Ask yourself
1. Do I often stay online longer than originally intended?

2. Do I have more friends online than in real life?

3. How often do my family members complain about the time I spend online?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to one or more of the above questions, you may have been struck by the latest epidemic - ‘Internet Addiction Disorder’ (IAD). To find out whether you have IAD or not, take this online test created by the Centre for Internet Addiction.

Causes for the addiction
Psychologists have divided opinions on this disorder; some of them claim that no such addiction exists; while others say that it is similar to the addiction where people watch a lot of TV or read a lot of books.

Youngsters generally use the Internet for email access, instant messaging, chat rooms, porn, social networking websites, gaming, on-line shopping and gambling, which is fascinating at first, but becomes addictive later on.

Military Camp for Treatment
As per the Hindu, the IAD has become a serious concern, especially in China, where China’s National Children’s Centre (CNCC) reported that the number of Internet users in China had grown from virtually zero in the 1990s to a whopping 137 million in 2006. Of this 15% are under the age of 18, in other words, 2.3 million Internet users are minors.

Hence, China has started a military camp in Beijing not for training soldiers but to cure the Internet addicts through training and strict discipline.

Though we may not need to go to this extreme measure, we can try a few basic rules to prevent from getting addicted.

Parental Check Software
Installing Parental check software on your PC can help restrict access to certain web sites as well as can be used to switch off the computer after a predefined amount of time.

Setup alerts
Alerts can be setup on your computer to remind you of pending tasks at the relevant time, so that you are aware of your other responsibilities.

Create your offline social life
David Greenfield, PhD, founder of the Center for Internet Studies disagreed by quoting that “It’s (the Internet) a socially connecting device that’s socially isolating at the same time (DeAngelis, 2000, par. 7).” Thus, the most important means to overcome this addiction is to engage in outdoor activities, socialize with real friends and be on the move.