Looks like Google Glass has claimed its first victim: Doctors in San Diego are currently treating a 31-year-old man who has been exhibiting serious withdrawal symptoms associated with “Internet addiction disorder.”
The unidentified man had been reportedly using Glass for up to 18 hours a day (!), only taking it off when sleeping or taking a shower. His condition was so bad, it prompted one health official, Dr. Andrew Doan of Naval Medical Center San Diego, to describe his symptoms as “much worse” than those associated with alcohol addiction.
As if that’s not bad enough, the man’s utter dependence on Google Glass has led him to vividly dream about it and go through the motions of using one even when not actually wearing the device.
Moreover, “when the therapist would ask him a question, he would have this repeated movement of placing his index finger to the right side of face, similar to trying to turn on the Glass,” Doan said. The man even began experiencing his dreams as if they were viewed through the eyeglass-like smart headset.
According to Doan, who recently published a paper on the case in the journal Addictive Behaviors, the patient has finished a 35-day treatment program and is making progress in his recovery.