Computer Addiction Affects Young and Old

By Jeanette Joy Fisher

Children are becoming especially vulnerable to becoming computer addicts, because there are an unlimited number of video games available, twenty-four hours a day. If you’re a parent worried about your children, watch them for signs of withdrawals when they can’t play on the computer for an extended period. They’ll become irritable and studies have shown that children develop strong cravings for their games, not unlike a drug addict yearning for a fix.

Adolescents are even more vulnerable, and can spend extreme amounts of time on the computer if given free rein. Spending too much time on the computer damages social skills and can adversely affect friendships, schoolwork, and many other areas of their lives. Teens may be the most likely to become computer addicts, although there is some evidence to show that they may outgrow it to a large extent once they get older.

Older adults are another rapidly growing population of computer addicts. They decide to get a computer and log onto the Internet out of curiosity about all the fuss, and quickly find themselves being drawn into the web. Many of them are attracted to Internet gaming, and there have been cases of some older people losing huge sums on the Internet after being unable to stop themselves from gambling. One of the thing older folks complain about after realizing that they’ve become addicted, is the amount of precious time they’ve been losing, time they really don’t have to spare in many cases.

Computers and the Internet are wonderful things, and there is a huge amount of information available to more people than ever before. However, it seems that some people just can’t seem to know when to say when.

Jeanette Fisher helps home makers create homes for healing and happy living. In her research on happiness, she found that many people today suffer from depression and one big recent problem is computer addiction. Free computer addiction report: www.clickingaddict.com

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