Addiction alarm sounds as Facebook goes mobile

Facebook did not respond to a request for comment. A Sydney child and adolescent psychiatrist says Facebook's lofty mobile phone ambitions are exacerbating the problem of internet addiction.
Philip Tam, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Rivendell unit in Concord, said in a phone interview that social networking apps on mobile phones meant "we never get away from the reach of cyber space".
"It's always with us literally in our pocket 24/7 and for people without the self control that can be worrying," he said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this week at a mobile-themed event that in the past year the social networking site had tripled the number of people accessing Facebook through mobiles - from 65 million to 200 million.
Facebook is moving to become the heart of smartphone lifestyles by offering new features including allowing people to check into third-party applications with a click of a Facebook sign-in icon and letting them see bargains available at local businesses through the Facebook Places feature.
Mobile users of Facebook are twice as active as those who login via personal computers. "Our goal is to make everyone social. If you are building an iPhone your goal is to get as many phones out there. Our goal is to be social," Zuckerberg said.
But Dr Tam said the prevalence of social networking on smartphones was trapping people in a "never ending feedback loop of information".
"You've got to keep on top of what other people are saying or saying about you, so you're trapped in this loop that you can't get out of," he said in a phone interview.
"Young girls tell me they can't switch off their mobile phone at night because they are scared that they'll miss out on what people will say about them behind their back."
Dr Tam said people who use the internet excessively often had trouble sleeping, fell asleep in class and ignored their daily needs.
He said while it was important for people and parents to monitor internet use, this was becoming increasingly difficult as now most of us have portable computers in our pockets.
"One key point that we all recommend is that you don't have the computer in the kids' bedroom, you have it in a common area, but with mobile phones and iPhones that rule is redundant," said Dr Tam.
"You don't need to be physically sitting at a computer terminal - you can have it under your pillow literally, you can be doing it under the bed covers.
"All those Facbeook users should ask themselves, 'am I able to say enough is enough I'm switching it off', or are they actually unable to switch it off because they can't bear getting out of the loop."
Dr Tam has taken a specific interest in the topic of internet and video game addiction and is among a number of mental health experts around the world who are pushing for the condition to be listed officially in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is published by the American Psychological Association.
In the US and Britain there are already clinics set up specifically to treat internet addiction, but these are far less prevalent in Australia. The condition is not covered under Medicare and Dr Tam said treatment could only be sought from clinical psychologists who deal with things like phobias and obsessive compulsive disorders.
"A lot of people say it should be classified as a disorder but a lot of people say it's not a real problem, that it's a bit like shopping addiction and sex addiction," said Dr Tam.
"Personally I think there should be some acknowledgment that it's a major problem with mental health implications but I wouldn't go as far as saying it should be given its own name to the extent that it's similar to schizophrenia or severe depression."
Dr Tam said he did not like to use the term "internet addiction" as it implied a chemical addiction on a par with heroin or alcohol. Instead he said it was "more like an intoxicated, immersive, seductive experience".
He said he saw more patients who were addicted to video games than social networks. A common culprit was the online multiplayer game World of Warcraft; overseas there have been reports of people dropping dead after marathon WoW sessions.
One recent case Dr Tam worked on involved a young school boy who had sought treatment because he was playing World of Warcraft until 5am and had dropped out of school because he couldn't control his urges.
"I see a lot of parents who are actually frightened to take away their mobile phone or computer ... [because] the children get violent," he said. "I actually just saw a family this morning - the parents are actually frightened to tell him to turn the computer off because he gets angry."
Tam said part of the problem at the moment, apart from the lack of official recognition of the condition, was that treatment of internet addiction was not coordinated and people did not know how to deal with it.
To combat this, Tam said he was forming a group of about 30 or 40 clinical psychologists who would meet regularly in North Sydney to share ideas on treating internet addiction. They also planned to hold public information lectures