Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A growing number of healthcare specialists estimate that 6 to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million U.S. Internet users are addicted. Dr. Hilarie Cash, who runs Internet/Computer Addiction Services in the city that is home to Microsoft, and other mental health professionals, call such addicts onlineaholics and diagnose them with Internet addiction disorder. Advertisement The New York Times reports that these specialists say Internet dependency that can be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction. Skeptics argue that even obsessive Internet use does not exact the same toll as conventionally recognized addictions. But mental health professionals who support the diagnosis of Internet addiction say a majority of obsessive users are online to further addictions to gambling or pornography. Other users suffer from a broader dependency and spend hours online each day, surfing the Web, trading stocks, instant messaging or blogging, and a fast-rising number are becoming addicted to Internet video games. Therapists and inpatient rehabilitation centers often treat Web addicts with the same approaches, including 12-step programs, the Times said.
