Can you tear yourself away form the internet?
A new study has revealed that people who become dependent on the internet show the same neurological changes as alcoholics and drug addicts.
The discovery shows that being hooked on a behaviour can be just as physically damaging as addiction to drugs, scientists believe.
Experts in China scanned the brains of 17 young web addicts and found disruption in the way their brains were wired up.
They say the discovery, published in Plos One, could lead to new treatments for addictive behaviour.
An estimated 5 to 10 per cent of internet users are thought to be addicted – meaning they are unable to control their use.
The majority are games players who become so absorbed in the activity they go without food or drink for long periods and their education, work and relationships suffer.
Dr Hao Lei and colleagues write in Plos One: "Overall, our findings indicate that IAD (Internet Addiction Disorder) has abnormal white matter integrity in brain regions involving emotional generation and processing, executive attention, decision making and cognitive control.
"The results also suggest that IAD may share psychological and neural mechanisms with other types of substance addiction and impulse control disorders."
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