Cyber Junkie: Escape the Gaming and Internet Trap

by Kevin Roberts

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Author: Kevin Roberts

Publisher: Hazelden Publishing

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1592859488
ISBN 13: 978-1592859481

Recovering video game addict Kevin Roberts offers a step-by-step guide to recovery for those struggling with compulsive video gaming and Internet surfing.

Video gaming and Internet surfing are the top sources of entertainment for tens of millions of North Americans today. As these technologies continue to grow and flourish, so does the number of people becoming obsessively absorbed in the imagination and fantasy that they present. More and more people are isolating themselves, turning their backs on reality, ignoring family and friends, and losing their sleep and even their jobs due to excessive use of video games and the Internet--and they continue to do so despite harmful consequences to their mental, physical, and spiritual health, a telltale sign of addiction.

In this groundbreaking book, recovering video game addict Kevin Roberts uses extensive scientific and social research, complemented by his and others' personal stories, to give compulsive gamers and surfers--and their family and friends--a step-by-step guide for recovery. He outlines the ways that "cyber junkies" exhibit the classic signs of addiction and reveals how they can successfully recover by following a program similar to those used for other addictions. Readers learn to identify whether they have an addiction, find the right resources to get individualized help, and regain a rewarding life away from the screen by learning new thoughts and behaviors that free them from the cravings that rule their lives. Included is a guide for parents for working with their addicted children.

From Publishers Weekly

In Roberts's sober personal account of addiction, he reveals a modern society completely inundated with electronics. We are embroiled in stimuli from texting, chatting, social networking, casual gaming, and massive multi-user role playing games that allow us to trade real life for highly stimulating virtual realities. For the majority of users, these stimuli provide a brief, entertaining diversion from the quotidian. But for some, it results in destroyed careers and relationships, and ruined lives. A recovering "cyber junkie" himself, Roberts outlines the ways in which game addiction occurs and manifests, and provides step-by-step strategies for concerned family members and friends who want to help their addicted loved ones recover. While cyber addiction is a decidedly modern phenomenon, the steps to recovery will be familiar to anyone with an even passing knowledge of AA, and readers will be forgiven for mistaking his intervention advice as something taken from a substance abuse tale. Roberts's tale shines most when salaciously highlighting the myriad forms that cyber addiction takes, and when explaining the seductive allure of modern stimuli. Readers who can move past skepticism about cyber addiction will find Roberts's tale disturbing and enlightening. (Sept.) (c)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Ask Amy: Son's Internet Addiction Has Parents Worried

By Amy Dickinson
Tribune Media Services

Posted: 04/18/2011 04:04:20 PM PDT

Updated: 04/18/2011 04:39:13 PM PDT

Dear Amy: My 18-year-old son is addicted to online gaming. He is in his first year of community college full time and living at home. He is failing his classes, spending all of his time gaming, does no homework, forgets to eat and plays all night instead of sleeping.

Until he was 18, we limited his computer time. But now we keep waiting for him to regulate it or work it out for himself. It's not happening. What should we do? -- Worried Parents

Dear Parents: Online gaming is your son's drug of choice. The natural consequence of your son's addiction is that he will not be able to find success in the actual world until he deals with his issues.

You need to have a heart-to-heart with him, and let him know how worried you are and what his choices are at this point.

Your son should be evaluated by a mental health practitioner with experience in treating gamers; he may have underlying issues or difficulties that make him lean toward gaming to the exclusion of everything else.

Your son won't be able to modulate his behavior until he faces his compulsion.

Because he failed his classes, he should not return to school. He is not ready to pursue a college education. You should restrict online access at your home and help him look for a job.

For insight into this challenging issue, read "Cyber Junkie: Escape the Gaming and Internet Trap," by Kevin Roberts (Hazelden Publishing, 2010).

(Amy Dickinson Tribune Media Services)

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