Web health check here

Dry eyes, shooting pains in your hands or wrists, and lack of sleep, do any of these sound familiar?

If you answered positively to these symptoms, it may not be just bad workstation ergonomics to blame. Could be you’re addicted to the web instead.

According to Dr Diane Wieland, who published a study in the journal, Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, some five to 10 percent of internet users have problem compulsions. Most at risk are people who have had addiction difficulties in the past, says Dr Wieland who treats patients with computer addiction in her practice in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Signs and symptoms of internet addiction include a general disregard for health and appearance; sleep deprivation due to spending so much time online; and decreased physical activity and social interaction with others. Dry eyes, carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive motion injuries of the hands and fingers are also common.

People to People Net reproduce a net addiction questionnaire devised by Dr Kimberly Young, executive director of Canada’s Center for Internet Addiction Recovery. Scroll about halfway down the page to take the test

In the interests of research, yours truly took the test in order to gauge the accuracy of the results. For the record, and given that I work online as a writer, I scored 43 points, putting me just inside the “frequent problems exist regarding use of the Internet” bracket.

My name is ____ and I’m a netaholic! Or I would be, perhaps, if I didn’t write content and update web sites. Then again, maybe I’m in denial…

Ed: Time, methinks, you ought to go to the big room with the green carpet and blue ceiling known as outside!