Pubdate: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company Page: B05 Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071 Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: Richard Morin UNCONVENTIONAL WISDOM New Facts And Hot Stats From The Social Sciences He was a kid with a big, big problem, recalls Harvard psychologist Maressa Hecht Orzack. "I have been a computer addict since I was 11," wrote the boy, then 14 years old, in an e-mail message to Orzack. He told her he was a onetime A-student who now had trouble even making D's. He was missing meals, losing track of time and falling asleep in school--all because of the time he spent on his computer. "I'm afraid that I will run away if my parents take my computer away. It is almost like the computer owns me." Orzack says she hears similar stories all the time. She's the founder and director of Computer Addiction Services at McLean Hospital, a Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital in Belmont, Mass. She estimates that between 5 to 15 percent of all computer users are hooked on their machines. Of course, Orzack's not suggesting that people need their computers in the same way that a heroin addict needs a fix. Computer addiction is more subtle--but no less insidious. "You can tell people to stop drinking or using drugs," she said. "Today you simply can't say, 'Don't use a computer.' " People have been talking about computer addiction for years. First dismissed as so much pop-psychology pap, computer addiction is now prompting many social scientists and physicians to take a second look as more Americans find that they just can't say no to their computers. Some colleges now offer counseling for students lost in cyberspace. Recently, representatives of corporate employee assistance programs have come to Orzack for advice on how to wean workers off their machines. There's even a new scientific journal called Cyber Psychology and Behavior that is devoted to computer-related behavioral disorders. Orzack said she sees about five patients a week for computer-related problems. Some are addicted to a specific activity. One patient is deeply into online auctions. Others are hopelessly hooked on cybersex. "One man came in the other day and confessed, 'Online stock buying: what an addiction!' " Several, she said, are former drug addicts who have substituted one bad habit for another. Orzack knows just how destructive computer addiction can be: She's a recovering computer junkie herself. A few years ago, she tried to teach herself to use WordPerfect 6.1, "but I got frustrated and increasingly kept skipping out of the program to play computer Solitaire. Suddenly, I was spending much too much time on the machine just playing Solitaire, losing sleep. It even affected my work. 'Enough!' I finally said." She managed to break her habit by putting herself on a strict schedule that limited the time she spent on the computer--an initial strategy she recommends to her patients. For those who think they may be suffering from computer addiction, Orzack maintains a site (www.computeraddiction.com) that describes the condition and lists frequently asked questions about it. Hmmm--a Web site for computer addicts. Isn't that a little like holding an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in a bar? "You are right," Orzack admitted. "I use that phrase all the time." The Web site merely lets people know that help is available, she said. The real healing is done the old fashioned way, in face-to-face counseling sessions. "Besides," she said, "I cannot treat online since I am licensed in Massachusetts, not in cyberspace." RESEARCH NOTES UH, WHAT IMPEACHMENT? Perhaps the president's impeachment by the House and acquittal in his Senate trial isn't the earth-shattering, paradigm-shifting event that some pundits and political scientists think it is. More than half--53 percent--of those interviewed in a recent Washington Post survey said they couldn't recall or didn't know whether their representative in Congress voted for or against impeachment last December. The memories of self-described registered voters weren't much better: 47 percent said they didn't remember or never knew how their House members voted. LISTEN TO THE VOX POP Forget all that loose talk about how Americans want their political leaders to vote their consciences and not follow the polls or public opinion when casting key votes. More than six in 10 Americans--63 percent--said they wanted members of Congress to "stick closely to American public opinion . . . including results of polls" when making legislative decisions, while 34 percent said members should "do what they think is best." Are You a Computer Addict? Here are some of the psychological warning signs that suggest you may be addicted to your computer. No single factor automatically means you're hooked. But if "yes" is your answer to most of these questions, you may have a problem, said psychologist Maressa Hecht Orzack. Do you feel irritable and out of control or depressed when not using the computer? Are you spending increasing amounts of time and money on hardware, software, magazines and computer-related activities that you don't really need? Do you use the computer for pleasure, gratification or relief from stress? Do you lie about the amount of time spent on computer activities? Are you risking loss of career goals, educational objectives and personal relationships because of the computer? - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake