Are You Becoming an Internet Addict?

By Jae Taylor
Posted Sunday, September 5, 2004

With the present economic climate being as it is, many start-up entrepreneurs have have been attracted online with the lure of easy money. The chance to make their fortune on the Internet.

Many of these people are desperate to start making money from home and break free from the "rat race". Ironically this desperation has given rise to a new compulsion:

Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD)

If you think you might be suffering from internet addiction there are some warning signs you should look out for:

A preoccupation with the Internet while offline.
A constant anticipation of the next online session
Lying about the extent of use to others.
Using the Internet to escape problems or relieve a bad mood
Keep using after spending too much money on online fees

Generally those who get trapped in this syndrome get caught up in the biz ops game and end up in the situation where they are jumping from one opportunity to another in an endless quest for something easier, faster, or potentially more rewarding.

For compulsive users, their whole life becomes the Internet.

In fact this one has many of the symptoms of other more "normal" addictions! So much so that Alcoholics Anonymous has considered setting up a separate division of their organization to work with people addicted to browsing the Internet.

Internet addiction disorder, as a diagnosis, is still in its infancy; however, there are, ironically, a few online resources available to help sufferers wean themselves from the internet. Here are some:

The Center for On-Line Addiction (COLA), which offers counseling, consulting and training. They have set up a website where there are resources that include online counseling, articles, FAQs, and self-help tests.

Internet Addiction Support Group
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Mental Health Net: Online Addiction

So, what should you do if you find yourself becoming a victim of this new electronic addiction?

First, don't panic. Second, consider sitting down with a pencil and notepad -- and doing some good, old-fashioned brainstorming!

My advice is to get "FOCUSED". There's a fine line between being distracted by the Net and actually being addicted to it.

Because of the depth of information available online, there's a danger that instead of doing the research you should be doing to find the right opportunity that you can turn into a successful business, you start doing the 'biz op tango' and start surfing completely unrelated sites.

It takes consistent effort in ONE business in order to make money online.

Choose a primary business and once that is making a nice profit every month, you can then consider researching other business opportunities to add additional streams of income to your portfolio.

This simple approach will prevent you from going overboard and becoming an Internet Addict.

If you dilute your time, energy and marketing by being distracted by the Net and actually becoming addicted to it, your personal and business life will inevitabely suffer and you'll probably end up worse off than before.

About the Author
Jae Taylor is a professional web marketer (http://netprofits.making-money4u.com) and is currently marketing the NPOD income-building system designed to show everyday entrepreneurs how to build successful online business models and to understand and profit from the internet. You can sign up for his personal newsletter here: mailto:alcheme@making-money4u.com