It's a fact, a fact you can confirm by visiting almost any forum on the net but a fact many people (for reasons too numerous to go into here) that a vastly disproportionate number of people who reguarly use the internet have clinicly diagnosed mental conditions. Be it Game FAQ's.com or AishHA Torah, it's inevitable that half the people you meet will have a severe, diagnosed mental condtion and huge quantities of medication for it, and that the site will have at least one (highly popular) thread for discussing medication or comparing diagnosis. The most common diagnosis seems to be OCD, followed by Bipolar and then Schizophrenia, the mood disorders coming in above the lesser mental illnesses (ADHD and Autism) who's sufferers probably don't want to mention their diagnoses or feel it nescicary; the diagnosed never appear to come from Europe.

While the correlation between mental illness and internet usage (like that between Schizophrenia and smoking Cannabis) is clear, One Big Question remains, and that (again like the correlation between Schizophrenia and smoking Cannabis use) is which facto causes which.

It could be that, to reguarly use the internet you MAKES YOU clinicly insane; scholars seem to favour this view, that some property of the internet promotes insane behaviours in real life. The lack of restrictions on what you can say leads people to truely be themselves in all their unrestrained insanity and then carry this into their real/estrained social lives, the lack of physical identities leads to an overly philosophical questioning of truths not seen as sane in this day and age, certain internet behaviours such as sock-puppeting and ironic outbursts promolte the spread of insanity. These are all blamed reguarly and without mercy.

On the other hand, it could be said that to reguarly use the net, you MUST ALREADY be clinicly insane; some property of the internet attracts clinicly insane people. Evidence for this includes, that mental illnesses arn't thought of as things you can "learn" from your environment by most psychologists and neurologists, that many people are already diagnosed with mental disorders before they first log on, that some of the symptoms promote behaviour encountered often online (such as sock puppeting) and that as there is no discrimination online many wouild be drawn to that.

It could even be, that a third factor is causing both, or that they both have a cuasative effect on one another. Help me answer this vital question regarding the net and insanity, please!

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Introverted (I) 51.61% Intuitive (N) 73.53% Thinking (T) 62.16% Perceiving (P) 53.49% like only 3.3% of the populace.

Its the internet.

People can do anything and remain completely anonymous.

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On the question of what kind of game would you create:
"I'd make an FPS that takes place in Hell where in every level, each boss fight would be you against an evil historical figure." ~~Doodle-Boy1

It could be that, to reguarly use the internet you MAKES YOU clinicly insane; scholars seem to favour this view

I don't want to seem like I'm trying to argue here, because I'm not, but may I ask if you have any links to scholarly articles written on the subject? I'm vaguely intrigued.

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Dr in Internetology

Rice President

So the people are insane BEFORE they come online; that's the view I take. Though i'm interpriting what you say here, you're being way too ambiguous.

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Introverted (I) 51.61% Intuitive (N) 73.53% Thinking (T) 62.16% Perceiving (P) 53.49% like only 3.3% of the populace.

I want to see some scholarly articles, that's why i posted this. I wrote that, because I hear it mentioned, in a lot of anti-internet articles in less than scholarly press that the internet causes mental illness, and a lot more in the news (sorry to compare Times writers and latter day luddites to philosophers and psychologists, just needed to sex-up my point!) .

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Introverted (I) 51.61% Intuitive (N) 73.53% Thinking (T) 62.16% Perceiving (P) 53.49% like only 3.3% of the populace.

yeah...having mental "issues" is the new black. it's a way for boring, normal little suburban twats to appear interesting to those naive folks that believe their claims based on no evidence. they can't diagnose themselves or each other, nor can their idiot parents...in fact, quite a few are taking meds of some sort because their doctor gets kickbacks from the rx folks. hate to break it to you, but they're just dumb.

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''While the correlation between mental illness and internet usage (like that between Schizophrenia and smoking Cannabis) is clear''

Proof please.

I don't believe the numbers of mentally ill are as high as you say on the internet, but for the numbers with social disorders, I don't believe one causes the other at all.

The internet allows people to communicate with people all over the world, and it allows them to do it without having to see each other and without having to communicate in real time. It gives people a chance to think about their responses and a chance to present themselves however they wish.

If there is a disproportionate number of people with mental conditions on the internet, then it is because it is easier to communicate over the internet. It's safe. If you don't like how you're presented in one forum, you can move to another. You can't do that in real life.

The internet doesn't make people crazy.

On the contrary, it probably stops people who otherwise would have little to no social interaction from going crazy.

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Journal Link: I'm trying to save the world, one crappy lyrics game at a time. [link]

You could really substitute "use the internet" with "drink water" and these paragraphs would be about the same. Really the internet has become so common to use that it can be compared to "driving a car" or "watching TV" (really any non-compulsory activity). Sure there are people who don't use it at all but they are becoming the minority of people in current society (if not are already the minority).

Really all I am trying to say is that the internet is so common and used by so many people, mental disorder or not, that you cannot make an easy comparison. Also you are forgetting that these "head cases" on the internet would have had to be using it BEFORE they developed a mental disorder to create a causal relationship between internet and mental disorder.

The internet being an anonymous global "socializing" tool very easily attracts the crazies, like bears to honey.

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Proudly Canadian

I don't say people who USE the internet, I mean people who REALLY use it, who rack up postcounts (on forums) in their thousands. And I'm not forgetting they'd have disorders before they go online, as i said the last time I met you (when you branded me a heritic and insulted me until I left the site, rememer a-hole?) read my post. Please?

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Introverted (I) 51.61% Intuitive (N) 73.53% Thinking (T) 62.16% Perceiving (P) 53.49% like only 3.3% of the populace.

The link comes from personal expierience with the net, if you have figures proving it either way, please provide, No one wants to look seemingly.

As for the latter points you make, I think you'll find I already made them; if you actually read to the third paragraph. I know it's hard to read a long post, but if you're going to reply, I suppose you should actually READ first.

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Introverted (I) 51.61% Intuitive (N) 73.53% Thinking (T) 62.16% Perceiving (P) 53.49% like only 3.3% of the populace.