I have to say, I'm on the internet for massive periods of the day, also what effected me is that since I'm only twelve, around a year ago I became obsessed with this online game, "RuneScape" - (A school craze)
I was paying more attention to the internet rather than my schoolwork and almost immediately my grades went down.
I have now quit and are steady on my grades and I haven't played the game since!
Sometimes, it is just a bit of self dicipline which is needed. (If I have spelt anything wrong, I apologise.)

Oliver Johnston-Watt, Edinburgh, Scotland

We are all so ready to classify surfing the web, chatting with friends across the globe and Internet interaction as an addiction. I find the idea preposterous and indicative of a society who wants to take no responsibility for their actions. We can now say we are addicted to shopping, plastic surgery, television, and junk food and alas...the Internet. I access the web almost daily to read BBC, The Times, The New York Times as well as chat, albeit briefly, to my internet friends. Do I consider this an addiction? Hardly! Rather I feel I have been and have developed an even more tolerance of others' points of views and lifestyles. If there comes a time when I feel apoplectic because I cannot access the Internet, will I blame it on IAD and even more importantly, will I be overcome with the sudden desire to sue? ( I AD therefore I am...even the name of this so -called disorder makes me laugh). While I certainly accept that this CAN be a very real disorder, I find it hard to believe that the simple act of accessing the Internet on a daily basis is now a prognosis!

Cyn Duncan, Atlanta, Georgia USA

I suppose I'm an internet addict by the usual definitions. Most of my waking life is spent in front of the computer, online. But then, I work from home, with and on the internet. My nearest family lives three hours drive away, my nearest friend about an hour and a half in the opposite direction, and I don't have a car. If it wasn't for the internet things would be pretty grim.

I think people who talk of "internet addiction" are mistaking a medium for an end in itself. The internet is a rich conduit with which to keep in touch with people and communities from which you are geographically remote. It's the *people* I'm addicted to. So I think it makes as much sense to call me an internet addict as it does to call a call centre worker who phones her parents and boyfriend and friends when she gets home a telephone addict.

Rachel, Bristol, UK

I believe internet addiction is possible, because of the 'suspense' one gets when waiting for, say, an email. You get a high which is similar to that achieved through drugs or alcohol and experience withdrawal symptoms when deprived of the habit. When I travelled across South America last year, I and many fellow travellers went so crazy without the internet we would pay a small fortune and travel miles out of our way to log on to even an incredibly slow internet connection.
I visit these sites religiously each day, and get frustrated when the websites are down.
1. Guardian Unlimited
2. Times online
3. BBC (news website and radio)
4. Google
5. Hotmail

Natalie Law, London,

The internet is the procastinators dream..
Why do something now when you can put it off until after you wikipedia something...
Going to wikipedia internet addiction, then get on with the work that I am paid to do.

k, Dub,

I can totally empathise with you as I myself suffer from the same malady. I have no discernable cure to recommend as I myself am at a loss at how to ween myself off this all consumning obsession. Ultimately I think this addiction is a paradox as it allows you a semblence of human interaction without the actual physical contact itself & all the complexities that arise out of that interaction!

Neriman Nazlivatan, london, uk

I am writing this online with an essay waiting to be done. You may assume I am equally keen to hear of a cure . . . oh wait, that would be self-discipline.

The internet, unlike alcohol and other drugs, does not enter our body causing chemical alterations. "Internet addiction", I believe, is either symptomatic of a more serious mental problem that creates the unusually strong need for connectedness, or is symptomatic of being human: sociable, easily distracted (see another article today), a little lazy . . .

Now, I'm just gonna go check for new posts on a couple of message boards . . . read a bit more on here . . . check bbc in case you guys have missed anything . . . check my e-mail, look at the booking page for my holiday . . . then, I promise, I will write this essay. ;-)

Deborah Barnard, Edinburgh, UK