Just five months after Google began their Google Glass Explorers program, a man checked himself into a rehab facility and he was discovered to have Google Glass addiction . On Oct. 15, CNN reported that a 31-year-old man who checked in to the Navy’s substance Abuse and Recovery Program for problems with alcoholism but it was discovered he was showing the signs of addiction in relation to his Google Glass.
In a study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, doctors noted that the patient exhibited frustration and irritability when it came to not being able to use the Google device, which are behaviors consistent with withdrawal. They also said prior to entering the program, he wore his Google Glass up to 18 hours a day. Reportedly, he only took the glasses off to bathe and to sleep and he noted that he felt more confident when he donned the specs. The study noted that the man also had a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse and anxiety disorder.
The addiction is being noted as the first Internet addiction to have a relation to Google Glass, which was first available last year to certain users, but was available to the general public in May of 2014. CNN notes that internet addiction isn’t a recognized disorder, as of the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders. However, the study’s author, Dr. Andrew Doan, says it is in fact a real disorder and that doctors will be seeing more cases in the near future.
To use the device, users will tap the side of the glasses. During his 35 days at the recovery center, the man was reported to make that motion, moving his hand up to the side of his head, repeatedly, even when he wasn’t sporting the device. After about a month of treatment, the patient noticed he had reduced irritability. However, he said that his withdrawal sympto m s from his internet addiction were worse than the ones he experienced from alcohol.
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://ift.tt/1yEvHBM