時尚雙語:沉湎因特網

IN THIS ARTICLE: Getting hooked on the Internet isn't confined to a few computer nerds. It's on the rise everywhere--and women are the most likely addicts. Ingrid Parker, once a slave to Internet chatrooms, found her experiences so devastating that she wrote a book to help other addicts break the habit. --Editor

本文簡介：沉醉於因特網而難以自拔的人已不再侷限於少數計算機迷了。對因特網癡迷的人越來越多，到處都是--婦女最可能成爲對因特網着迷的人。英格麗德·帕克一度沉溺於網上聊天，後來發現那段經歷使她損失不小，因而寫了一本書以幫助其他網上君子們改掉上網成癮的毛病。。

[1]It's the equivalent of inviting sex addicts to a brothel or holding an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting at the pub. Internet addicts tired of their square-eyed, keyboard tapping ways need look no further than the Web for counselling. There is now an online counselling service at for Internet obsessives. Just e-mail the details of your Internet-induced crisis and help comes direct to your inbox. The new breed of cybertherapists see nothing strange about offering help through the very medium that is swallowing their clients' free time and splitting their marriages.

[2] Sue Hine, of Relationship Services, says: "Internet obsession has become a more noticeable problem over the last 18 months. At least this is an area addicts are familiar with and they'll be able to use it as a tool to overcome their obsession." Nor do experts worry that the Relate Website might become a favourite--a place to spend hours online in the name of Internet therapy. Dependency is always a risk with any form of counselling. There are various strategies we can adopt to keep that in perspective, says Hine.

[3] Though some may regard Internet addiction as another dubious ailment dreamed up to keep therapists in work, Relationship Services says the problem is real.

[4] Internet usage is up to four-and-a-half hours on the Web each week, compared to three-and-a-half hours a year ago. Therapist Robin Paul says there tend to be two scenarios. Some people meet through chatrooms and fall in love. It's like having an affair, then they meet and it's like a whirlwind honeymoon. It's devastating for the person left behind and quite often it has no real foundation.

[5] I saw one couple who were still together but it was very rocky. He met someone on the Net and went overseas to meet the woman. Then he left his wife and children to be with her. In another case I saw recently, a man left his three children to be with a woman (who was) leaving her four children. It's terribly hard on the kids when this happens.

[1]上網成癮如同邀約好色的人逛妓院，或者在小酒館裏舉行"嗜酒者互誡協會"(AA)會員集會。網迷們疲勞地盯着顯示屏，敲擊着鍵盤，只想通過萬維網尋求諮詢。現在有一種爲網迷開設的網上諮詢服務，其網址是：。你只需把上網引發的"危機"詳情用電子郵件發出去，就會從你的郵箱中直接收到幫助信息。新式的計算機治療專家認爲，通過網絡尋求幫助並不奇怪，正是它吞噬着網迷們的自由時間，而且危及到他們的婚姻。

[2]"關係服務"網站的蘇·海英說："在最近的18個月中，上網成癮已經成爲一個非常突出的問題。服務網站至少是網迷熟悉的地方，他們將能夠把它作爲戒掉網癮的工具來使用。"專家們也並不擔心服務網站會成爲上網者最愛光顧的地方--一個網迷們花費在線時間進行網上診療的地方。依賴於任何形式的諮詢服務總是靠不住的。海英說，我們可以採取各種措施使服務網站發揮有效作用。

[3]有些人認爲，沉醉於因特網的人是患有某種假想的精神失調症，這只是使得精神治療專家有事可做。然而，關係服務網站卻認爲這個問題確實存在。

[4]一年前，萬維網的使用率爲每週3.5小時，而現在達到了4．5小時。診療專家羅賓·保羅說，癡迷於因特網往往表現爲兩種情形。有的人在聊天室相識並墜人愛河。這就像有了不正當關係，然後約會，像蜜月一般慌慌張張的。被拋棄的一方在感情上會受到極大的打擊，而這種網上戀愛通常全然沒有現實的基礎。

[5]"我曾目睹一對夫婦，他們仍在一起，但彼此之間的感情已經搖搖欲墜。男方在網上有了外遇，就飄洋過海去與網上戀人見面，之後，他爲了和她在一起而拋妻棄子。在我最近看到的另一個例子中，男方爲了跟某個女人在一起，拋下了自己的三個孩子，而那個女人也準備離開她的四個孩子。這種事情可害苦了那些孩子們。

[6] The second scenario is that a person starts spending more and more time on the Net. They may not meet someone else but they don't spend any time with their partner and of course the relationship suffers."

