Types of Computer Addiction

Which type of computer addiction is responsible for most computer addicts? Since there are so many different internet computer activites it is very difficult to pinpoint exactly which one is the cause of most addicts. However, there are several types which seem to be more common with computer addicts. Outlined below are what are considered to be the most addictive computer and internet related activities.

*Online games

Online games are a common cause of computer addiction. Online games consist of multiplayer games via the internet. This is where the player assumes a character in the game and plays against other people from all around the world. There are many internet games on the market and some of them have millions upon millions of players worldwide. The majority of the players involved enjoy just a casual game after school, work or at weekends. A minority, however, have become so addicted, and alarmingly so, that they are spending upwards of 12 hours per day playing the game they are addicted to. Reports have come in that some people have been playing around the clock and not eating or sleeping for days and days because they do not want to leave the computer and the character they are pretending to be.

*Chat rooms

Millions of people use chat rooms daily. It is fun for those millions of people. There are lots of conventional chat rooms. There is also chat software for the larger chat companies, for instance Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger. Alas, there is again the minority who use chat rooms to feed their addiction. These people can be whomever they want to be. They may have anti social problems, they may be shy, they may have other problems that stop them from meeting people in the real world. No matter what problem the person has the chat rooms seem to be the answer. However, the real answer is the chat rooms make a person lose even more social skills in the real world. Seldom will an internet chat room addict ever get to meet the people he or she is chatting to. It would ruin the facade the addicts are putting up for their chat room colleagues. Unfortunately, this type of computer addiction can have a drastic effect on a persons' personality and health.

*Online shopping

Online shopping addiction comes in the form of many kinds. There is the person who is addicted to buying items from the many online shops. Then there is the person who is addicted to auction type buying. Either one could put a person in debt in a matter of seconds. Just one click of the mouse could take money from their credit card and rack up enormous debts. This type of addiction usually starts with small purchases and paying with their credit card. Many small purchases of this kind then add up to many thousands of dollars. The thrill of bidding on an item in an online auction and then overbidding just to win the item (which they may not really want anyway) does cause addiction. Once the item has been bid on and won, a contract has been entered into. A very easy addiction to get into but very hard to get out once the debt has set in.

*Online gambling and online pornography

These are possibly the most damaging of all computer addictions. These millions of dollar a year businesses make their money by sucking addicts of their money. The thrill of possibly winning by gambling is very real and has never been easier since the onset of online casinos and other forms of online gambling. Serious debts have been incurred by these computer addicts. Some have even lost everything, their family, homes, possessions and even more extreme, their lives. There are organizations that specifically deal with this kind of computer addiction and they have helped many thousands of people get rid of this damaging addiction and have been able to give advice on helping to pull their lives back together again.

By no means is this list of computer addictions complete as there are many other forms of computer addiction. The ones mentioned in this article are, I believe, to be the most prevalent types of computer addiction.