Just this morning, Boing Boing’s Lisa Katayama blogged a link to an “Internet Addiction Test.” I just took the test myself and, according to developer Dr. Kimberly Young, I checked out just fine. While I’m not sure I completely agree with her, I think the test is fascinating and there are a few questions I think should be highlighted.

3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the Internet to intimacy with your partner?

Given that you’re supposed to answer these questions on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being “Rarely” and 5 being “Always,” who is honestly going to give a 5 to this? Even if they did, wouldn’t that be more a reflection of the status with their love life than an indication of Net Addiction? Furthermore, there’s another question that asks, “How often do you choose to spend more time on-line over going out with others?” Doesn’t that ask the same question just in a broader perspective? Is it okay that every sentence in this paragraph has been a question?

8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet?

Trick question! What about if your work is on the Internet? I just so happen to fall under that heading. Even so, I can see how it would still apply. There are even browser plug-ins you can install now that can track how much time you spend diverted from your responsibilities. I believe one of the key successes of old media is how they prevent attention diversion. The Internet is all about multitasking and that’s not always a good thing.

10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet?

What’s really disturbing is that a question like this needs to be asked in the first place. It’s one thing if you’re sad or depressed and have a LiveJournal or something to let off some steam. However, the way this question is worded really irks me. Furthermore, who is honestly going to give a “5 – Always” to this?

14. How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins?

The one question where I had to put a 5. This happens far too often with me and I feel really bad about it. The worst is when you’re doing something late at night that involves coding (e.g.: CSS, HTML) and then you can’t fall asleep because you still have borders and float attributions floating through your head. Nevertheless, my honest response on this question wasn’t enough to push me into the red.

Here’s how I scored on the test:

“You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.”

Click here for Boing Boing’s article or go straight to the Net Addiction Test.