[7] Such stories may appear to be almost urban legends, so ashamed are Internet addicts and their partners. After all, who wants to admit they have a 100 a day habit (e-mails, that is) or are somehow less alluring than a piece of hardware? But in America, which has long had a love affair with both therapy and the Net, these stories are common.

[8] A recent survey of 17,251 Internet users found nearly 6 per cent had some sort of addiction to the medium. They revealed that their online habit contributed to disrupted marriages, childhood delinquency, crime and over-spending. Tap into online addiction sites and you'll find messages such as: "Hello, my name is Bob and I'm a Webaholic."

[9] Witness the plight of Ohio woman Kelli Michetti, who literally became a computer hacker because of her husband's constant online chatting. When she crashed a meat cleaver through her husband's computer terminal that solved the problem, although naturally it led to difficulties with the police.

[10] Or take the classic Internet addiction story of Ingrid Parker, a woman who became such a slave to the Internet--especially chat rooms-- that it took over her life. She made do with two hours' sleep a night, had marathon weekend computer sessions of up to 17 hours and fell in love with a married man in the US state of Oregon.

[5]"我曾目睹一對夫婦，他們仍在一起，但彼此之間的感情已經搖搖欲墜。男方在網上有了外遇，就飄洋過海去與網上戀人見面，之後，他爲了和她在一起而拋妻棄子。在我最近看到的另一個例子中，男方爲了跟某個女人在一起，拋下了自己的三個孩子，而那個女人也準備離開她的四個孩子。這種事情可害苦了那些孩子們。

[6]"另一種情形是：有的人把越來越多的時間耗在因特網上。他們也許沒有網上情人要見面，可也不願花時間去陪伴自己的愛人，夫妻關係當然會因此遭到破壞。"

[7]諸如此類的情形幾乎成了一個個都市傳奇故事，讓那些癡迷於因特網的人以及他們的愛人感到慚愧。畢竟，誰也不願意承認他們有每天收發100封電子郵件的習慣，或者承認自己竟然不比一部機器有吸引力。然而，對於美國這麼一個與心理治療和網絡結緣已久的國家來說，此類故事不足爲奇。

[8]最近的一項調查顯示，在1721名因特網用戶中，有近6％的用戶程度不同地癡迷於上網。這些網迷承認，他們上網成癖導致了婚姻破裂、使孩子誤人歧途、滋生犯罪而且經濟上入不敷出。敲擊鍵盤進入網迷站點，你會發現這樣一些信息："嗨，我叫鮑勃，一個網蟲。"

[9]俄亥俄州一名叫凱莉·米切蒂的婦女的困窘處境就是一個見證。由於她的丈夫經常上網聊天，凱莉成了地道的電腦黑客。她擅自闖入其丈夫的電腦終端解決了這個問題，但是，不用說這惹出了麻煩，驚動了警方。

[10]英格麗德·帕克的故事也是典型事例，她成了因特網的奴隸--尤其鍾情於網上聊天--上網甚至成了生活中主要的內容。她曾經一晚上只睡2小時，週末連續17個小時玩電腦，並且和美國俄勒岡州的一個已婚男子相戀。

[11] Her computer dream turned to nightmare when she sold up and moved to be with her cyberpal (who had just left his wife), only to be told a week later that the couple were getting back together.

[12] The heart-breaking turn of events gave her the motivation to control her addiction--and write the book Caught in the Web.

