar to the rush gambler get. For some, it interferes with work, leads to overspending and causes tension within families.

4. Online Gambling Addiction
Online gambling can be an enjoyable alternative to visiting casinos but for those for whom it becomes a frequent activity, it usually ends up badly. Internet gambling has led to an overall increase in the number of people who gamble and consequently in the number of compulsive gamblers. People who would have never considered taking a trip to a casino or playing poker with friends are accessing bingo sites, betting sites and getting hooked. The Internet gambling sites are built to attract first time gamblers with irresistible temptations and even provide free money to get started.

5. Internet Addiction
Just being online can be addictive. More and more people are finding it too easy to spend hours each day online. They shop, read, play, communicate, etc. all from the comfort of their home. It can be convenient and seemingly enhance our lifestyle but when overused, it is an addiction with serious consequences – from back pain to weight gain to loss of friends to depression.

6. Internet Porn Addiction
From sex talk via chat to viewing online porn, the porn industry has succeeded to enter many more homes via the Internet than was ever possible. Pornography is highly addictive content and many people, once exposed, find themselves seeking more porn images and videos and spending more and more time seeking porn online. A porn habit can effect a person’s ability to be intimate, it can be hurtful to the person’s partner, and it can interfere with daily life. Divorce lawyers mention pornography as being the cause of a growing number of divorces.

If you or someone you love appear to be developing an Internet related addiction, consider a web filter as the first line of defense. In the case that the addiction has become out of control, you may require professional therapy or self help type course to recover.

There is a wide variety of professionals and treatment options for addiction disorders. Choosing the right treatment for you depends on many factors and on what is available in your particular community. There is no one-size-fits-all right treatment for curing an addiction to the Internet.
Can my doctor help me recover?
Few family doctors are trained in addiction treatment nor do many have experience in treating addictions. If you will require medication for depression or other severe symptoms, a psychiatrist with specific training and experience in addiction treatment will be the best medical professional to consult with.

If you are experiencing symptoms of depression, medications may be an important part of your Internet addiction treatment. In addition, if you are experiencing physical pain due to extended time in front of the computer screen – from eye pain to back and shoulder pain to even more extreme types of physical discomfort due to long hours of sitting and using the computer, your treatment may require medication in addition to other types of therapy or counseling. It is best to consult with a doctor that is familiar with the problems you are experiencing. Your insurance company may be able to assist you in finding such a physician.

Therapy

Therapists use a variety of talk therapies to help addicted individuals cope with and recover from their addiction. Internet addiction is a relatively new phenomena that most therapists may not be familiar with. However, a therapist will experience and success in working with addicts, will be able to apply the same therapies and treatments to a patient with Internet Addiction. With any addiction, the therapist needs to help the patient to recognize and manage the situations that trigger relapse, and develop a lifestyle that will be rewarding without the addiction. Talk therapy is much more than the patient simply talking to his therapist and finding a sympathetic ear. Talk therapy makes use of a range of proven techniques to assist the patient in recognizing their problems and finding effective techniques for coping with those problems and stresses. A good therapist, for example, will help you to identify why you are turning to Internet porn in a compulsive way and will work with you to bring that habit under control. This is not about building willpower, which is not effective, but learning the skills that can manage stress in healthy ways.

Counseling

Many people with Internet related Addiction problems – pornography and gambling for example, seeking counseling and not therapy. Counseling could be in the form of talking to a religious figure, a friend, a social worker or school counselor. For some, this may be enough. Counselors may be able to offers advice and direction in solving daily problems and to provide a kind of accountability element that would assist an addict to refrain from his addictive behavior. Counselors should have received formal training in counseling, such as group counseling and specific techniques.

Treatment Center

For individuals that have suffered from addiction for a long period and for whom life has become completely overrun by their addiction, a treatment facility may be the best option. Similarly to what has been discussed about doctors and therapists, it is highly preferable to enter a facility that has specific experience in treating Internet addiction or other addiction disorders. The patient should feel comfortable with the choice and confident that he is entering a facility that can provide real help.
It is important to begin treatment with reasonable expectations. A period of time inside a treatment facility does not mean the patient is released when he is completely cured. Ideally, he will have overcome the most difficult part of his recovery and have learned the skills needed to continue his recovery.

That’s today’s average – 9 hours of time spent connected to technology every day. Teens and older children are spending the same amount of time online as their parents spend at work . . . and sometimes much more. For a young brain that is not fully developed, this amount of activity will undoubtedly have an impact and as some researchers are describing it – young brains are being rewired by the Internet.

The thing is, no one can say for sure what the impact will be. Will they have decreased social skills? Will they be less empathetic? Will their analytical skills be effected? Of course we know that it is not all bad, but the frightening thing is that we just don’t know.

