Adik Ka Ba?

Can you survive without internet connection? If not, then you might be suffering from a mental disorder! Just recently, the American Psychiatric Association proposed to include Internet Addiction as an official classification of mental disorders in the psychiatrist’s bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). IAD or Internet Addiction Disorder was first coined by Ivan Goldberg in 1995 who used pathological gambling as a model for this disorder. Although IAD failed to be included in last year’s DSM, its possible future classification as a psychological disorder is continually debated.

This raises the question: Is the internet really the principal cause of the addiction? Or is it merely a symptom of some other mental disorder? Some who are labeled as ‘internet addicts’ may be suffering from depression or some other mental disorders which are unrelated to the internet. It may be so that the internet merely serves as an avenue where these disorders manifest themselves. Those suffering from gambling addiction may frequent online casinos while sex addicts use the internet to visit pornographic sites.

Although the classification of Internet Addiction seems insignificant, its effects towards insurers and insurance claims are great as it may give rise to absurd claims. Those who insured another’s psychological health may be forced to pay for his treatment of Warcraft addiction, Facebook addiction, etc. Good for the insured but bad for the insurers.