First US Inpatient Treatment Program For Internet Addiction Opening In September 89
cold fjord writes "Fox News reports, '... a psychiatric hospital in central Pennsylvania is now set to become the country's first facility of its kind to offer an inpatient treatment program for people it diagnoses with severe Internet addiction. The voluntary, 10-day program is set to open on Sept. 9 at the Behavioral Health Services at Bradford Regional Medical Center. The program was organized by experts in the field and cognitive specialists with backgrounds in treating more familiar addictions like drug and alcohol abuse. '[Internet addiction] is a problem in this country that can be more pervasive than alcoholism,' said Dr. Kimberly Young, ... 'The Internet is free, legal and fat free.' The program is designed to accommodate four adult patients at a time, with each new class slated to begin treatment on the same day. These classes take part in group therapy and are placed inside a wing of the hospital designated for other addicts. These patients will undergo a psychological evaluation and learn ways they can minimally use the Internet and avoid problematic applications.'"
I'm totally holding out (Score:5, Funny)
Missing an opportunity here... (Score:4, Funny)
This looks to me like the perfect business opportunity. Inpatient care is terribly expensive, putting this out of the reach of people who can't afford it because they've lost their jobs due to their addiction and no longer have benefits. Why not offer it online?
I can think of many therapeutic activities that would help towards curing the impulse to spend all of one's time online:
-Troll debating
-Handling requests from the clients of graphics artists and webmasters
-Collecting free iPads, iPhones and other electronics from all those sites that just give them away for free
-Resolving arguments in online gaming chat sessions
I can think of many more as well...the options are nearly endless! And this could all be done from the comfort of their own home...
Is there a slashdot ward ? (Score:5, Funny)
Perhaps largely populated by First Posters ?
Re:Far More Interesting (Score:4, Funny)
If this was interesting to you, you may be an internet addict. Please seek help at one of our fluffy facilities.
Internet addiction is a real problem that can destroy lives and homes and make puppies cry.
Eventually it can lead to hairy palms and blindness.
Look for these warning signs;
1. owning a smart phone.
2. spending more than a few seconds considering a LOL Cats picture.
3 spending more than 15 minutes a day emailing.
4.Gaming
And the biggest sign of all, bothering to have multiple social media accounts
Please send money, only you can help, do it for the children.
Re:What is the problem? (Score:4, Funny)
Once someone's set up on finding reasons to feed its brain and get the pleasure of feeling superior to others, it's no longer important if those reasons are real or not.
Once one's addicted to the feeling of superiority, he has to feed it in increasingly growing doses. And you can only feel so smug for being whiter or having a better religion or living in a greater country. Eventually you need to also feel skinnier, more beautiful, more intelligent, or better in any way you can think of.
Using less internet looks like decent crack for the severely smugness addicted.
[Just like this very commentary, which, to the mind of the severely smugness addicted author, proves his immense intellectual superiority.]
[In case you're wondering, speaking in third person is a symptom of the latest stages of smugness addiction.]
Yes, but . . . (Score:2, Funny)
if they haven't got WiFi, I am not going!