Do you find reading e-books to be "psychologically or physically habit-forming... to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma" (Dictionary.com)? Well, perhaps you're an e-book addict. In fact, The Independent
depicts a case where someone's e-book habit had gotten so excessive that it became a very real, damaging addiction.
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Page after page, chapter after chapter, when Lucy started reading she simply couldn't stop. She wouldn't sleep, eat or speak to anyone until she had completed the story. Then, she'd begin another one. Lucy was addicted to ebooks. At her worst, the 23-year-old student would spend 30 hours at a time alone in her bedroom, reading online novels on her laptop. Her head would hurt, her eyes would ache and the hunger would be painful, but she was unable to tear herself away from the screen.
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A doctor quoted in the article blames the rise in consumer electronics as the culprit for this new kind of addiction.
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"Whether it's ebooks, porn or gaming, a lot of these things are technology based," Dr Smith says. "This is about devices being in the home and being used in different ways while becoming integral in our lives as well. There's a huge difference between a BBC Micro in the 1980s and a computer with a mouse or a touch-screen. These things are much more pleasing to us and much more attention-grabbing. They offer a greater degree of escapism."
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[image by Lily Monster
via Flickr]