Internet Addiction Is Similar To Drug Use: Study

Internet addiction is marked by a lack of control.

"The Majority Of People We See With Serious Internet Addiction Are Gamers"

Some people have major trouble unplugging from the Internet, and now researchers say they could be doing real damage to themselves. A new study reveals people with Internet addiction show the same changes in their brains as those addicted to drugs.

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Scientists in China compared the brains of Internet addicts to those who were not addicted, and the brain disruptions of addicts showed the same changes known to occur in people who are addicted to cocaine, alcohol or cannabis.

The report, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, reveals that Internet addicts suffer impairment of connective tissue in the brain that controls, decision-making, attention and cognition.

In all, it is estimated that 5 to 10 percent of Internet users suffer some form of addiction, with the largest portion of them being video game players.

Henrietta Bowden Jones, a psychiatrist at a London clinic for internet and gambling addiction, says this type of addict (as in other addictions) forgoes other responsibilities in order to keep playing.

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"The majority of people we see with serious Internet addiction are gamers -- people who spend long hours in roles in various games that cause them to disregard their obligations," Jones said.

She added, "I have seen people who stopped attending university lectures, failed their degrees or their marriages broke down because they were unable to emotionally connect with anything outside the game."

Critics of the study point out that it was not controlled, that other substances (such as caffeine) could have played a part in the results, and that the term "Internet addiction disorder" is still too loosely defined.