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IN THIS ARTICLE: Getting hooked on the Internet isn't confined to a few computer nerds. It's on the rise everywhere--and women are the most likely addicts. Ingrid Parker, once a slave to Internet chatrooms, found her experiences so devastating that she wrote a book to help other addicts break the habit. --Editor
本文簡(jiǎn)介：沉醉于因特網(wǎng)而難以自拔的人已不再局限于少數(shù)計(jì)算機(jī)迷了。對(duì)因特網(wǎng)癡迷的人越來(lái)越多，到處都是--婦女最可能成為對(duì)因特網(wǎng)著迷的人。英格麗德·帕克一度沉溺于網(wǎng)上聊天，后來(lái)發(fā)現(xiàn)那段經(jīng)歷使她損失不小，因而寫了一本書以幫助其他網(wǎng)上君子們改掉上網(wǎng)成癮的毛病。。
[1]It's the equivalent of inviting sex addicts to a brothel or holding an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting at the pub. Internet addicts tired of their square-eyed, keyboard tapping ways need look no further than the Web for counselling. There is now an online counselling service at www.relate.org.nz for Internet obsessives. Just e-mail the details of your Internet-induced crisis and help comes direct to your inbox. The new breed of cybertherapists see nothing strange about offering help through the very medium that is swallowing their clients' free time and splitting their marriages.
[2] Sue Hine, of Relationship Services, says: "Internet obsession has become a more noticeable problem over the last 18 months. At least this is an area addicts are familiar with and they'll be able to use it as a tool to overcome their obsession." Nor do experts worry that the Relate Website might become a favourite--a place to spend hours online in the name of Internet therapy. Dependency is always a risk with any form of counselling. There are various strategies we can adopt to keep that in perspective, says Hine.
[3] Though some may regard Internet addiction as another dubious ailment dreamed up to keep therapists in work, Relationship Services says the problem is real.
[4] Internet usage is up to four-and-a-half hours on the Web each week, compared to three-and-a-half hours a year ago. Therapist Robin Paul says there tend to be two scenarios. Some people meet through chatrooms and fall in love. It's like having an affair, then they meet and it's like a whirlwind honeymoon. It's devastating for the person left behind and quite often it has no real foundation.
[5] I saw one couple who were still together but it was very rocky. He met someone on the Net and went overseas to meet the woman. Then he left his wife and children to be with her. In another case I saw recently, a man left his three children to be with a woman (who was) leaving her four children. It's terribly hard on the kids when this happens.
[1]上網(wǎng)成癮如同邀約好色的人逛妓院，或者在小酒館里舉行"嗜酒者互誡協(xié)會(huì)"(AA)會(huì)員集會(huì)。網(wǎng)迷們疲勞地盯著顯示屏，敲擊著鍵盤，只想通過(guò)萬(wàn)維網(wǎng)尋求咨詢。現(xiàn)在有一種為網(wǎng)迷開設(shè)的網(wǎng)上咨詢服務(wù)，其網(wǎng)址是：
[2]"關(guān)系服務(wù)"網(wǎng)站的蘇·海英說(shuō)："在最近的18個(gè)月中，上網(wǎng)成癮已經(jīng)成為一個(gè)非常突出的問(wèn)題。服務(wù)網(wǎng)站至少是網(wǎng)迷熟悉的地方，他們將能夠把它作為戒掉網(wǎng)癮的工具來(lái)使用。"專家們也并不擔(dān)心服務(wù)網(wǎng)站會(huì)成為上網(wǎng)者最愛光顧的地方--一個(gè)網(wǎng)迷們花費(fèi)在線時(shí)間進(jìn)行網(wǎng)上診療的地方。依賴于任何形式的咨詢服務(wù)總是靠不住的。海英說(shuō)，我們可以采取各種措施使服務(wù)網(wǎng)站發(fā)揮有效作用。 [3]有些人認(rèn)為，沉醉于因特網(wǎng)的人是患有某種假想的精神失調(diào)癥，這只是使得精神治療專家有事可做。然而，關(guān)系服務(wù)網(wǎng)站卻認(rèn)為這個(gè)問(wèn)題確實(shí)存在。 [4]一年前，萬(wàn)維網(wǎng)的使用率為每周3.5小時(shí)，而現(xiàn)在達(dá)到了4．5小時(shí)。診療專家羅賓·保羅說(shuō)，癡迷于因特網(wǎng)往往表現(xiàn)為兩種情形。有的人在聊天室相識(shí)并墜人愛河。這就像有了不正當(dāng)關(guān)系，然后約會(huì)，像蜜月一般慌慌張張的。被拋棄的一方在感情上會(huì)受到極大的打擊，而這種網(wǎng)上戀愛通常全然沒有現(xiàn)實(shí)的基礎(chǔ)。 [5]"我曾目睹一對(duì)夫婦，他們?nèi)栽谝黄穑舜酥g的感情已經(jīng)搖搖欲墜。男方在網(wǎng)上有了外遇，就飄洋過(guò)海去與網(wǎng)上戀人見面，之后，他為了和她在一起而拋妻棄子。在我最近看到的另一個(gè)例子中，男方為了跟某個(gè)女人在一起，拋下了自己的三個(gè)孩子，而那個(gè)女人也準(zhǔn)備離開她的四個(gè)孩子。這種事情可害苦了那些孩子們。 [6] The second scenario is that a person starts spending more and more time on the Net. They may not meet someone else but they don't spend any time with their partner and of course the relationship suffers." [7] Such stories may appear to be almost urban legends, so ashamed are Internet addicts and their partners. After all, who wants to admit they have a 100 a day habit (e-mails, that is) or are somehow less alluring than a piece of hardware? But in America, which has long had a love affair with both therapy and the Net, these stories are common. [8] A recent survey of 17,251 Internet users found nearly 6 per cent had some sort of addiction to the medium. They revealed that their online habit contributed to disrupted marriages, childhood delinquency, crime and over-spending. Tap into online addiction sites and you'll find messages such as: "Hello, my name is Bob and I'm a Webaholic." [9] Witness the plight of Ohio woman Kelli Michetti, who literally became a computer hacker because of her husband's constant online chatting. When she crashed a meat cleaver through her husband's computer terminal that solved the problem, although naturally it led to difficulties with the police. [10] Or take the classic Internet addiction story of Ingrid Parker, a woman who became such a slave to the Internet--especially chat rooms-- that it took over her life. She made do with two hours' sleep a night, had marathon weekend computer sessions of up to 17 hours and fell in love with a married man in the US state of Oregon. [5]"我曾目睹一對(duì)夫婦，他們?nèi)栽谝黄穑舜酥g的感情已經(jīng)搖搖欲墜。男方在網(wǎng)上有了外遇，就飄洋過(guò)海去與網(wǎng)上戀人見面，之后，他為了和她在一起而拋妻棄子。在我最近看到的另一個(gè)例子中，男方為了跟某個(gè)女人在一起，拋下了自己的三個(gè)孩子，而那個(gè)女人也準(zhǔn)備離開她的四個(gè)孩子。這種事情可害苦了那些孩子們。 [6]"另一種情形是：有的人把越來(lái)越多的時(shí)間耗在因特網(wǎng)上。他們也許沒有網(wǎng)上情人要見面，可也不愿花時(shí)間去陪伴自己的愛人，夫妻關(guān)系當(dāng)然會(huì)因此遭到破壞。" [7]諸如此類的情形幾乎成了一個(gè)個(gè)都市傳奇故事，讓那些癡迷于因特網(wǎng)的人以及他們的愛人感到慚愧。畢竟，誰(shuí)也不愿意承認(rèn)他們有每天收發(fā)100封電子郵件的習(xí)慣，或者承認(rèn)自己竟然不比一部機(jī)器有吸引力。然而，對(duì)于美國(guó)這么一個(gè)與心理治療和網(wǎng)絡(luò)結(jié)緣已久的國(guó)家來(lái)說(shuō)，此類故事不足為奇。 [8]最近的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，在1721名因特網(wǎng)用戶中，有近6％的用戶程度不同地癡迷于上網(wǎng)。這些網(wǎng)迷承認(rèn)，他們上網(wǎng)成癖導(dǎo)致了婚姻破裂、使孩子誤人歧途、滋生犯罪而且經(jīng)濟(jì)上入不敷出。敲擊鍵盤進(jìn)入網(wǎng)迷站點(diǎn)，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這樣一些信息："嗨，我叫鮑勃，一個(gè)網(wǎng)蟲。" [9]俄亥俄州一名叫凱莉·米切蒂的婦女的困窘處境就是一個(gè)見證。由于她的丈夫經(jīng)常上網(wǎng)聊天，凱莉成了地道的電腦黑客。她擅自闖入其丈夫的電腦終端解決了這個(gè)問(wèn)題，但是，不用說(shuō)這惹出了麻煩，驚動(dòng)了警方。 [10]英格麗德·帕克的故事也是典型事例，她成了因特網(wǎng)的奴隸--尤其鐘情于網(wǎng)上聊天--上網(wǎng)甚至成了生活中主要的內(nèi)容。她曾經(jīng)一晚上只睡2小時(shí)，周末連續(xù)17個(gè)小時(shí)玩電腦，并且和美國(guó)俄勒岡州的一個(gè)已婚男子相戀。 [11] Her computer dream turned to nightmare when she sold up and moved to be with her cyberpal (who had just left his wife), only to be told a week later that the couple were getting back together. [12] The heart-breaking turn of events gave her the motivation to control her addiction--and write the book Caught in the Web. [13] Dr Kimberly Young, who set up The Centre for Online Addiction (www.netaddiction.com) in America, studied 396 people whom she considered were psychologically dependent on the Net. They ranged in age from 14 to 70 and spent an average of 38.5 hours a week on the Web. [14] Her study, backed by further research in Britain, found that women were more likely to become addicts. So while the old stereotypical addict was a young man who spent hours playing games, downloading software or reading messages on newsgroups, the new image is of a young woman who fritters away hours e-mailing friends, buying books and CDs online, talking in chatrooms and looking for information for next year's holiday. [15] I guess I was a typical example of someone hooked on the Internet," says Parker, who now spends just an hour a day online. "I was coming home at lunchtime to get on the computer. At 6 p.m. I'd feed my son and put him to bed but all the time I was going backwards and forwards to the computer. Then I'd stay up until 5a.m. or 6 a.m., typing away ' chatting' on my computer screen all night."
