Tristan Péloquin

En ce lendemain de 1er avril, quelques mots sur un canular tenace du web: celui de l’Internet Addictive Disorder (ou attachement maladif à l’internet).

C’est un médecin du nom de Yvan Goldberg qui a inventé l’expression, dans un faux rapport satirique datant de 1995, et dans lequel il faisait croire que la maladie était officiellement reconnue dans le DSM-V, la bible des psy. C’est l’excellente (vraiment très, très bonne) émission Search Engine, de CBC, qui en parle dans son dernier podcast.

Bref, une grosse farce, dans laquelle des dizaines de journalistes ont plongé la tête la première à l’époque.

Or, il appert que, 13 ans plus tard, des médecins sérieux pressent l’American Psychiatric Association d’ajouter à la prochaine version du DSM-V (qui sera publié en 2012) l’Internet Addictive Disorder”. Dans cet éditorial publié dans l’American Journal of Psychiatry, un psychiatre parle de données inquiétantes selon lesquelles en Corée du sud, 2% des enfants de 6 à 19 ans sont complètement drogués aux jeux vidéo et au clavardage. Environ 80% d’entre eux auraient besoin de médicaments psychotropes pour contrôler leur maladie.

En Chine, ce seraient 13% des ados qui seraient diagnostiqués. Dans son podcast et sur son site, Search Engine parle de traitements donnés dans des hôpitaux militaires chinois. L’animateur Jesse Brown laisse entendre qu’en réalité, ces traitements visent surtout des dissidents du régime qui se servent du Web, plutôt que des vrais cyberdépendants. Il compare aussi adroitement le phénomène à une curieuse chasse aux sorcières contre les “Comic books” qui s’est déroulée aux États-Unis dans les années 50.

Reste que ça m’a poussé à me poser des questions sur ma propre cyberdépendance. J’ai passé un test sur Netaddiction.com. Je vous l’annonce en primeur: je suis clean, bien que j’aie tendance à “surfer le Web un peut trop longtemps à l’occasion, (j’ai) le contrôle sur mon utilisation”.

Je vous invite à en faire autant que moi. Le lien est ici.

Internet Addiction Test (IAT)

Would you like to use this Test?

How do you know if you're already addicted or rapidly tumbling toward trouble? The Internet Addiction Test is the first validated and reliable measure of addictive use of the Internet. Click here to read the study. Developed by Dr. Kimberly Young, the IAT is a 20-item questionnaire that measures mild, moderate, and severe levels of Internet Addiction. To assess your level of addiction, answer the following questions using this scale: 1 = Rarely. 2 = Occasionally. 3 = Frequently. 4 = Often. 5 = Always. 1. How often do you find that you stay on-line longer than you intended? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 2. How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the Internet to intimacy with your partner? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 4. How often do you form new relationships with fellow on-line users? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 5. How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 6. How often do your grades or school work suffer because of the amount of time you spend on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 7. How often do you check your e-mail before something else that you need to do? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 =Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when anyone asks you what you do on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 11. How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go on-line again? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 12. How often do you fear that life without the Internet would be boring, empty, and joyless? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 13. How often do you snap, yell, or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 14. How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 15. How often do you feel preoccupied with the Internet when off-line, or fantasize about being on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 16. How often do you find yourself saying "just a few more minutes" when on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 17. How often do you try to cut down the amount of time you spend on-line and fail? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 18. How often do you try to hide how long you've been on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 19. How often do you choose to spend more time on-line over going out with others? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply 20. How often do you feel depressed, moody, or nervous when you are off-line, which goes away once you are back on-line? 1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently 4 = Often 5 = Always Does Not Apply                        Your Score:  Results: After you've answered all the questions, add the numbers you selected for each response to obtain a final score. The higher your score, the greater your level of addiction and the problems your Internet usage causes. Here's a general scale to help measure your score: 20 - 49 points: You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage. 50 -79 points: You are experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of the Internet. You should consider their full impact on your life. 80 - 100 points: Your Internet usage is causing significant problems in your life. You should evaluate the  impact of the Internet on your life and address the problems directly caused by your Internet usage. After you have identified the category that fits your total score, look back at those questions for which your scored a 4 or 5. Did you realize this was a significant problem for you? For example, if you answered 4 (often) to Question #2 regarding your neglect of household chores, were you aware of just how often your dirty laundry piles up or how empty the refrigerator gets? Say you answered 5 (always) to Question #14 about lost sleep due to late-night log-ins. Have you ever stopped to think about how hard it has become to drag yourself out of bed every morning? Do you feel exhausted at work? Has this pattern begun to take its toll on your body and your overall health?  For immediate help, visit our Counseling Services which provides affordable and confidential counseling or review our array of Books and Tapes on Internet addiction to learn more.