You have the brain of a drug addict

No, Internet addiction isnt just some BS term parents throw around to terrify youngsters who spend too much time playing Candy Crush. Spending too much time on the Internet can actually cause changes in the brain that mimic those caused by drug and alcohol dependence, according to a 2012 study. Internet addicts most notably gamers who shun food, school and sleep to play for days on end have abnormal white and grey matter in their brains, which disrupts and cripples the regions involved in processing emotion and regulating attention and decisionmaking. Alcoholics and drug addicts have strikingly similar brain abnormalities, the study found. I have seen people who stopped attending university lectures, failed their degrees or their marriages broke down because of Internet gaming addiction, Dr. Henriette Bowden Jones, who runs a British clinic for Internet addicts, told The Independent. Now that youre properly terrified of the effects of technology on the old noggin, let us remind you that you do have the power to prevent brain drain and timesuck. Just log off every once in a while!