Yes I admit it I am addicted to the internet. Yes I know it is a Nero drug. Yes my life is incomplete with out my net but to spend $14,500 to become less addicted or even internet free. I hope they go belly up. No kidding Yes I can see a need for such a service but come on now???

I would rather play golf and that is saying much then to pay that much money for this kind of service. I'm still trying to figure out a good address for the ball. Only then I may play the game of golf and give up my internet.

Link:

www.techspot.com/news/35960-restart-first-us-internet-addiction-clinic-opens.html

To the MODS sorry lol I should of put this in the off topic Discussion.

I would imagine parents with more money than time would pay this to have their children "cured".

In most cases I dont think the "patients" will be addicted enough to warrant such a drastic step.

Those with an actual addiction would most likely have have serious social or mental problems already and would most likely not be among those that could afford or take initiative to seek treatment. And most likely they dont know anyone that cares enough about them to help.

So noone.. or very few would pay to become internet free. But alot might know someone that thinks they have a problem that would gladly pay for them rather than having to deal with it themselves.

Its a sure money maker but unlikely to do any good to anyone but those running the clinic.

And anyway the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

So first of all, you wont get anyone from here admitting that :P

And second, if you did check yourself in to the clinic, you should get a discount as you then only need help with the remaining 11 steps, having made the first one yourself :D

I wouldn't bat an eyelash if I felt assured that they would stick to real cases of addiction, but with a fee like that and plenty of worried technophobic parents, how could they?

I have a friend who encourages all five of his children to spend as much time on computers as possible, to understand and take advantage of them in every way. Poor parenting or overdue progressive parenting?

One of the problems with society these days is that people will categorize anything undesirable as a disease and offer treatments for it.  Example:  Obesity.  Some people simply have a bit more body fat but will be forced into a fit shape because being obese no matter how mild is frowned upon by the fit people.

When someone does not share the same value people oust them from the community, it has been that way since the beginning and it is the same now.  Our technology evolved, but social structures have not changed much in essence.

I am sure someone might actually benefit from these "treatments", but I'd have to say maybe it is only for extreme cases.

yet again (with kids) it all boils down to the parents.  If the kids parents fail hard enough at parenting to end up needing such a clinic then i say make the parents go to a parental clinic and not the child (as the kid will just end up with other problems if the parents can't take care of him/her properelly), deal with the source of the problems and you get rid of loads of em at once.

How hard is it to restrict a kids time on the computer?  What about encouraging other activities, hardly an effort needs to be made to reduce/remove these problems

Still people are lazy and will pay $15000 to 'cure' someone so long as there is little effort on their part.

Addicted to the net? Ah well just join the other 20% of the population :D

Either the Internet or pot...

Would i pay that much to lose my addiction to the net? hell no more like just ring up my ISP and say im not paying anymore, you'd have to be crazy to pay that amount.

Originally posted by Saerain

I wouldn't bat an eyelash if I felt assured that they would stick to real cases of addiction, but with a fee like that and plenty of worried technophobic parents, how could they?

I have a friend who encourages all five of his children to spend as much time on computers as possible, to understand and take advantage of them in every way. Poor parenting or overdue progressive parenting?

As long as your friend remembers to teach his children good values and lets them out to play and make friends in RL once in a while, I would think he is doing a great job.

And you did say encourage, so I wont assume he forces them, to the detriment of other interests the children may have.

The biggest problem with children using computers (at least when I was growing up) is when the parents are too intimidated to take an interest themselves. And that leaves the kids to learn to fend for themselves in RL as well as Online.

Also on the point of addiction. Well I should mention that if I have access to a computer I will most like use it more than once per day. But when Im on vacation with no immediate access I dont really mind and wont think about it unless I happen to see one.

Now Cigarettes.... Those I will think about almost constantly even if im 10 miles from the nearest tobacco shop.

And Ive been using computers way longer than Ive been smoking. So am I addicted  to computers?.. Doesnt feel like it. Its just an easy way to alleviate boredom. Though of course if I didnt have computers I would probably have more time to find something else to do. But speaking from experience, thats usually reading books. So am I addicted to books? Doesnt feel like it either.

 I bet you Bill Gates went there 5 times and back just for the hell of it.

Originally posted by twiggy550

 I bet you Bill Gates went there 5 times and back just for the hell of it.