So what do we know? Well one important fact is that a young brain develops in accordance to what it is exposed to. It goes through a “pruning” stage. The more it is exposed to a particular activity, the more the brain develops in that direction. 60% of the synaptic connections between the brain cells get pruned away by the time a person finishes adolescence so, for example, a child who is not exposed to playing with his peers, would not naturally develop basic socializing skills and would be at high risk for a range of psychological disorders.

The manner in which a young person spends his time has a profound effect on how his brain will be shaped. The nagging question is then, what will be the effect on a generation that grows up with far less human contact than previous generations? This could have devastating consequences. What we surely must come to grips with today, is how to prevent Internet overuse and to keep online activity within a healthy proportion of our daily activity.

A 2 week detox camp or Internet addiction center is offered in Korea for children and teens who appear to be addicted to using the Internet. It is not uncommon for “campers” to arrive after spending years online for an average of 8 or more hours per day. Parents, at a loss for what to do about the addiction, are turning to these bootcamps to help their children change their computer habits and to end their dependency on the Internet. Continue Reading

It was not long ago that parents beamed with pride when their children showed enthusiasm and interest in using the computer. There was a sense that it meant that they were bright and advanced.  But all that has come full circle and parents are more and more frustrated and concerned about the increasing amount of time that their children are spending at the computer. In fact, Internet overuse among adults has become no less of a problem than it is among children with, in some cases, the repercussions being very serious.

From physical conditions that can be tied to computer overuse to concerns of social isolation and neglect of school and job responsibilities, the Internet has become a problematic influence in the lives of many children and adults alike.

Continue Reading

More people than you can imagine are addicted to Facebook – compulsively checking what friends are up to throughout the day, constantly updating their status, joining countless fan pages, posting on walls, “liking” others posts, seeking out everyone they have ever met, Continue Reading

There is so much to do online, it is easy to spend hours moving from site to site – writing, playing, shopping, gambling – almost anything you can do in real life, you can do on the Internet today.
That’s nice when there is a snowstorm outside or you want to save gas and shop online or pay a bill. But if you are starting to find that your virtual life is taking over and you are spending many hours each day online, you may have an Internet addiction.
From people who check their email every few seconds to teens who are wired almost 24 hours per day, the Internet is playing a more central role in our lives. And if you are not careful, it can become an unhealthy obsession.
Experts note that children growing up online suffer from a lack of social skills, problem solving skills, they are overweight, have shorter attention span and in general, are not leading a healthy lifestyle while they sit for hours in front of a computer screen. Therapists, clinics, books, and self help groups are already sprouting up offering to cure Internet addiction.

Why can’t they just stop?
Internet addiction is a hard habit to recognize in yourself. It’s not a drug – where you can say any use is outright bad. It’s not gambling, where you can tell by the looks of your bank account if you have a problem. We all use the Internet and there is nothing wrong with that. We shop, look up train schedules, pay bills, connect with friends and relatives, read the news, etc. But for some people, the Internet gradually takes more and more time from their daily lives, until one day, they find themselves practically living online. They may have a need to be constantly updated with news online, they may feel a need to be connected to friends 24 hours/day or maybe the Web simply takes the place of everything else that used to be in their life.

Why is compulsive surfing dangerous?
Problem Internet use is characterized by a difficulty to limit time spent online. Some of the more commonly recognized Internet problems are online gambling, porn addiction and online shopping. eBay addiction is a recognized addiction as more and more people find themselves hooked. Pathological Internet use can be defined as persistent and recurrent maladaptive behavior meeting the following criteria:
1. Obsessing. You have frequent thoughts about the Internet  – past experiences, future experiences and fantasies about being online.
2. Tolerance. You need to be online more frequently.
3. Withdrawal. Your mood is effected by attempts to stop or reduce Internet use.
4. Escape. Surf to improve mood or escape problems.
5. Staying online longer than intended..
6. Lying. Lies to hide his or her Internet use.
7. Loss of control. Unsuccessful attempts to reduce Internet use..
8. Spending time online despite risking or losing a relationship, job, or other significant opportunity.

Can You Prevent or Curb Internet Addiction?

Open communication is the best way to approach a loved one with a suspected problem. You can do a lot to help them. First of all, their Internet access needs to be managed by someone they trust. This does not have to mean getting rid of the family computer or canceling the Internet connection.
If your loved one admits to a problem and wants your help to overcome the problem, you can agree together to start by limiting the open access they have to the Web. Simply by installing an effective web filter, you can easily set up the precise Internet environment that you need -block out certain sites or categories of content, control the activities that can be done online and set a precise online schedule to limit when and how much time the Internet can be accessed. A web filter is a software solution,  that you install and manage on your computer. It can be a fast and easy way to curb a problem that is just beginning or helping a serious compulsive addict limit his Internet activity.