Addiction to phones, social media, cybersex, online shopping and gaming bigger now than drug addiction, counsellors say
Process addictions – an obsession with a behaviour, rather than a substance – are spiking, with counsellors blaming the internet and mobile devices for getting people hooked on porn, cybersex, gambling, gaming and much more
Discovering his first online sex portal changed Gary’s life instantly.
“It was like zero to a hundred miles an hour in a heartbeat,” recalls the 39- year-old expatriate British surveyor. “All of a sudden I could go down all these different avenues of pornography [and see] different types of girls.”
Gary (not his real name) remembers how he felt when he discovered this new world of sexual imagery. “My heart was nearly coming out of my chest; I was so excited by this prospect of an unlimited fantasy life. My obsession and addiction to the internet was immediate.”
A steady slide into isolation followed as online porn took over his life. He arranged his career around his porn use, working from home and taking business trips to allow unrestricted internet access.
“It affected my career, my marriage, even my friendships. I’d rather stay home and masturbate to online porn than go out and meet my friends,” he says.