Wouldnt be surprized if he was part owner... just so he could screw people over one more time :P

This is a revolting concept.

I don't really have words...

Originally posted by Leodious

This is a revolting concept.

I don't really have words...

You could just use the words I chose, I found them to be very appropriate in this situation. :)

Originally posted by WW4BW

Originally posted by Saerain

I wouldn't bat an eyelash if I felt assured that they would stick to real cases of addiction, but with a fee like that and plenty of worried technophobic parents, how could they?

I have a friend who encourages all five of his children to spend as much time on computers as possible, to understand and take advantage of them in every way. Poor parenting or overdue progressive parenting?

 

As long as your friend remembers to teach his children good values and lets them out to play and make friends in RL once in a while, I would think he is doing a great job.

And you did say encourage, so I wont assume he forces them, to the detriment of other interests the children may have.

The biggest problem with children using computers (at least when I was growing up) is when the parents are too intimidated to take an interest themselves. And that leaves the kids to learn to fend for themselves in RL as well as Online.

Also on the point of addiction. Well I should mention that if I have access to a computer I will most like use it more than once per day. But when Im on vacation with no immediate access I dont really mind and wont think about it unless I happen to see one.

Now Cigarettes.... Those I will think about almost constantly even if im 10 miles from the nearest tobacco shop.

And Ive been using computers way longer than Ive been smoking. So am I addicted  to computers?.. Doesnt feel like it. Its just an easy way to alleviate boredom. Though of course if I didnt have computers I would probably have more time to find something else to do. But speaking from experience, thats usually reading books. So am I addicted to books? Doesnt feel like it either.

Readies his mad psychiatrist voice ...   "Yezz, Yezz you too haz Zee addictioon and for only $5,000 i can send you to Zee computer addiction clinic, then for only $10,000 i can send you to Zee smoking addiction clinic , and for a tiny fee of $8,000 i can send you to Zee boook addiction clinic, once done. You will then go's to Zee boredom addictioon clinic it is only $15,000 and I can promise you fantastic results.  On Zee uther hand if you are not satisfied i can recommend a clinic to treat your dissatisfaction addiction ($6,000 fee). Of course if these treatments don't work i can compleeetly understand Zee angar you will feel and I can recommend at 30 day stay at our angar and rage addictioon and treetment clinic.  For a discounted price of only $15,000..."

   Accent fades, " Will that be cash, check, or charge?"

   Accent returns , " No Zorry we don't take Zee check...  how does that make you feel ? Unhappy , Zad ,Disgusted no worries we have Zee clinic for that too.."

    - LOL sorry this seems like it is complete and total BS. It seems like a money grab but who knows it may make a ton of cash and get lots of spin-offs....    

   Hmmm... maybe a fresh air addiction clinic , or a breathing addiction clinic ,or  sweating addiction or an outdoor addiction clinic , or a sitting down / standing up addiction clinic next.

   This is nothing more than spitting a mouth full of water on a 2 alarm fire.  They are attempting to treat a minor symptom of a major problem and make a lot of money off that treatment.

   -BTW yeah i know my mad Dr. needs a lot of work but you can see where i was going.  If not we have a clinic for you too...

   /carry on

Originally posted by spdkilla

    -BTW yeah i know my mad Dr. needs a lot of work but you can see where i was going.  If not we have a clinic for you too...

    /carry on

Naah it was good, made me smile atleast.. nothing like a bit of spontanious humor.. though it might be unclear how spontanious a post on a forum is. :P But best not to overthink a joke too much.

Aaanyways thanks for the best response to one of my posts that Ive recieved so far on these forums :P

Very intreasting thoughts thanks.

This is just stupid.

 have a friend who encourages all five of his children to spend as much time on computers as possible, to understand and take advantage of them in every way. Poor parenting or overdue progressive parenting?

Even 30 years ago, "Color TV" was something that wasn't all that common. I watched Black and White and was fine with it.

Now if you showed a kid a black and white TV they would say "WTF? LOL!"

There will come a time within the next 30 years (IMHO) where when people buy a house, its not just does it have a pool and how big of a yard, its "Does it have network drops? What kind of dead zones are there?"

I meet parents who go the exact opposite. The ostrich in the sand approach "Pretend its 1965 and media such as TV and computers do not exist!!!"  Yet in one particular case the father of the boys IS A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER.

