Surfing in Excess: How Much Is Too Much?

More Internet users say their time online is interfering with their lives; medical communities are taking their complaints seriously.

In the 2007 survey, conducted by the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, single people and younger people were more likely to use the Internet than others. Survey participants reported that an hour spent online reduced face time with family members by nearly 24 minutes; an hour on the Internet reduced sleep time by about 12 minutes.

Excessive Internet use should be defined not by the number of hours spent online but "in terms of losses. If it is a loss [where] you are not getting to work, and family relationships are breaking down as a result around it and this is something you can't handle, then it's too much."

The psychological symptoms of computer addiction:

• Having a sense of well-being or euphoria while at the computer.
• Craving more and more time at the computer.
• Neglect of family and friends.
• Feeling empty, depressed or irritable when not at the computer.
• Inability to stop the activity.
• Problems with school or job.