Washington: When does Internet surfing cross into overuse, or rather Internet addiction? Glassy-eyed millions are downloading, instant messaging, emailing -- and they're doing it 24/7. And they cannot just walk away.

According to a report in WebMD, Nathan A Shapira, MD, PhD, a psychiatrist in the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida in Gainesville, has been studying this social problem since 1997.

Published in the current issue of Depression and Anxiety, Shapira points out how when the computer age burgeoned two decades ago, researchers looked into computer and technology dependence. But they didn't find the same damage -- especially to relationships - - that Internet overuse seems to cause. In fact, psychiatrists are still trying to figure out what's going on -- and how best to treat the problem.

"It's disheartening", Shapira tells WebMD. "We have this wonderful, very prevalent technology, but no one really knows the effect it's having on us."

Internet abuse often dovetails with another psychiatric problem. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder -- the same ones who compulsively gamble or shop -- may find the Internet an outlet, he adds. And the problem is not likely to ebb, not any time soon, says the report.

He adds "People get a rush from being on three computers at once, keeping different things going on each one. And as speed gets better, the problem will likely get worse. Speed is part of the enticement."

ANI