Internet addiction is not manifesting itself as an 'urge'. It's more than that. It's a deep 'craving'. They (the addicts) are just like anyone else who is addicted to coffee, exercise, or talking on their cellular phone. ... Sufferers ... may experience loss of sleep, anxiety when not online, isolation from family and peer groups, loss of work, and periods of deep depression. Dr Pinhas DannonLast year group proposed video game addiction be listed as a mental disorder in the American Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, a guide used by the American Psychiatric Association in diagnosing mental illness, but they failed.
Strangely I think internet is a different to my former caffeine addiction. Dr Irvine Biederman notes that new knowledge and perhaps continuing new knowledge which is fixed in a moment of comprehension triggers a biochemical cascade that rewards the brain with a shot of natural opium-like substances. I discovered this on Lifehacker recently but then found it in a public release dated 20 June 2006. It took at least 20 months to filter from American Scientist (Press release here) to The Wall Street Journal (here) to lifehacker (here). Thus compulsive internet surfing is feeding our information addiction or habit. I wonder how about blogging?
That just leaves one question. How come people don't get addicted to the spiritual disciplines in this way?