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Anna Cocke graduated from CUNY with a Master of Arts in Journalism, specializing in health and medicine reporting. She has helped produce segments for the Association of Health Care Journalists on health care reform and reported on diabetes in the South Bronx. She has been writing professionally for more than seven years. Photo Credit computer image by blaine stiger from Fotolia.com The Internet has become an integral part of many people's work and personal lives. The number of people online daily has nearly doubled over the past decade, according to research conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. While internet addiction as a specific disorder was being debated for inclusion in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as of 2010, treatment centers already exist throughout the U.S. and abroad, including China, Taiwan and Korea. Physical Effects Internet overuse can lead to sedentary lifestyles, weight gain and a decline in physical fitness. Other symptoms can include carpal tunnel syndrome, dry eyes, migraine headaches, a decline in personal hygiene and back aches, according to Maressa Hecht, founder of Computer Addiction Services and a member of the Harvard Medical School. if(typeof disable_adsense_2 === "undefined") { ad_order_2 = (typeof ad_order_2 === "undefined") ? "2" : ad_order_2; ad_client = "ca-livestrong_html"; num_ads = "1"; type = "text"; channels = "art_sub_top_Addiction_Recovery,article_top_diseases,article_top"; class_name = "adsense_afc"; print_google_ad(ad_order_2, num_ads, type, channels, ad_client , class_name ); } Sponsored LinksHow to Stay Asleep Obey this one weird trick to stay asleep all night long. Learn more. www.PeakLife.com/TrySomnapure Depression Depression has also been linked to Internet overuse by researchers at the Institute of Psychological Sciences in Leeds, UK. Researchers found that study participants who exhibited signs of Internet overuse engaged disproportionately than the normal population in sites devoted to pornography, gaming, social networking and chat rooms. They theorized that Internet addicts' use of these sites as replacements for real-life socializing was resulting in depression. However, there is debate as to whether depression results from, or is a cause, or internet overuse. A study published in the "Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine" found depression, as well as ADHD and social phobia, to increase the chances of excessive Internet use in adolescents. Sleep Disturbances Evidence also suggests that internet overuse can contribute to sleep disturbances. Studies of Chinese and American children, published in the "Journal of Sleep" and the "Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics," found that computer use among adolescents was associated with later bed times, later waking times, less restful sleep and an overall decrease in sleep. The use of computers before bedtime has also raised concerns among sleep experts, including Phyllis Zee, a neuroscience professor at Northwestern University, that the light from screens is affecting circadian rhythms and possibly contributing to insomnia.

A virtual world is a genre of online community that often takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment, through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects[1].

iStockPhoto (CBS) 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. Video Game-Obsessed Mom Neglects Kids, Starves DogsAre social networking sites turning teens into substance abusers? 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.

An Introduction to Fair Use What is Fair Use? Fair use is the most significant limitation on the copyright holder's exclusive rights (United States Copyright Office, 2010, para. 1). Deciding whether the use of a work is fair IS NOT a science. There are no set guidelines that are universally accepted. Instead, the individual who wants to use a copyrighted work must weigh four factors:

In Israel's capital yesterday, Mitt Romney "added one more flat note to the image of the Republican presidential hopeful's gaffe-prone international foray," the Christian Science Monitor claims. In the New York Times account, Romney "offended Palestinian leaders . . ., thrusting himself again into a volatile issue while on his high-profile overseas trip."

a Denver-based company has created a Facebook application for youth to report violations to Facebook officials and connect to safety and crisis-support organizations. SafetyWeb's application, launched Monday, links teens to organizations including the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and Facebook's abuse reporting process.

When their child clicks the Find Help application, they are directed to phone numbers and links for reporting incidents.