Moderation is tough when it
comes to computers

Compulsive texters and emailers may soon become labeled sufferers of internet addiction, a potential illness whose cred is growing in mental health sector.

An editorial in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry says internet addiction, which includes "excessive gaming, sexual pre-occupations, and email/text messaging," is a common compulsive-impulsive disorder that should be added to psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders, reports The Ottawa Citizen.

In Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, an industry journal, UK psychiatrists argued a "significant minority" are addicted to the internet. So-called addicts use computers as they would drugs or alcohol: as a way to escape reality. The findings corroborate some results of a JWT survey taken in 2007, which reported US users are "seriously addicted" to the internet and cell phones.

Those most prone to addiction are highly-educated, introverted males. More recent studies find addiction occurring in middle-aged women.

Like other addicts, compulsive internet users have cravings, urges, withdrawal and tolerance cycles. And they increasingly require more and better equipment to support more hours online, according to Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University.

Block says internet addicts ultimately lose "basic drives" like eating and sleeping. And 86 percent of such people likely suffer from other forms of mental illness.