Study: Internet Addiction Can Harm Our Brains

Too much time spent online can produce changes in the brain similar to those seen in people addicted to alcohol or illegal drugs.


Summary: Internet addiction has now been linked to changes in the brain similar to those observed in people addicted to alcohol, cocaine and cannabis. Researchers in England used MRI scans to reveal abnormalities in brains of adolescents who spent so much time on the Internet, their social and personal lives were affected. Some 5 to 10 per cent of Internet users are thought to be addicted, meaning they can’t control their use. The discovery could lead to new approaches in treating behavioral problems resulting from this addiction.


Henrietta Bowden Jones, a psychiatrist at Imperial College, London, who runs that country’s only clinic for Internet addicts and problem gamblers, said, "The majority of people we see with serious Internet addiction are gamers – people who spend long hours in roles in various games that cause them to disregard their obligations. I have seen people who stopped attending university lectures, failed their degrees or their marriages broke down because they were unable to emotionally connect with anything outside the game." 


Case studies include a 20-year-old in England who died of a blood clot when he developed deep vein thrombosis after spending up to 12 hours at a time playing his Xbox; a mother in New Mexico who received a 25-year jail sentence because her daughter died from neglect due to her online game addiction; and an English woman who was jailed because she stole £76,000 ($116,300) from her company to feed her Internet gambling addiction. However, most people can spend long hours online without evidence of addiction. They may go on the Internet because of their jobs or for harmless social activities.


In China researchers scanned the brains of 17 adolescents who had been diagnosed with “Internet addiction disorder” and compared the scans to those of 16 of their peers. The results showed impairment of white matter fibers in the brain which connect regions involved in emotional processing, attention, decision making and cognitive control. Similar changes in white matter have been seen in cases of alcohol and cocaine addiction. 


However, the study’s authors are not sure whether the brain changes are the consequence or the cause of the Internet addiction. Because the study was not controlled, it is also possible illicit drugs, alcohol, or other stimulants might account for the changes.


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Comment: The Internet, like printed matter, television, automobiles, and just about everything else in life including the human ability to speak, can be used for either positive or negative purposes. Regarding the usefulness of the Internet, compare having to trudge down to the local library and perhaps spend hours in order to find the answer to a question to the ability to almost instantly find your answer on the Internet, using a search window like Google. 


However, when it comes to realizing when we have a serious addiction, we need to seek help if we can’t learn to control it ourselves. This story paints a picture of Internet addiction as being about as serious as addiction to alcohol or illegal drugs.


On the other hand, if meaningless activity such as playing games for hours on the Internet can hurt us mentally, shouldn’t the opposite also be true? If we submerse ourselves in wholesome activities such as volunteering to help people in need, reading good literature, or spending more time with family, shouldn’t we expect to benefit mentally and socially from such activities?


As Christians, we know where we should be spending a significant amount of our time. In doing good works: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink” (Romans 12:20) In worship and Bible study: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). And in spreading the good news of the Gospel: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19)


There will be no harmful addictions in heaven. If there is an addiction in Paradise, it will be a healthy addiction to praising and serving the Lord. “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13). For those people who have come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, such positive thoughts will frequently travel the pathways in our brains. Nothing could be healthier for us.


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QUESTION OF THE DAY


Do heavy smokers ever reach the point where quitting no longer has a positive effect?


No. According to Bill Blatt of the American Lung Association, fifteen years after quitting, a smoker’s lung cancer risk will be the same as that of someone who has never smoked.


Source: Spry (January, 2012)


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