Can a person be truly addicted to the Internet?
A new brain scan study shows not only can that be the case, but also that Internet addiction might cause the same brain changes that are seen in alcoholics and drug addicts.
For the study, published in the Jan. 11 issue of PLoS One, researchers studied 17 men and women who were diagnosed with Internet addiction disorder (IAD) and compared scans of their brains to scans of 16 healthy people who weren't addicted to the web. Study participants were between the ages of 14 and 21 and lived in China.
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The researchers found more patterns of  "abnormal white matter" on brain scans of Internet addicts, compared with scans of non-addicts. White matter areas in the brain contain nerve fibers that transmit signals to other parts of the brain.
These changes showed evidence of disrupting pathways related to emotions, decision-making, and self control.
The researchers said earlier studies have found similar white matter changes in the brain scans of people addicted to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, meth, and ketamine (also known as "Special K").

"The results also suggest that IAD may share psychological and neural mechanisms with other types of substance addiction and impulse control disorders," the researchers wrote in the study.
Professor Gunter Schumann, chair in biological psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London, told BBC News that he's come across similar findings in brain scans of video game addicts.
"For the first time two studies show changes in the neuronal connections between brain areas as well as changes in brain function in people who are frequently using the Internet or video games," he said.
Dr. Henrietta Bowden Jones, consultant psychiatrist at Imperial College in London, who runs the U.K.'s only clinic for Internet addicts, said hardcore gamers are more likely to be addicted to the Internet.

"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," Jones told The Independent. "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."
According to the independent, an estimated 5 to 10 percent of Internet users are unable to control their usage and are considered addicts.

I have half a dopamind to believe this.

Yes anything can be addictive to the right person so what? Some people are addicted to sex. Should we just stop pro creating the species because of that?

It is possible to break the addiction. When I first got a computer about 12 or so years ago I was really addicted and on occasional times since. I have been through periods where I am so addicted that I have neglected housework, failed to eat properly, spent so much time on the internet.

Of course, it is useful for entertainment, education and communicating with friends and family. However if it gets to be a problem and that person realises it as a problem it is possible to break the habit by committing spare time to other activities. Like any addiction it takes a while to break the habit, but it can be done.

my brother, a doctor, has said for years television is a brain virus, and the internet is like television on crack

so none of the above is hard to believe,,,

My computer was in repair for a week and I was worried I was addicted but I did great worked alot of overtime got out to dinner more than once a week and got housework done. I borrowed my daughters laptop for like fifteen minuts one day to catch up on the news.

It was actualy pretty easy to drift away from.

I've found other ways to get addicted. Guess my computer breaking was a blessing after all.

I can imagine.
I've heard things about Librarians.