Investigative Report on Internet Addiction INDEXLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS................................. .... ................iv ABSTRACT ................................. . .................................vINTRODUCTION .................. .............................1 Purpose .............. ..... ..........................................1Growth of the Internet...... ..........................................1THE ADDICTION...... .......................................... ......2What causes it................................................ .... .........2Symptoms .................................... .... ....................3How to overcome addiction................. ......... ..........4The elements of each addiction................................ ... ...........4CONCLUSION .................................... .. ................8One last interesting question................................. ................9REFERENCES ................................. ..... ...............10LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSFigures1. The number of networks connected to the Internet versus time.2. The percentage of Internet domains3. Will the equation people = Internet users be true in 2001? SUMMARY The problem of Internet addiction is not very evident now and that is why not many people take it seriously, but what these people fail to see is the connection between the very rapid growth of the Internet and the problem of addiction. It's really simple logic: the bigger the Internet gets, the more users there will be, which will lead to more addicts who may find their lives, as well as the lives of others, corrupted by this behavior. The main goal of this article is to make sure that all readers know and understand what Internet addiction is and how it can be solved or avoided. I can't offer a professional psychiatric solution, but I believe that if a person knows more about addiction, the better chance they have of helping themselves and others; that's why I've included a brief summary of the elements of addiction. I hope that when you read my article you will have a better understanding of this problem to prevent you and others from taking Internet addiction lightly. INTRODUCTION Purpose The purpose of this article is to make you, the reader, alert and more aware of the new type of addiction, Interne...... middle of paper ......not be life-threatening as a certain drug addiction, but it can be very harmful to the person's professional and personal life. The key to staying away from this addiction is to understand its elements and have strong willpower to control yourself from all the temptations that the Internet might offer. One last interesting question We all know that more and more people are getting access to the Internet in some way or another, but not everyone has had the chance to look at Figure 3! Figure 3. The equation people = Internet users will be true in 2001 ? (Source:ftp://nic.merit.edu/statistics/nsfnet)REFERENCESlias, M. (7/7/1996) Excessive use of the Internet called "true addiction", USA Today, pp 1-A.McAllester, M. (5/5/1996), a study says that some may be addicted to the Internet; BulldogEdition.,Los Angeles Times, , pp A-18.Network Wizards, [online]URL available: http://www.nw.com/zone/Rodgers, J. (1994), Treatments that works, vol. 27, Psychology Today, pp 34.Young, Kimberly, Center for Addiction Online (COLA), [online]URL available: http://www.pitt.edu/~ksy/Merit Network Inc., [online]Available URL: ftp://nic.merit.edu/statistics/nsfnet/