Students seek help for porno, gambling and chat compulsions

The IU Health Center's Counseling and Psychological Services counselors are seeing an increase in the number of students with compulsive online behavior problems, says CAPS psychologist Chris Meno.\nThe students who have been coming to CAPS usually have problems with compulsive gambling, viewing of pornography or online chat, she said. Meno said she does not know the exact number of clients that seek help through CAPS for such issues, but staff members have commented to her that they have seen a definite spike lately.\nChris Engle, a licensed registered social worker for CAPS, said that one reason more people might have issues with compulsive online behavior is the different atmosphere they encounter in college.\n"When you're living at home, you might not do as much because you know someone is watching," he said. "The computer might be in the living room with your mother. I'm not sure if (the issue) is college or the change in supervision."\nThe exact number of people with online compulsive gambling issues is difficult to define, but the National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that 2 percent to 3 percent of Americans engage in problem gambling and another 1 percent are pathological gamblers.\nThough people with gambling problems run a high risk of hurting themselves economically, Engle says the real issue is when they can't stop themselves from gambling.\n"The difference is the loss of control," he said. "If a person engages in gambling or watching pornography and can't stop, it becomes an addiction. ... If you start off intending to go online for five minutes and you end up spending three or four hours there, that's a problem."\nMany students with compulsive gambling problems tried other forms of gambling before coming to college but only developed a serious issue with it at school, Engle said.\nThe less common online compulsive behavior Engle sees is students who have problems with pornography or online chat.\n"Online seduction can be intriguing, but it messes up relationships in real life," he said. "It breaks trust."\nUsually men come to CAPS with pornography issues while women seek help for compulsive online chat, Engle said.\nThe first case of someone engaging in compulsive online behavior Engle saw was in 1992. He attributes this to the fact that though the Internet has long been available on most college campuses, it wasn't until about that time online-enabled computers moved out of common areas and into dorm rooms. And now that nearly every college student has easy access to an Internet connection, they are less willing to discuss their compulsive behaviors out of embarrassment.\n"Generally, it's a behavior people try to hide," Engle said. "There's a lot of shame associated with it."\nIf you believe you have a problem with compulsive online behavior, you can make an appointment with CAPS by calling 855-5711.