Internet Addiction - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

A new study suggests that Internet addiction is a legitimate compulsion and may be genetic.

German researchers evaluated 132 people who showed signs of being hooked to the Web, while another 132 without problematic Internet behavior were selected as a control group. The participants' average age was 25.

The web-addicted users admitted that all their thoughts revolved around the Internet during the day, and they felt that their well-being was harmed if they couldn't go online.

Researchers conducted a genetic analysis and discovered that the people with Internet addiction were more likely than others to have a genetic mutation on the gene, which is known to play a major role in nicotine addiction.

The study appears in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.