We recently completed an Internet Addiction test in our cyber-psychology lab. I scored very low, which meant I showed very little signs of being addicted to the internet. I would tend to agree with the score & evaluation, but I don't think the questions barely touched the surface of what it means to be addicted (to the internet anyway). They seemed to focus on extreme addiction, i.e. if your mood changes for the worst when you are away from your PC or Laptop. I don't believe people would suffer withdrawals if they leave the PC in their room alone while they watch TV in the living room. However, if the question had specified that all your internet access would be cut off for a week, how would you feel then?
In comparison to someone who is addicted to hard drugs, they may be unable to 'take or leave it'. If the drugs were there, they would probably take them, regardless of the consequences. Someone who is addicted to the internet can take it or leave it, knowing that it is always there for them to access, be it on their phone or PC. But take that access away for a specified period of time, and I believe this would be a more fair representation of how much we rely on the internet, which of course is different from an addiction. I believe many of us rely on the internet, or are dependent on the internet to various levels.
Maybe this is just the way things will always be & how technology is evolving with our lifestyles but is there anything we can't do in real life that we can do on the internet?
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