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| Cyberslacking |  In actual fact, the range of Internet addiction ability may be bigger than many employers may even guess. In an October 2006 telephone study, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine discovered that one out of eight Americans examined at least one possible sign of problematic Internet use.
In agreement with previous studies, the scientists found that 68.9% of the people surveyed were regular Internet users and that:
- 13.7% think it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time.
- 12.4% often stayed online longer than intended.
- 12.3% realized a necessity to cut back on Internet use at some point.
- 8.7% attempted to hide nonessential Internet use from family, friends and employers.
- 8.2 percent used the Internet as a way to escape problems or relieve a negative mood.
- 5.9 percent confessed that their relationships suffered as a result of excessive Internet use.
Due to preliminary research, the typical affected individual is a single, college-educated, white male in his 30s, who spends about 30 hours a week on non-essential computer use. At the same time as some might assume a person's Internet addiction might be related to pornography, other areas like chat rooms, dating services, shopping venues and special interest Web sites are also opening the door to excessive Internet use.
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