Net addicts may 'self-injure'

Teenagers who are addicted to the Internet are more likely to engage in self-harming behavior, an Australian-Chinese study has shown.

Researchers surveyed 1,618 adolescents aged 13 to 18 from Guangdong province about behavior such as hitting themselves, pulling their own hair, or pinching or burning themselves, and gave them a test to gauge Net addiction.

Internet addiction has been classified as a mental health problem since the mid-1990s, with symptoms similar to other addictions.