Internetaholics Anonymous

Only you can decide whether you want to give
I.A. a try — whether you think it can help you.

e who are in I.A. came because we finally gave up trying to control our surfing. We still hated to admit that we could never surf safely. Then we heard from other I.A. members that we were sick. (We thought so for years!) We found out that many people suffered from the same feelings of guilt and loneliness and hopelessness that we did. We found out that we had these feelings because we had the disease of web addiction.

We decided to try and face up to what the Internet had done to us. Here are some of the questions we tried to answer honestly. If we answered YES to four or more questions, we were in deep trouble with our surfing. See how you do. Remember, there is no disgrace in facing up to the fact that you have a problem.

Answer YES or NO to the following questions.

1 - Have you ever decided to stop surfing for a week or so, but only lasted for a couple of days?
Most of us in I.A. made all kinds of promises to ourselves and to our families. We could not keep them. Then we came to I.A. I.A. said: "Just try not to dial-in today." (If you do not dial-in today, you cannot surf today.)

Yes No

2 - Do you wish people would mind their own business about your surfing-- stop telling you what to do?
In I.A. we do not tell anyone to do anything. We just talk about our own surfing, the trouble we got into, and how we stopped. We will be glad to help you, if you want us to.

Yes No

3 - Have you ever switched from one kind of computer to another in the hope that this would keep you from surfing?
We tried all kinds of ways. We uninstalled Netscape. Or just used our Apple IIe. Or we did not surf from work. Or only surfed on weekends. You name it, we tried it. But if we sat at anything with a browser installed, we usually surfed eventually.

Yes No

4 - Have you had to have an eye-opener upon awakening during the past year?
Do you need to surf to get started, or to stop shaking? This is a pretty sure sign that you are not surfing "socially."

Yes No

5 - Do you envy people who can surf without getting into trouble?
At one time or another, most of us have wondered why we were not like most people, who really can take it or leave it.

Yes No

6 - Have you had problems connected with surfing during the past year?
Be honest! Doctors say that if you have a problem with the Internet and keep on surfing, it will get worse -- never better. Eventually, you will die, or end up in an institution for the rest of your life. The only hope is to stop surfing.

Yes No

7 - Has your surfing caused trouble at home?
Before we came into I.A., most of us said that it was the people or problems at home that made us surf. We could not see that our surfing just made everything worse. It never solved problems anywhere or anytime.

Yes No

8 - Do you ever try to get "extra" time online at a party because you do not get enough?
Most of us used to "hit a few pages" before we started out if we thought it was going to be that kind of party. And if sites were not served fast enough, we would go some place else to get more bandwidth.

Yes No

9 - Do you tell yourself you can stop surfing any time you want to, even though you keep getting online when you don't mean to?
Many of us kidded ourselves into thinking that we surfed because we wanted to. After we came into I.A., we found out that once we started to surf, we couldn't stop.

Yes No

10 - Have you missed days of work or school because of surfing?
Many of us admit now that we "called in sick" lots of times when the truth was that we were surfing or on IRC.

Yes No

11 - Do you have "blackouts"?
A "blackout" is when we have been surfing hours or days which we cannot remember. When we came to I.A., we found out that this is a pretty sure sign of addictive surfing.

Yes No

12 - Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not surf?
Many of us started to surf because surfing made life seem better, at least for a while. By the time we got into I.A., we felt trapped. We were surfing to live and living to surf. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Yes No

What's your score?

Did you answer YES four or more times? If so, you are probably in trouble with the Internet. Why do we say this? Because thousands of people in I.A. have said so for many years. They found out the truth about themselves — the hard way.

But again, only you can decide whether you think I.A. is for you. Try to keep an open mind on the subject. If the answer is YES, we will be glad to show you how we stopped surfing ourselves. Just call.

I.A. does not promise to solve your life's problems. But we can show you how we are learning to live without surfing "one day at a time." We stay away from that "first surf." If there is no first one, there cannot be a tenth one. And when we got rid of the Internet, we found that life became much more manageable.

INTERNETAHOLICS ANONYMOUS® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from web addiction.

• The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop surfing. There are no dues or fees for I.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
• I.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes.

• Our primary purpose is to stay off the Internet and help other addicts to close their browsers.

Copyright © by The I.A. Grapevine, Inc.;
reprinted with permission