Anxious about being online?

See friends and get more activity, Linda Blair urges.

Do you feel like you must be logged on 24/7 and that you’re unable to resist checking your devices? Many do.

A survey of more than 11,000 adolescents in 11 countries across Europe, by Tony Durkee and colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet, categorized 4.4 per cent of respondents as pathological internet users (PIU).

Katie Niemz and colleagues at the U.K.’s Nottingham Trent University found an even higher rate of PIU: 18.3 per cent.

A survey of 5,000 students by Digital Awareness UK found 56 per cent felt “on the edge of addiction” and 52 per cent said their extensive use of social media made them feel less confident about their appearance and their life generally.

Niemz found the PIUs in her study had lower selfesteem.

At work, use of the internet for personal reasons has been linked to lower productivity. A study by Nucleus Research in Boston claims firms that allow employees access to social media at work lose about 1.5 per cent of employee productivity.

A report by TeamLease in Business Today put the loss much higher, at 13 per cent.

But is it a true addiction? The most recent update to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fails to classify internet overuse this way, as the authors claim more research is still needed.

Nonetheless, if your internet use feels out of control, you’ll want help now. The key to control lies not in how often you use the internet, but in recognizing why you do so.

If you seek the good feeling it gives you because of a connection with others, your priority is to increase the number of additional activities that make you feel satisfied and happy.

Create a schedule and pursue at least one such activity every day. Spending real time with friends and becoming more physically active are particularly helpful.

If you use the internet when you’re feeling stressed, you need to identify the triggers (for example, when you’re asked to do too much at work). Address the source of the stress (talk to HR) instead of avoiding it.

It will also help to learn to wait before checking your devices. Start small and build slowly: even waiting two minutes will start to build self-control.