Q: I am a 30 years old man using internet for many years but now it has became a necessity and it has made me unsocial. I use the net for 6 hours or more in a day. I have no friend except the net and feel happy only when I am surfing. I can live without it even when I am in the company of my friends or family. What should I do to avoid it?

A:Because you are fine without the net when with friends, it sounds like your addiction is mild. Sometimes a shy, lonely person with not enough friends, who has trouble becoming comfortable at first with strangers or new acquaintances, quickly develops a shallow sense of being with a friend when on the net. This is especially true for people who enter chat rooms but never go out to meet people in real life. If what I wrote above describes you, then the net is not your problem. Lack of friends is the problem. Are there social clubs you can join? Do you have any interests that could introduce you to people, such as sports, art, collecting things, and so on? Many shy people like people, so once they know someone they have a new friend.