Correction Appended
According to university counseling center Assistant Director Jonathan Kandell, it could be that as many as 10 percent of students who are addicted to the Internet – a trend that has emerged in the last decade with the ubiquity of personal computers.
Kandell said addicts aren’t just people who spend too much time online, but those who allow long hours on the Internet to crowd out other pursuits, usually because of some underlying emotional problem.
There is growing concern that some high school and college students, the first generation to have grown up with the Internet, are using it to avoid developing the social skills necessary for a successful life after school, Kandell said.
Kandell, whos aid he started thinking about Internet addiction about 10 years ago, said the Web can be a way for students to avoid the failures and rejections that often accompany social development. But interacting with others online is more anonymous, he said.
Students who spend all their time online “don’t get the experience they need interacting face to face,” Kandell said. “If we’re talking and I say something inappropriate, I can’t just disappear. I have to deal with what the consequences of my actions will be.”
In contrast, he said students tend to behave immaturely on the Internet because it’s an atmosphere without social responsibility.
The idea of excessive Internet use as a recognized addiction is gaining ground among medical societies. The American Psychiatric
Association is considering listing Internet addiction in its next diagnostic manual, meaning insurance companies might have to cover treatment for the problem in the future, Kandell said. A study released last month by CNS Spectrums concluded, “Potential markers of problematic Internet use are present in a sizable portion of the population.”
Kandell is one of the few college counselors nationwide who offers services for Internet addiction. He began a support group here in 1996 for the addiction called Caught in the Net. But because the addiction lends itself to those who avoid social interaction, the meetings drew a poor turnout and were discontinued in 2000. Within the past few years, however, parents of high school students have been finding his name online and calling him about concerns with their children.
And while Kandell is working to fight the addiction, he is not on a crusade against the Internet, he said. He said he appreciates social networking sites and doesn’t see them as a problem when students use them to find others with the same interests and establish a niche.
“The technology is very powerful and it can be used in many different ways,” he said. “The problem is if your sense of self-worth comes from how many MySpace friends you have.”Correction: This story incorrectly states that graduate student Paul Zwiers spends 8 to 10 hours using his laptop to access the internet. Zwiers does spend that time using the laptop, but only spends a minimal amount of time using the internet.
Contact reporter Andrew Vanacore at vanacoredbk@gmail.com.
