James Pacenza was spending too much time in Internet chat rooms, in some of them discussing, shock, horror, S-E-X. Yes, it is an interest in odd Web sites and, I guess, you could call it a form of addiction.

He says it comes from the posttraumatic stress disorder he’s suffered since returning from Vietnam. Which, let me remind you, was long, long before the Internet started.

James Pacenza was fired from IBM in May, 2003, after a fellow employee noticed discussion of a sex act on a chat room open on Pacenza’s computer.

IBM maintains that logging onto the Web site was a violation of its business conduct guidelines and a misuse of company property. Seems reasonable. Therefore it was in its rights to fire him.

James Pacenza now has a lawyer and suit was filed in a New York U.S. District Court in July, 2004, seeking $5 million for wrongful termination.

James Pacenza’s attorney, Michael Diederich Jr. who is beyond doubt and beyond debate on a percentage of the kill, alleges that the perception that Pacenza was addicted to the Internet caused IBM to fire first without asking questions. According to the lawyer tthere are several steps IBM could have taken, including limiting his Internet use or blocking certain sites. Michael Diederich said, ‘It’s not productive or useful for the employer to unfairly terminate employees.’ Not unless it means a lawyer gets a large slab of the damages.

IBM on December 8 sought a dismissal of the case, saying it is without merit. That is a pretty standard procedure in the American legal system and means little.

There is a growing debate over whether Internet abuse is a legitimate addiction, akin to alcoholism. (The same excuse is being used for gambling and, in the case of the Duchess of York, Our Very Own Fergie, too much shopping.)

It is just possible, not probable but possible, that the court will say it is an uncontrollable addiction which opens a can of worms and puts people who play on the Internet to excess under the protection of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The American Psychiatric Association doesn’t include Internet addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, which serves as the basis for many ADA claims related to mental disabilities.

But several psychiatrists and psychologists already say compulsive Internet overuse can legitimately be called an addiction.

Dr. David Greenfield, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and author of the 1999 book Virtual Addiction. He compares compulsive Internet use to alcoholism, drug abuse, or pathological gambling.

In October, researchers at Stanford University’s medical school released a study showing that a significant number of Americans show addiction symptoms with regard to the Internet. Some 14% reported that it was hard to stay away from the Internet for a several-day stretch. More than 12% said they stayed online longer than intended and nearly 9% said they hid their Internet use from loved ones or employers.

Roughly 6% said relationships had suffered due to excessive Internet use.

In which case I am an Internet addict and I need help and compensation. If I were employed then the answer would simply be to use filtering and blocking software although some lawyers argue that is a breach of your rights.

Source: BusinessWeek

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Entry was posted on Monday, January 1st, 2007 at 2:51 pm under Internet, Technology.

Read more entries by Gareth Powell.
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