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Thread: Internet Addicts Experience Brain Changes Like Alcoholics And Gamblers

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    Default Internet Addicts Experience Brain Changes Like Alcoholics And Gamblers

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1202480.html

    Interesting how something innocuous like the internet can give someone a similar brain than that of an addict. It makes you think of what you can or can't do these days, but also makes you wonder what is the gap between seemingly harmless activities and obviously harmful ones.
    Last edited by Raver; 03-03-2012 at 12:06 AM.
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    It's all just shades of magenta.

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    I'm an addict.
    But, for a certainty, back then,
    We loved so many, yet hated so much,
    We hurt others and were hurt ourselves...

    Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
    Whilst our laughter echoed,
    Under cerulean skies...

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    i think i'm correct in saying nothing will break a persons addiction to the internet except for accepting christ.

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    Yahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahhahaha fuk all of You i'm drunk bu here goes: fuck all Your judgement You're all waY worse off than me! here's science to prove it!!!1
    maybe a saint is just a dead prick with a good publicist
    maybe tommorow's statues are insecure without their foes
    go ask the frog what the scorpion knows

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    YaY
    maybe a saint is just a dead prick with a good publicist
    maybe tommorow's statues are insecure without their foes
    go ask the frog what the scorpion knows

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    wish i could lik mY own posts
    maybe a saint is just a dead prick with a good publicist
    maybe tommorow's statues are insecure without their foes
    go ask the frog what the scorpion knows

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    Quote Originally Posted by Allie View Post
    wish i could lik mY own posts
    You're welcome.

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    i'm alreadY classY enough whY carrY it in mY speech too t-thats thats just overboard
    maybe a saint is just a dead prick with a good publicist
    maybe tommorow's statues are insecure without their foes
    go ask the frog what the scorpion knows

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    Let's fly now Gilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ashton View Post
    Allie's keepin' it classy.
    It's necessary...someone has to report back from the void. Otherwise we'd be dull and complacent...
    But, for a certainty, back then,
    We loved so many, yet hated so much,
    We hurt others and were hurt ourselves...

    Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
    Whilst our laughter echoed,
    Under cerulean skies...

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    Ti centric krieger's Avatar
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    ZOMG THE BRAIN CHANGES. how is this not something totally and in every way expected ex-ante.

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    Quote Originally Posted by octo View Post
    I wonder if other rewarding regular habits also result in the same brain changes, e.g. putting on clean underwear, brushing your teeth, taking a really good dump after eating your weekly vindaloo.
    I assume they would if you spent hours and hours engaging in these activities each day.

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    Quote Originally Posted by octo View Post
    I don't think it's necessarily how long you do it for, possibly more to do with how many times you make an action which is rewarded immediately... nosepicking and sniffing your armpits provide a similar sense of gratification I guess. Less headline-worthy though.

    Also, reading a really good unputdownable book.
    I'll try to track down a relevant article I saw on the effect that reading a great deal has on people's brains and how this necessitates a sacrificial trade-off in other cerebral faculties (which, I'd assume/attest, include social agility). Supposing I don't fail at that or forget, here's a silver lining to the OP for non-idiots: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/20...ive-inequality

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    Being similar to an addiction doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad. I remember when someone linked me to an article on how the effects of certainty are similar to the effects of cocaine...

    Our pleasure senses are there to mark things that are good for us. They don't always succeed, but if something feels good, you can be sure that something similar is good for us sometimes... at least.



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    Let's fly now Gilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crazedratremix View Post
    i think i'm correct in saying nothing will break a persons addiction to the internet except for accepting christ.
    But, for a certainty, back then,
    We loved so many, yet hated so much,
    We hurt others and were hurt ourselves...

    Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
    Whilst our laughter echoed,
    Under cerulean skies...

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    Quote Originally Posted by crazedratremix View Post
    i think i'm correct in saying nothing will break a persons addiction to the internet except for accepting christ.
    It's good that the foilhats and the Christians have you to lend them credibility.
    “I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life. - Osama bin Laden

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    Quote Originally Posted by octo View Post
    I wonder if other rewarding regular habits also result in the same brain changes, e.g. putting on clean underwear, brushing your teeth, taking a really good dump after eating your weekly vindaloo.
    I don't think you'd get much of a dopamine rush from something as mundane as brushing your teeth. Every action we take rewards us with a certain amount of dopamine, so things like video games, television and internet and probably more likely to give you that a higher reward then brushing your teeth, plus you're more likely to repeat those activities for long hours.
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    Quote Originally Posted by octo View Post
    I think it depends who you are Borderline OCD sufferers probably get a bigger rush from tooth brushing than video games. From what I remember, a study found that anticipating and hearing familiar bits in music gives a big dopamine rush in the reward brain bits, even though that would be considered mundane by a lot of people. A more relevant question is how much reinforcement is required for said brain changes...
    Yeah, whether something is a problem or not really comes down to the individual because everyone has their own unique brain chemistry and some are more susceptible to brain change than others. Music has a similar effect for me as well if I really enjoy the song. I think if you do something repeatedly every single day for several hours then it would likely reinforce brain changes in order to adapt to the new routine, however if you only do it periodically then it most likely won't have any effect on the brain.
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    I think these "addicts" are really just harmonizers. It's the demonization of harmonizers by evil dominant subtypes.

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