Kicking the Always Online Habit

Ars Technica reports: As the debate rages on about whether Internet addiction is a discrete affliction, the first US treatment center designed to treat it has opened its doors. The Heavensfield Retreat Center has launched a program called reSTART located in Fall City, WA, which offers a 45-day treatment program for Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). The cost to go through with the program is $14,500, and enrollment has already begun.

Interest in the phenomenon of Internet addiction started to peak 2006, with papers, surveys, and studies coming out to discuss the disorder. One paper published in Perspectives in Psychiatric Care said that it affected between five and 10 percent of all Internet surfers, while a survey at Michigan State University that said nearly 20 percent of students had withdrawn from a course or had experienced grade problems due to excessive use of the Internet or computer games. Another study attempted to find out more about the behaviors behind IAD, and an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry argued that Internet and gaming addiction should be added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) V, the handbook of mental disorders used by mental health workers in the US.

This concept is not without criticism, however. The American Medical Association first made a similar recommendation in 2007, only to be followed by a reversal of that position. Opponents of adding Internet/gaming addiction to the DSM deny that there are complex neurophysiological elements analogous to dependence on pharmacological agents such as ethanol, nicotine, or heroin, despite research to the contrary (at least in male subjects).

Clearly, however, the Heavensfield Retreat Center is taking IAD seriously with its new program. reSTART offers counseling with professionally-trained staff, group therapy, vocational coaching, 12-step meetings, recreational activities, "high adventure" outings, health and fitness programs, and volunteer service. This is in addition to psychiatric assessments, medical treatment, scholastic tutoring, and career guidance. As pointed out by Mashable, you must qualify for reSTART by displaying symptoms of IAD, which include a strong impulse to use the Internet, withdrawal symptoms without it, a reduction in other interests or social activities as a result of the Internet, and an impairment of everyday life.

Of course, with a $14,500 price tag attached to the treatment, detractors are sure to come out of the woodwork arguing that reSTART is just taking advantage of lost souls. The program's webpage argues that the cost is fair, however, and is actually lower than most 30-day inpatient programs. With some people trying to use IAD as an excuse for poor work performance, reSTART and other programs like it may eventually become as commonplace as drug and alcohol counseling.