Internet Addiction a Threat to College Students

by Nick Kovach
Staff Writer

"Do you spend more time than you think you should surfing the 'Net?" Ohio University freshman Rignal Duncan read aloud to himself from the survey in front of him.

"Are there particular areas of the Net (Instant Messengers), or types of files (MP3) that you find hard to resist?"

When he had completed the survey on Internet usage, Duncan noticed something surprising. "I saw more boxes marked yes than no," he said.

Duncan was filling out a survey conducted by The Post, given to 150 OU students. Fourteen percent of those surveyed use the Internet more than two hours per day or between fifteen to twenty hours a week.

In research conducted over the past four years, psychologists across the country have theorized that it is possible to become addicted to the Internet. The addiction has been named Internet Addiction Disorder.

To be diagnosed with IAD, an individual must meet three or more of the criteria set by the American Psychological Association. These criteria include developing a tolerance to the Internet and increasing Internet usage steadily, developing withdrawal symptoms, surfing the Internet for longer than was intended and socially isolating oneself from friends or family members.

In 1995, Kimberly Young established the Center for On-Line Addiction, in Bradford, Pa. The Center is the first healthcare venue to specialize in cyber-related problems. In September, Young delivered the keynote address at the first International Congress on Internet Addiction, held in Zurich, Switzerland, according to a Sept. 11, 2000 New York Times article.

The conference was the first to formally recognize IAD and as a cross-cultural problem. Young said she hopes the conference's findings will squelch doubt about the disorder, because many psychologists contend that IAD is not an actual mental health disorder. She said the conference added credibility to Internet addiction, created awareness of the seriousness of the disorder, and showed the globalization of its impact.

College students are vulnerable to IAD because of many factors, including difficulty adapting to life away from home and underlying psychological problems, such as depression or social anxiety, Young said.

Craig Van Slyke, a former OU Management Information Systems professor who specializes in electronic commerce and now teaches at the University of Central Florida, said he agrees that IAD is a potentially serious problem for college students.

"Some students may be socially shy and gravitate toward the computer," he said.

Duncan said he thinks students are susceptible to IAD not only because of the amount of leisure time they have to spend on-line, but also because-as is the case at OU-they are supplied with free Internet access and a computer in their residence hall room.

"At first I only checked my email and did research on-line, but I got hooked on Instant Messenger," he said.

Van Slyke said he recalls walking through OU computer labs, where many students were using the Internet.

"There were not just some, but a ton of kids who were chatting or surfing and not really doing anything school or work-related," he said.

In 1998, Alfred University investigated why a large number of students with SAT scores above 1200 had been academically dismissed. It was discovered that nearly half of the dismissed students were chronic Internet users, said Viktor Brenner, an IAD counselor at Marquette University's Counseling Center.

"Alfred's investigation proves that IAD is a serious problem on college campuses," Brenner said.

Duncan said he agrees IAD needs to be addressed at colleges.

"I never knew it even existed before the survey. With a free computer and free access, it's really easy to get hooked," he said.

Van Slyke said while he was at OU, he conducted an unscientific study of students at OU and other colleges looking at their Internet gambling habits and whether they constituted an addiction.

"We discovered that about eight to ten percent of the students we surveyed were in the danger zone for developing an addiction to Internet gambling," he said.

"There are kids spending way too much time on-line, probably to the detriment of their school work and other activities," Van Slyke said. "But college is a training ground for adulthood and an individual must be responsible for him or herself."

If you think you or someone you know may be developing an Internet addiction, the Ohio University Center for Counseling and Psychological Services can help. The center is located on the third floor of Hudson Health Center and is open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit the Center for On-Line Addiction (http://www.netaddiction.com).