[13] Dr Kimberly Young, who set up The Centre for Online Addiction () in America, studied 396 people whom she considered were psychologically dependent on the Net. They ranged in age from 14 to 70 and spent an average of 38.5 hours a week on the Web.

[14] Her study, backed by further research in Britain, found that women were more likely to become addicts. So while the old stereotypical addict was a young man who spent hours playing games, downloading software or reading messages on newsgroups, the new image is of a young woman who fritters away hours e-mailing friends, buying books and CDs online, talking in chatrooms and looking for information for next year's holiday.

[15] I guess I was a typical example of someone hooked on the Internet," says Parker, who now spends just an hour a day online. "I was coming home at lunchtime to get on the computer. At 6 p.m. I'd feed my son and put him to bed but all the time I was going backwards and forwards to the computer. Then I'd stay up until 5a.m. or 6 a.m., typing away ' chatting' on my computer screen all night."

[11]她賣光了東西，就爲了搬到她的電腦夥伴(剛和他的妻子分手)那裏。可一週後被告知，這對夫婦又回到了一起，她的網上夢想變成了惡夢。

[12]事態的轉折讓她心碎，她決心控制自己的網癮--並寫了一本書，叫《沉湎萬維網》。

[13]金伯利·楊博士在美國建立了一個網迷中心()。她對396名網迷進行了研究，認爲這些人在心理上離不開因特網。被研究對象的年齡範圍在14--70歲之間，他們平均每週上網38．5小時。

[14]金伯利的研究成果表明，婦女更可能上網成癮，在英國所做的進一步研究可以證實這一點。早先的電腦迷是年輕男性，他們把時間花在玩遊戲、下載軟件或閱讀新聞組信息；新的景象是年輕女性成了電腦迷--她們不惜耗費很多時間給朋友發電子郵件、上網選購書籍或音樂光盤、在聊天室與網友聊天，以及查找來年外出度假的有關信息。

[15]"我想我一度是'網上癮君子'的典型例子，"帕克說，現在她每天只上網1小時，"那時我每天午飯時間回家，打開電腦上網。下午6時我給兒子喂吃的，安排他睡覺，但此間我經常回到電腦那兒。隨後，我會在網上呆到清晨5點或6點，不停地敲打鍵盤與別人通宵達旦'聊天'。"

[16] "I learned from my experience with romance on the Net that people aren't always what they seem. The guy I met, for example, was very nice but also quite mixed up. The trouble is you get lonely housewives talking to someone and they think, 'This guy sounds nice compared to what I've got.'"

[17] But I don't think anyone who is married or in a sound relationship should really be spending hours talking to someone else and ignoring their nearest and dearest. While Parker provided her own therapy by putting her experiences down on paper, she recommends others take up the online counselling offer, or log off from the Worldwide Web gradually.

[18] "It's like smoking. It's not a good idea to suddenly go cold turkey. People often e-mail me about the problem and I tell them to gradually wean themselves off and not to switch to a scheme where you pay per hour for online time. If they break their resolution, all they end up with then is the same old problem plus money difficulties for the long hours they have spent logged in to the Internet."

[19] Computer whizz Steve Phillips grins at the mention of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD)--he's been there, done that. Now 28, and a seven-year veteran on the Internet, he spends a mere 10 to 15 hours ' for entertainment" on the Web each week, A few years ago, when he was in the grip of his addiction, that was the amount of time--10 to 15 hours--he spent online each day.

[20] "I'd go to polytechnic and log on at 9 a.m. and sometimes I'd stay online until 9 at night. Then I'd go home and plug in the laptop and stay online until 4 or 5 a.m.," says the Internet systems maintenance ex-pert.

