How old were you when you first heard the phrase “internet addiction”? Do you remember how surprised and astonished you were when you learned that browsing the Internet could also turn into an addiction, just like drugs and sex? Internet addiction is in some cases parallel to addiction to some types of drugs. The most important question is: Are you an Internet addict?

Before you rush to deny, you must first deny your anxiety when you lose your connection to the Internet, your stress when you forget your phone at home, your hugging your phone when you sleep, and your eagerness to browse it the moment you wake up. You must also deny your annoyance and nervousness when someone interrupts you while you are busy browsing your pages on social networking sites, and that You deny spending long hours browsing this. If you cannot deny it because you are honest, then you are addicted.

This site says internetworldstats.com The specialist in Internet usage statistics states that the number of Internet subscribers in Egypt as of June 30, 2019 is 49,231,493 out of 101,168,745, which is a population of 48.7%, including 35,000,000 Facebook subscribers until the end of 2018.

An annual report issued by the social media management platform Hot Suite in early 2019 states that Egypt ranked highly in terms of the average hours per person uses the Internet from a mobile phone, as the user spends an average of 3.5 hours per day, followed by the United Arab Emirates with an average of 3.48 hours per day, then Saudi Arabia with an average 3.35 hours per day.

The danger of Internet addiction

Spending a long time on computers and mobile phones causes stress and some health problems, such as pain in the neck and spine, and eye strain as a result of exposure to radiation from phones and screens, in addition to the negative effects resulting from loss of concentration, staying up late, and delay in completing tasks in general, as well as social problems caused by withdrawal. The addicted person is separated from his real world, neglecting social and family life.

Symptoms of Internet addiction

1.     Spending a long time in front of the Internet and on social networking pages.

2.     Feeling depressed and empty when the Internet connection is cut off.

3.     Loss of control over the beginning and end of your Internet browsing period.

4.     Lack of social contacts and preference for the virtual world over spending time with family and the social environment.

Internet addiction treatment

The first and most important step is a desire to be free from the control and addiction of the Internet, followed by the will and determination to achieve this, and then comes the treatment plan and methods that may sometimes require the intervention of a psychiatrist to help the patient receive treatment.

The addicted person can also help himself if he has a strong will, so he begins to reduce the period of his use of the Internet, or sets specific times and sticks to them, or uses it only when necessary.

The addict can also rearrange his priorities and put the rest of his activities on the task schedule. It may help him to delete some social networking applications from his phone, and commit himself to spending more time with family and friends in the real world.

Internet addiction treatment in Egypt

Hayati Women's Psychiatry Center in Alexandria provides a specialized service for treating addiction in all its forms, as it includes senior consultants in the field of psychiatry and addiction treatment. The center has an effective role in providing psychological support to women at all stages of life and with all their problems. This role played by the Center is part of assuming social responsibility towards groups of society in terms of gender, age stages and development.

This may require therapeutic intervention and stages of psychological rehabilitation for the patient, or working with an external follow-up system for mild and moderate cases of addiction. There are cases in which the doctor resorts to medication, including antidepressants and vitamins, which help the patient overcome the withdrawal symptoms that the addict suffers from upon recovery. Until the brain returns to secreting the hormone dopamine naturally as it was before