Uh-oh. According to a just-completed study from researchers at Stanford’s School of Medicine, one in eight people show signs of “problematic internet use.” (The fact that upon learning this I immediately thought, “That would be a good blog” is probably a sign that I am among the eight. Crap.) Results from the telephone-based survey of more than 2,000 people found that:

• 13.7 percent found it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time
• 12.4 percent stayed online longer than intended very often or often
• 12.3 percent had seen a need to cut back on Internet use at some point
• 8.7 percent attempted to conceal non-essential Internet use from family, friends and employers
• 8.2 percent used the Internet as a way to escape problems or relieve negative mood
• 5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered as a result of excessive Internet use

Based on the research, the average internet addict was a college-educated white male (guilty) in his 30s (not quite) who logged about 30 hours of nonessential internet use per week (define “nonessential”) and visited pornography and gambling sites as well as chat rooms and shopping sites (uh … no comment). But here’s the best part: “the research showed similarities between alcoholism and internet addiction in that users often hide their web surfing and use it to self-medicate.” Hmm, I’ll bet there’s a support group out there somewhere for recovering internet addicts. Wonder if they’ve got a website …