Internet Addiction
By Dr. Fariba Nategh BSc MA PhD CounsellingDr. Fariba Nategh offers Counselling, Psychotherapy | Securely Book Online | Contact Me
ABSTRACT
“The cost of internet pornography and gambling to workplace and the solution focused approach of treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment oriented response of suspension and dismissal.”
Addiction to internet is a new concept and phenomenon that the mental health field and its practitioners are only recently becoming aware of. These types of addictions were not categorized or even mentioned in DSM-IV and ICD-10 due to their new inception, and total unawareness about their capacity in posing a major threat to people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Addiction to internet pornography and gambling, two subcategory of the overall Internet addiction are two of the most devastating and damaging forms of addiction. At no time in the past history could a person gamble away or use enormous amount of time and money by a flick of a finger and movement of the computer mouse. The three As of Internet addictions as they are called in the literature, 1) anonymity, 2) affordability, and 3) availability, has created a worldwide epidemic, destroying lives of millions of new and fresh recruits around the world everyday. Those caught in the “web of the net”, most perhaps without any prior history of sexual inappropriateness and gambling problems; find the extremely effective mood altering nature of these activities irresistible.
The same loss of control, progression, and development of tolerance, as well as downward spiral of the victim’s lives due to the consequences of addiction that exists in other forms of addictions such as addiction to alcohol and drugs also exists in these addictions.
The cost to businesses and workforce due to loss of productivity of the employees involved in this addiction is estimated in the millions. It has been found that 70% of porn Internet activities happen during the hours of 9 and 5, when the addicts are supposed to be working. 20% of men and 13% of women admit to accessing porn sites while at work. 25% of the total search engine requests are porn related making it one of the top three searches. 12% of total websites are pornographic, and 10% of adults admit to having Internet sexual addiction. Internet porn industry is estimated to bring revenue of 12 billion a year (stat from US).
The usual response of the employers when these activities are discovered are seizures of the computers, and a punishment oriented response consisting of suspension and dismissal. However this author would like to propose an alternative to this usual response. Rehabilitation and treatment are the most reasonable and humane response to such phenomenon. The serious addictive nature of Internet in general, and Internet gambling and pornography in specific prompts those with criminal intent to prey on vulnerable and predisposed individuals. It is proposed that these victims are deserving of rehab and treatment opportunity as alcoholic or drug addicted co-workers.
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This article was written by RSCPP Therapist Dr. Fariba Nategh:
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