internet addiction

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TikTok Docs Show Fast Addiction, Stripping Teens: Reports

Latest reveals come out of redacted sections of Kentucky complaint seen by NPR, KPR

(Newser) - Last week, more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia sued TikTok , claiming the social media platform is addictive for children. Now, a deeper dive into the "TikTok documents," which show just how much TikTok knew about the app's effects on kids and teens, revealed...

States Sue TikTok, Claiming It's Addictive for Kids

More than a dozen AGs go after social media platform, saying it's damaging to mental health

(Newser) - More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging the popular short-form video app is harming youth mental health by designing its platform to be addictive to kids. The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, launched in March 2022 by...

Markle Offers Ominous Message About Social Media

Says it has become an addiction for many, and that she fled it for 'self-preservation'

(Newser) - Days after describing incessant trolling as " almost unsurvivable ," Meghan Markle has revealed that she avoids social media altogether. "For my own self-preservation, I have not been on social media for a very long time," the Duchess of Sussex said Tuesday during a virtual appearance as part...

Seattle Fights a 'New Foe' on the Addiction Front

City has become a hub to help 'tech addicts,' with psychologists, rehab centers, and 12-step groups

(Newser) - We like to say we're addicted to our phones or an app or some new show on a streaming video service. But for some people, tech gets in the way of daily functioning and self-care. We're talking flunk-your-classes, can't-find-a-job, live-in-a-dark-hole kinds of problems, with depression, anxiety, and...

Tech Pioneers Begin Push to Fight Addiction

Early employees of Facebook, Google band together in advocacy group

(Newser) - A backlash against the amount of time kids and adults devote to social media has been emerging of late from a surprising place: Silicon Valley. Now the movement is poised to grow substantially. A group called the Center for Humane Technology , made up of early employees of companies such as...

Teen Dies 2 Days After Being Sent to Internet Addiction Camp
Teen Sent to Internet Addiction
Camp Dies Within 48 Hours
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Teen Sent to Internet Addiction Camp Dies Within 48 Hours

Such 'boot camps' are popular, and controversial, in China

(Newser) - A Chinese couple sent their teenage son to an internet addiction treatment camp—and within days, he was dead. As the BBC reports, "boot camps" for internet and gaming addictions have become popular in China, with some being criticized as using harsh military-style discipline on attendees. Some even beat...

Man Downloads Fallout 4, Loses Wife and Job

Russian is now suing game's creator, claiming he developed an addiction

(Newser) - A 28-year-old gamer from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk is suing Fallout 4 maker Bethesda Game Studios for an addiction he says cost him his wife, job, and health. After seeing an ad and downloading the game last month, he found himself emerging from a bunker into a post-apocalyptic world,...

Half of Doctors Constantly Play Mobile Games at Work

Dopamine activated by gaming 'overrides judgment': psych professor

(Newser) - "Let's start your colonoscopy as soon as I complete Dreamworld Level 171" probably isn't something you want to hear your gastroenterologist say, but according to a new YouGov survey on phone usage in the workplace, a good number of doctors just can't quit their mobile gaming...

Teen Battling Internet Addiction Cuts Off Own Hand

19-year-old is hospitalized in China, where 14% of youth may be addicted

(Newser) - About 14% of China's youths may be addicted to the Internet, says a psychologist; he runs a rehab center, or " boot camp ," that takes a tough approach to the weaning process, the Telegraph reports (a New York Times video makes the place look like a prison). Others,...

Man Dies in 3-Day Gaming Binge as Others Play On

The 32-year-old in Taiwan suffered 'cardiac failure'

(Newser) - Just a few weeks into the new year and a second death blamed on binge video-gaming is being reported in Taiwan. A 32-year-old identified only by his family name Hsieh was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead after workers at an Internet cafe in Kaohsiung City went to check...

6% of Planet's People May Be Addicted to Internet

New study finds the highest rates near 11% in the Middle East

(Newser) - Internet addiction may be a reality for more than 1 in 20 people worldwide, according to new research out of the University of Hong Kong and published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking . Researchers analyzed data from nearly 90,000 people in 31 countries and found that the...

First Case of Google Glass Addiction Reported

Internet addiction, however, is not yet recognized by the APA

(Newser) - A 31-year-old enlisted service member who recently checked himself into the US Navy’s Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program for alcohol addiction began suffering an entirely unexpected withdrawal during the 35-day program. It turns out that when the program stripped him of Google Glass, which he'd been wearing 18 hours...

US Hospital Now Offering Rehab for Internet Addicts

10-week, $14K program involves a 'digital detox'

(Newser) - Hospital inpatient programs for treating addicts aren't new. But this one is: A Pennsylvania psychiatric hospital will become the first of its kind to offer a program for Internet addicts, reports Fox News . "[Internet addiction] is a problem in this country that can be more pervasive than alcoholism,...

Internet Addiction Might Be Genetic

 Internet 
 Addiction 
 Might Be 
 Genetic 
study says

Internet Addiction Might Be Genetic

Same mutation associated with nicotine addiction

(Newser) - Internet addiction may be in our genes—just like nicotine addiction. In a study of 843 people, researchers found that 132 suffered "problematic" online behavior: "All their thoughts revolve around the Internet during the day, and they feel their well-being is severely impacted if they have to go...

The Internet Actually Makes People Happier

Research links web use to well-being, especially in women

(Newser) - Turns out the hours you spend online might be helping, not hurting , you. Research from Britain's Chartered Institute of IT finds a link between internet use and well-being. "Put simply, people with IT access are more satisfied with life," one researcher tells Time . "IT has an enabling...

How to Calm Stress 2.0
 How to Calm Stress 2.0 
SOCIAL-MEDIA JUNKIES DEPT.

How to Calm Stress 2.0

From disconnecting to breathing, relieve social-media angst

(Newser) - Mobile devices might be great for social networking, but extreme devotion to Facebook, Twitter & Co. can lead to “Stress 2.0,” Soren Gordhamer cautions. Fortunately, he has tips for dealing with it:
  • Disconnect, even just briefly. When you stop absorbing information, go outside, eat lunch, chat up
...

Baby Starves While Parents Tend to Virtual Child: Cops

But their virtual baby was doing great

(Newser) - A South Korean couple has been arrested for allegedly letting their real-life 3-month-old daughter starve to death while they cared for a virtual baby in an online game. Police say the 41-year-old father and 25-year-old mother spent 12 hours a night playing the Second Life-style online game PRIUS at an...

Top Signs You're an Internet Addict

When you know it's time to get a life

(Newser) - Do you just like reading Newser, or are you addicted to the Internet? Seattle-based Internet addiction center ReSTART lists the signs of a bad online habit:
  • Heightened euphoria. Trolling through sites gives you your greatest thrill.
  • Whiling away more hours. You look up and it's suddenly 2 am, when last
...

First US Internet Addiction Rehab Center Opens

For $14,500, reStart offers therapy, socialization

(Newser) - The first US Internet addiction clinic has opened in Fall City, Wash. The Heavensfield Retreat Center offers “reStart,” a 45-day in-patient rehab program for Internet, video game, and texting addictions, LiveScience reports. Clients undergo talk therapy and social skills training, as well as feeding goats, raising chickens, and...

Teen Beaten to Death at Camp for Internet Addicts

Staff killed 16-year-old for running too slowly

(Newser) - A Chinese teen was beaten to death by staff at a boot camp in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Global Times reports. The parents of Deng Senshan, 16, paid $1,024 to send him to the Guangxi Qihang Survival Training Camp to cure his Internet addiction. Deng was put in...

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