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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

The digital drug: Internet addiction spawns U.S. treatment programs [reuters.com]

When Danny Reagan was 13, he began exhibiting signs of what doctors usually associate with drug addiction. He became agitated, secretive and withdrew from friends. He had quit baseball and Boy Scouts, and he stopped doing homework and showering.

But he was not using drugs. He was hooked on YouTube and video games, to the point where he could do nothing else. As doctors would confirm, he was addicted to his electronics.

"After I got my console, I kind of fell in love with it," Danny, now 16 and a junior in a Cincinnati high school, said. "I liked being able to kind of shut everything out and just relax."

Danny was different from typical plugged-in American teenagers. Psychiatrists say internet addiction, characterized by a loss of control over internet use and disregard for the consequences of it, affects up to 8 percent of Americans and is becoming more common around the world.

Show-e-ring? Is that some kind of connected device?

Related: How Facebook Can Be Addictive [soylentnews.org]
Asia's Smartphone Addiction [soylentnews.org]
In South Korea, a Rehab Camp for Internet-Addicted Teenagers [soylentnews.org]
Chinese Teen Dies as a Result of Internet Addiction Camp [soylentnews.org]
World Health Organization Will Recognize "Gaming Disorder" [soylentnews.org]
World Health Organization Officially Lists "Gaming Disorder" in ICD [soylentnews.org]
Why is There a 'Gaming Disorder' but No 'Smartphone Disorder?' [soylentnews.org]

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