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Debate about the possibility of Internet addiction has long been part of cyberspace culture. In the past year, however, the notion has moved from the realm of online joke to serious study. CMAJ was the first professional journal to publish an article on the subject (OReilly M. Internet addiction: a new disorder enters the medical lexicon. Can Med Assoc J 1996;154:1882-3). Since then the issue of Internet addiction disorder (IAD) has been raised in forums as diverse as the New England Journal of Medicine and Ann Landers' syndicated column. Because I wrote the original CMAJ article, I'm only too aware of the interest IAD has generated. I'm still fielding a dozen or more reprint requests a month from researchers, students and physicians around the world. Dr. Kimberly Young, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh, was one of the first researchers to examine the disorder. She established the Centre for Online Addiction and is about to release a book on the subject. Last summer, my paper was the only one on IAD presented at the American Psychological Association [meeting]," she said. "This year there is an entire symposium on the topic." As well, treatment centres have opened in Massachusetts and Illinois, where 2 hospitals have introduced services related to computer and Internet addiction in their recovery units. When she first studied the issue, Young reviewed the model for substance abuse outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition). By substituting the word "Internet" in that model, she established standard criteria for Internet addiction. Using this information she identified and studied 400 cases involving people who met at least 3 of the 7 criteria. From this she has documented the social and emotional consequences of IAD. Her paper, "Internet addiction: the emergence of a new clinical...