After studying 2,300 11-year olds, Taiwanese researchers found that internet addicts are, shockingly, a lot like drug addicts:

Across the sexes, they found depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social phobia or feelings of hostility to be the most prevalent predictors of which children would go on to develop an internet addiction as adolescents.

For girls, social phobia and depression were markedly the strongest predictors, the team report.

The report's writers declare they want to "alert pediatricians to what might become a major public health problem," which now means that parents, doctors and other busy bodies can take this information and apply it to virtual addiction camps which, oh yes, have been cropping up across China.

Then kids, overwhelmed by all the meddling, will take up good old fashioned addictions, like weed and smack. World order, restored!

Image via altemark's flickr.

First the voluble tech blogger, an opinionated chronicler of the obscurest of Web startups, announced BusinessWeek online columnist Sarah Lacy as a substitute writer. Then he said he had to file two more interviews from Davos, the power conference of the world's economic hyperelite. Then he announced another substitute.

This protracted exit makes one wonder: Is Arrington's biggest fear that the Web might not actually miss him? It's a double-edged sword: TechCrunch's overdependence on one outsized personality was a factor in AOL dropping acquisition talks. If he can prove that TechCrunch can carry on without him, then he might be able to unload it on some larger buyer — though surely at a steep discount to the $100 million price he's bandied about. But if he shows that an Arrington-free TechCrunch is a going concern, any acquirer will surely want to fire the erratic founder as soon as the ink dries on the deal, rather than deal with his ongoing emotional outbursts. That would deprive him of the public stature he claims to hate, but so clearly craves. It's a dilemma which is surely the most plausible explanation for Arrington's reluctant exit.

We're not ones to throw a word like "addiction" around lightly at Camp Valleywag, and we'd never rob a nerd icon like Duchovny of some dignity on his way to dry out. But come on, you're wondering too: What kind of Internet porn is Duchovny into? Log your suspect sites in the comments. (Photo by Andy Johnstone/Pacificcoastnews.com)

• "I have dream blogged. I have surfed the Internet in my dreams sometimes."
• "If I start hearing imaginary incoming message chimes on my computer when I am out in the backyard, it tells me I have spent too much time online."
• "I would wake up six hours later and find I was watching videos of puppies on YouTube. I associate that kind of time loss with blackouts when you're drunk."
• Some addicts take their laptops to the bathroom.
• Some text while driving.
• Others check their email during dinner.

According to the Guardian, Block uncovers symptoms of Internet addiction including:

• Withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible;
  
• The need for better computers, more software, or more hours of use;
  
• Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation and fatigue.