with every passing day thousands of people set out on a quest for knowledge taking the Information Superhighway route. But an increasing number are having trouble staying off the net. After getting hooked on the Internet they are battling an addiction just as serious as those who compulsively shop, steal, gamble or abuse drugs or alcohol. Interestingly, many also may struggle with a plethora of mental illnesses, including manic depression and anxiety disorders. A new report by a team of University of Florida ( uf ) and University of Cincinnati psychiatrists says that on an average, each participant in their study had five other major psychiatric problems ( Journal of Affective Disorders, Vol 58 No 3).

This is the first study of its kind to rely on face-to-face interviews using standardised questionnaires to profile people whose Internet use is characterised as problematic