"I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the Internet."
"I often check my e-mail forty times a day."
"I often spend more than three hours during one time on the Internet."
"I spend more time in chat rooms than with my 'real-1ife' friends."
Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction (瘾) called Internet addiction.
Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. Internet addicts lose control of the
time they spend on the Internet. The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug (毒品) use.
For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried, and they
called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab:he was surfing the Internet for several
days straight.
Studies show that about 6% to 10% of Internet users become addicted. And people worry about the
teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them. They spend more time on the
Internet than in the real world of friends and family. Is "surfing the Internet" a hobby or an addiction for
you? You may have a problem if you have these symptoms (症状):
●You do not go to important family activities or you do not do school work because you like to spend
hours on the Internet.
●You can't wait for your next online time.
●You plan to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours.
●You go out with your friends less and less.