I say to him "You realize all our programming jobs getting outsourced to other Countries because we can't compete? The future is technology..You can either dig ditches/manual labor or learn to interact with a computer in some way/shape/orform"

He deludes himself by pushing them into sports, sports sports...they don't have a chance as pro-athletes, but making them comfortable navigating the web and working a computer? thats a survival skill for the future!

Games represent that 'gateway drug' to become accalamated to computers. I first learned to open my computer case because I needed to install a sound card (to play a game).

I first learned to edit an autoexec.bat file because I needed to change my buffers/files to make a game work.

Those very same core skills of working with technology help me today and I have games to thank for it.

As to Internet addiction?

Thats like saying "Hmmm, you have Football Addiction" because you go to superbowl and get into it or God addiction because you go to Church every sunday.

Anyone can do anything to extremes. How about just "Extremes Addiction" and fix that, instead of blaming the internet for the problem. It could very well be that the Kid has gotten too far into skateboarding sub-culture or turned on for Jesus or whatever. The problem isn't the 'thing' that they are interested in, its that their personality may make them take it too far to the exclusion of all else.

Just seems like a poor attempt to make money to me.  You only live life once, so do what you most enjoy.  Am I saying be on the computer 24/7?  No, but if you have free time on your hands, as long as your not staying away from work or school, go ahead and be on the computer.  I wouldnt pay that money to get rid of something I enjoy, end of story.

Dumb.

Sounds like a nice way for a couple of jerks to make some cash.

I agree with the above posts. This is something that mainly concerned parents would send their children to when they do not understand their child's interest in being inside, on the computer. It's a generational miss understanding. One our own children won't have to put up with. Not in this context anyway.

That being said. If someone took my internet away by force. There would be riots. Many of them. :D 

INTEREWEBZ OR DEATH! XD

 mm !you could play golf on the net !oh im such a genius! einstein here i come!

Originally posted by linren

One of the problems with society these days is that people will categorize anything undesirable as a disease and offer treatments for it.  Example:  Obesity.  Some people simply have a bit more body fat but will be forced into a fit shape because being obese no matter how mild is frowned upon by the fit people.

People classified as medically obese have actual medical risks associated with their weight. There is a difference between feeling overweight and being obese.

I know I have a addiction problem. If you took away my computer I'd just find something else to latch onto (ie. the tv). It's not an internet or computer addiction, it's an information addiction. Anything to keep my mind occupied.

better waste this money with some hookers instead? =p

Originally posted by Silvermink

Originally posted by linren

One of the problems with society these days is that people will categorize anything undesirable as a disease and offer treatments for it.  Example:  Obesity.  Some people simply have a bit more body fat but will be forced into a fit shape because being obese no matter how mild is frowned upon by the fit people.

 

People classified as medically obese have actual medical risks associated with their weight. There is a difference between feeling overweight and being obese.

 

I know I have a addiction problem. If you took away my computer I'd just find something else to latch onto (ie. the tv). It's not an internet or computer addiction, it's an information addiction. Anything to keep my mind occupied.

I wrote 3 short paragraphs and you only quoted one, plus I never said obesity cannot be a medical risk.  I simply stated that only more extreme cases will get some sort of benefit from these clinical "treatments", but the rest of the people that are no where near the danger zone are also chastise for it.  Which was the content of my whole response.

Stop taking my words out of context.  First paragraph was about the social trend with MILD obesity as example, I did state about the exception of extreme cases in the last sentence on the ones you did not quote.

Originally posted by linren

One of the problems with society these days is that people will categorize anything undesirable as a disease and offer treatments for it.  Example:  Obesity.  Some people simply have a bit more body fat but will be forced into a fit shape because being obese no matter how mild is frowned upon by the fit people.

When someone does not share the same value people oust them from the community, it has been that way since the beginning and it is the same now.  Our technology evolved, but social structures have not changed much in essence.

I am sure someone might actually benefit from these "treatments", but I'd have to say maybe it is only for extreme cases.

 

This is my whole reply earlier, i'd appreciate it if next time someone respond to my reply at least read all the way to the end.  When taking a quote out please only use partial when edited out part does not contradict your point, other wise please use the full quote.

How is being addicted to the internet any different then saying i'm addicted to drawing?

I spend a lot of time on a sketch pad! OH NOES!  Quick, someone take 14k of mine and don't let me buy any more paper!