According to a just-completed study from researchers at Stanford’s School of Medicine, one in eight people show signs of “problematic internet use.”

I read this, and decided to blog about it, which means I’m probably one of the eight.

Results from the telephone-based survey of more than 2,000 people found that:

• 13.7 percent found it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time
• 12.4 percent stayed online longer than intended very often or often
• 12.3 percent had seen a need to cut back on Internet use at some point
• 8.7 percent attempted to conceal non-essential Internet use from family, friends and employers
• 8.2 percent used the Internet as a way to escape problems or relieve negative mood
• 5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered as a result of excessive Internet use

Based on the research, the average internet addict was a college-educated white male (yup, that’s me) in his 30s (yeah, I wish) who logged about 30 hours of nonessential internet use per week (define “nonessential”) and visited pornography and gambling sites as well as chat rooms and shopping sites (uh … no comment).

Here’s an interesting finding: “the research showed similarities between alcoholism and internet addiction in that users often hide their web surfing and use it to self-medicate.”   I don’t know what that means.  Does that mean that internet addiction replaces alcohol addiction?

Anyawy, if you want to read more about the study, click here.  But I warn you, if you click, that might mean you have the signs of internet addiction.