With internet addiction cases on the rise all over the world, people everywhere are asking the same question. What are the symptoms and how do they know when or if to seek some help? To answer this question was Dr. Kimberly Young. She has been leading the research on internet addiction sense the late 90's and has even developed a simple test to help people figure out how much they are using the internet. Dr. Young has narrowed down internet addiction to eight main symptoms, five of which are needed to be dignosed. The eight are very similar to other addiction problems and include a tolerance build up, failed attempts to stop using the internet, mood swings while not on the internet, loss of critical relationships, and even using the internet as an escape from daily life.
So I did some digging and found a common test that is currently being used to help people find out if they do have a problem or just spend a little extra time online. Oddly enough the best way to take this test is via the internet. It is fun to take and see how the center rates your online use. So take a few minutes and click on the link below to see how you rank!
-Austin Oys
http://www.netaddiction.com/index.php?option=com_bfquiz&view=onepage&catid=46&Itemid=106
Well, I just took the quiz and I received a score of 19. The score and evaluation ranges started at 20, so i guess technically I'm not even an average Internet user. This quiz was interesting because a lot of the questions seemed a little extreme, and I personally had to choose the selection of "Does Not Apply" because my internet use does not extend to the level of the question they were asking. I do think that this is a good representation of how a person can test their Internet usage and see if they possibly are an addict.
ReplyDeleteYeah some of the questions were a bit ridiculous. My favorite was "How often do you fear that life without the Internet would be boring, empty, and joyless?". But I mean honestly what would life be like with out bad youtube videos and cat pics.
DeleteI received a 28, YAY! I'm not addicted :) I agree with Samantha above in saying that this test is a good representation of who might be an addict.
ReplyDeleteHeather Roberson
I got a 33, but I don't think that is very accurate. Because I defiantly have a mild addiction to my phone. The survey seems like it was written in the pre-smart phone age. I check my phone a lot for emails, FB and twitter stuff. I find myself doing it at stoplights and mid conversation sometimes which is defiantly a little messed up. That said I think that its as its becoming necessary to be constantly connected and in general I think that it improves my quality of life.
ReplyDeleteIf you think it improves your quality of life, then it wouldn't be considered an internet addiction (because doesn't internet addiction have a negative connotation?), right? However, I didn't think about taking mobile devices into consideration, I think they should incorporate mobile devices in the survey/test.
Delete27!!!! Its good to know that i am not addicted to the internet and that i can manage my time. A lot of the questions that were asked were very direct in finding out whether a person is addicted to the internet or not. I think this a good test as long as the person taking it is honest with themselves.
ReplyDeleteJack Williams
I got an 11, I guess that makes me not addicted at all. I do use the internet for most of my research, check my emails and whenever I want to purchase something to check reviews and other things. But I don't use or have ever used before any of the social networks like Facebook or Myspace. I think that is the reason why I am not even close to internet addiction.
ReplyDeleteI got a 25! I think that the only times that I have a hard time with my 'internet use' is when I am procrastinating something that I don't want to do, and so I tend to get online or do something else. :) But, other than that, I know that life will and can go on without it! And it feels nice to take a break from the internet in general every once in awhile and just spend some time outdoors or with friends and leave the 'virtual world'! I definitely think that Social Media is a huge contributor to internet addictions!
ReplyDeleteI got a 27! If you are honest with the test it could be a useful eye opener for many people. I definitely agree that social media is a driving factor to internet addiction. If people cut down on usage, personal productivity will surely increase.
ReplyDeleteI got a 31. Because I don't have cable, I rely on the internet for my news and entertainment. I would guess that most people that do watch TV shows and news channels would appear to have a lower number on this test, even though they spend as much time in front of a screen as I do.
ReplyDelete-David Sims