"I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning to surf the Internet"
"I check my e-mail almost forty times a day."
"I seldom spend less than three hours each time on the net."
"I spend more time in chat rooms than with my 'real-life' friends."
Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction(瘾) called Internet addiction. According to experts, Internet addicts(迷) spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. They lose control of the time they spend on the Internet.
For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried and looked for him everywhere but couldn't find him. They called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab: he was surfing the Internet—for seven days straight.
A study shows that about six to ten percent of Internet users become addicted. The teenagers spend more time on the Internet than with friends and family. That's why some experts worry most about young people.
Is "surfing the Internet" a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have one of the following symptoms(症状):
● You go out with your friends less and less.
● You can't wait to get online again.
● You've decided to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours.
● You do not go to important family events or you do not do school projects because you like to spend hours on the Internet.
What is the solution? Some experts suggest that people set strict limits on their time for Internet use. You have to learn to control it, or the Internet would control you.
