Some Internet addicts cover up habit

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than one in eight U.S. adults finds it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time and about one in 11 tries to hide his or her online habit, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The study by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California found one in 8 adults admitted they needed to spend less time online, saying this showed "problematic Internet use" is present in a sizeable portion of the population.

"We often focus on how wonderful the Internet is -- how simple and efficient it can make things," said Elias Aboujaoude, the study's lead author, in a statement.

"But we need to consider the fact that it creates real problems for a subset of people."

The study involved a nation-wide telephone survey of 2,581 respondents in the spring and summer of 2004 with researchers then examining the data and preparing the report which appears in the October issue of CNS Spectrums: The International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine.

The survey found that 68.9 percent of respondents were regular Internet users and 13.7 percent found it hard to stay offline for several days at a time.

It found 12.4 percent often stayed online longer than intended, more than 12 percent said they saw a need to cut back on their Internet use, and 8.7 percent tried to conceal "non-essential" Internet use from family, friends and employers.

A smaller number, 8.2 percent, said they use the Internet to escape problems or a bad mood, while 5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered because of excessive Internet use.

Aboujaoude said the results do not show that people are suffering from a clinical disorder, and he added that more research must be done to make any such determination.

The study comes after several reports over the past decade concluded that Internet and computer use can be addictive, including habits such as visiting pornography Web sites to compulsive video game play.

One report published earlier this year in the journal Perspectives in Psychiatric Care said that the Internet may promote addictive behaviours and pseudo-intimate relationships like "cybersex."

That study said that 5 percent to 10 percent of the population likely will experience Internet addiction.

It said signs include a disregard for health or appearance, sleep deprivation and decreased physical activity and social interaction with others, as well as dry eyes, carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive motion injuries of hands and fingers.

Construction Thoughts

there is a time and place for everything and when you start taking walls down from a house that is over 100 years old - the time and place is right now.



so we did the gutting of the walls to prepare for the plumber to put in a new heating system in first floor of the first unit. ummm the exterior walls (where the plumber will be installing baseboard heating) does not have any framing to connect those baseboards to. NICE.

so now our AMAZING GC is here - and he is working things out but we have to pay attention to the cost...yeah the cost...

horsehair plaster and lathe

there are somethings not even an enemy should experience...

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