Internet addicts suffer from 'discomgoogolation'

A recent study by British psychologists has found that nearly 44 per cent of the Internet users in Britain suffer from distress or anxiety when unable to get connected to the Internet.

Psychologist Dr. David Lewis, who headed the research team, said they had conducted a study on 2100 Internet users. The findings of the survey are startling. Three-quarters of the people surveyed said they can't live without the Internet. Forty-four per cent of them reported that they felt frustrated and confused whilst unable to get online. More than a quarter of them had higher stress levels. Psychologists have coined a new word 'discomgoogolation' for the phenomenon. It is defined as feeling of distress or anxiety when unable to gain immediate information access.

Psychologist Dr David Lewis said

The proliferation of broadband has meant for the first time in history we have entered a culture of ‘instant answers’ – a galaxy of information is just a mouse click away and we have become addicted to the web.They often need to make many short-notice decisions at this time but feel they are doing so without the full information the Internet usually gives them.

The study found men to be more stressed when they were not connected during evenings, while women had their highest stress levels during day time.The study found Friday as the most stressful day to be disconnected as it prevented people from planning their weekends using Google.