Internet Addiction Test
I took the IAT (Internet Addiction Test). My results:
Your score: 42
You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.
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I misspelled “addiction” as “addition” both times in the title and in the first sentence the first time around. An internet addition test would be quite different.
I believe this test was written in the late 90’s when dial-up was still the majority, and Al Gore was still “fathering” the internet.
Now-a-days, I do not “log on” to the internet; it is just a part of my life (amazon.com, *.google.com, flickr.com). Am I addicted? I can do without the internet, but life would be inconvenient. And, is online gaming a part of this? While I play online, it is not nearly as bad as my marathon sessions of Quake II or StarCraft.
I found myself answering “does not apply” too often. I tied with Chad: 26.
I tried to think of my mindset in 1995. Even with that school of thought, my score was a 44. And, I found some questions ambigous.
10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet? Does this question encompass IM’ing friends online to relieve stress?
11. How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go on-line again? Again, does this encompass IM’ing friends because it is cheaper than calling?
I tried to read the “spirit” of the questions and applied it to all my online activities (i.e., I would apply it to IM).
And, as I already knew, I’m addicted. I don’t have emotional issues about wanting to get back on when I’m not on, but I always stay on longer than I want to. If I read one article, that’ll lead to another article, and then I’ll remember there was something I wanted to buy, etc.
I end up staying up later than I want to because of it, etc.
Like the other night a group of us were playing GRAW. If I only had TV to watch and no 360 or Internet, I would have gone to bed. But instead, I stayed up pretty late. That happens all the time.
I consider a game like WoW to be the same as “online.”
My worst is “How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet?” I gave that an always, because, if I didn’t have the Internet, I’d pretty much be “distractedless.” And since I always get on the Internet to waste time while at work (not all day, but every day), clearly, my productivity suffers.
Obviously, there are plenty of ways to rationalize it. I could fool myself that the Internet allows me to blow off steam and be more productive when doing real work, but I know that’s a load of wishful thinking, horseshit. If I just showed some self control, I’d get a lot more done.
Of course, my “TV addiction” is in the toilet.
So what’s your score? I want numbers, not your fuzzy words! 😀
Between 25-55 depending how I answer, but always within the realm of reason.
You should get more out of my post than the number.
Yeah, what A_B said.
(34)
You guys must think I want to get to know you better or something. Weirdos!
😉
I am addicted and I’m perfectly fine with that.
BTW, my score was 56. Apparently, I should be suffering emotionally or something because of it.
26: You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.
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I found myself looking for the “never” option, other than “rarely”.