[16]"我的網上羅曼史讓我明白了，人們並不總像他們表現出來的那樣。例如，我曾認識一個網友，他很不錯，但也很迷糊。讓人傷腦筋的是，當你介紹那些寂寞的家庭主婦與某人聊天時，她們會想：'與我的那位比起來，這傢伙聽起來不錯。'"

[17]可我認爲，對於已婚的人或者擁有一份良好關係的人來說，實在不應該把大量的時間耗在與別人聊天上，而把自己至愛至親的人冷落在一旁。帕克通過把自己的經歷寫成文章提供了她自己的治療方法，她勸告別人要接受網上諮詢服務，或者逐漸地遠離萬維網。

[18]"就像抽菸上癮一樣，一下子戒掉煙癮是難以讓人接受的。人們常常給我發電子郵件談及此事，我就告訴他們要慢慢地戒掉網癮，不要進入付費網站。如果他們不聽告誡，到頭來不但舊病難除，而且還要面臨長時間上網帶來的經濟困難。"

[19]計算機能手史迪夫·菲利普笑着提及沉迷網絡症(IAD)--他一直在網上呆着，乾的就是那個。他今年28歲，是一個有7年網齡的老手，現在他每週只上網"玩"10-15小時。幾年前，他上網成癮，難以自拔，每天在網上耗費的時間就達10---15小時。

[20]"我上午9點去理工專科學校上網，有時在網上呆到晚上9點。回家以後又在便攜式電腦上繼續玩，直到凌晨四五點鐘。"這位因特網系統維護專家說。

[26] The habit started hitting hard when he finished his studies in the big city and moved back home. Without the support of a school paid computer, he racked up hundreds of dollars in Internet-related toll bills. The huge expense, followed by a few months offline while he searched for a job, was the wake-up call he needed.

[27] "When I got access again it didn't have the same appeal any more. Now I use it more as a tool, but I would say a lot of my friends are addicts. One friend was talking about a deal with a set rate for 200 hours of Internet access a month. He said that wouldn't be enough. I end up counselling people about it because I've been through it. It definitely isn't worth neglecting real-life relationships for romances on the Net. Often they don't work out."

[28] Phillips should know. A few years ago he became heavily involved with an American woman he had spent a couple of years chatting to. Wisely, they decided not to make any commitment to marriage until they had met face-to-face. Phillips spent a month in the United States before they agreed the relationship wouldn't work. "Because I've been on the Net so long I've got some good friends that I've been chatting to for years. I occasionally meet people I've talked to online at the pub, and I could certainly travel through America on a budget--I know so many people there.

[29] "The Internet is definitely addictive but if you can keep it in control it has advantages, too. Using it can be a steep learning curve so it helps you become very quick at learning. Also there is a huge demand for people in the field of Information Technology (IT) and hours on the Internet are great training."

[26]菲利普對因特網發生濃厚興趣，是在大城市裏唸完書，回家以後開始的。由於不能再使用學校付費的電腦了，他要支付幾百美元因特網服務費。這筆巨大的費用及時地敲醒了他。在隨後的幾個月中，他去找工作，不再上網。

[27]"當我重新回到網上時，不再有原來那種癡迷了。現在我更多地是把它當作工具來使用，但我要說的是，我的許多朋友依然是'網上癮君子'。有個朋友在談論每月固定上網200小時，他說這還不夠。由於我是過來人，所以不願對此事說長道短。爲了網上的風流韻事而冷淡生活中的真情，顯然是不值得的。因爲這種網上愛情常常是沒有結果的。"

[28]菲利普應當明白這些。幾年前，他與一名美國婦女打得火熱，幾年來，他一直跟這個女人在網上聊天。明智的是，他們決意在相互晤面之前對婚姻不做任何承諾。他在美國住了一個月，最後他們都承認這種關係不會有結果。"由於我上網多年，結交了一些好朋友，多年來一直與他們在網上聊天。我偶爾會在小酒吧裏碰到網友，我還可以不用花很多錢周遊美國--在那裏我認識很多朋友。

[29]"因特網的確容易讓人着迷，但如果你能把握分寸，也會獲益良深。使用因特網有助於你快速獲取知識。在信息技術(IT)領域工作的人，要求大量使用因特網，而且在網上工作是很好的訓練。"