Internet addiction needs more research

MONTREAL, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- There is no lack of data on compulsive gambling and alcoholism, but there is a vacuum when it comes to Internet addiction, Canadian researchers said.

"The problem isn't widespread but we know of serious cases in which teenagers don't leave the house, don't have interpersonal relationships, and have been isolated in front of their computer screen for the past two or three years, and only speak in the language of the characters they play with in network video games," Louise Nadeau of the University of Montreal said in a statement. "In a few years we'll have couples in therapy because the Internet will have become their main occupation."

A survey conducted in the Quebec health network concluded that hundreds of patients have consulted a professional about Internet addiction. Researchers hope to develop data further and determine the clinical threshold of addiction, establish how the disease evolves and elaborate intervention techniques.

"There is no reliable study or clinical data on the issue," Nadeau said. "We are starting from scratch."