Online Addicts Sighted on College Campuses

A new journal, CyberPsychology and Behavior: The Impact of the Internet, MultiMedia, and Virtual Reality on Behavior and Society, reports that "Internet addiction on college campuses is a rapidly growing epidemic."

An article in the journal cites a study at the University of Michigan showing that freshmen and sophomores averaged 10 hours per week online, with 18 percent on the Internet at least 20 hours per week, and points to administrators at Alfred University, who found a relationship between high Internet use and a more than doubled rate of academic dismissal.

The University of Maryland at College Park, the University of Texas at Austin, and Marquette University have established Internet addiction counseling centers, according to the journal's report, and the University of Washington has limited the amount of time its students can spend on the Internet.

"Many campuses are now finding a student culture being created involving e- mail, Web surfing, MUD (interactive, role-playing) games, and home page production," says Jonathan J. Kandell, assistant director of the Counseling Center and affiliate assistant professor at the University of Maryland at College Park and, not coincidentally, author of the article, Internet Addiction on Campus - The Vulnerability of College Students.

This reporter is no student, but as someone who spends upwards of four hours a day online, it's hard to know WHAT Mr. Kandell is talking about. Besides, it certainly doesn't take much effort to log off any ol' time one cares...