A report in the journal "Addictive Behaviors" has published an article on a patient, who had to be enrolled into the US Navy's Substance Abuse program after he "exhibited problematic use of Google Glass", wearing the device for up to 18 hours a day.
The case, published in the latest issue of Addictive Behaviors, has been dubbed as the first of a kind of clinical disorder involving 'internet addiction' via Google Glass. The doctors treating the man said that he felt irritable and aggressive without Google Glass' help.
The case involving Google Glass addiction has also once again sparked a debate on classifying 'internet addiction' via smartphones and computers as a clinical disorder.
The patient, who is a 31-year old US navy man, is said to have told the doctors that even in his dreams he felt as if he viewed things through the Google Glass.
During the 35-day residential treatment, the doctors found that even when the patient was without the Google eye, he would make "nearly involuntary movement of the right hand up to the temple area and tapping it with his forefinger," -- a gesture used while activating the display screen of the Google Glass.
A Guardian report citing Dr Andrew Doan, co-author of the paper and head of the US Navy's Substance Abuse and Recovery Programme (Sarp), noted that the patient was "going through withdrawal from his Google Glass".
Doctors treating the navy serviceman found that the patient was required to use his Google Glass to quickly inventory convoy vehicles, but the constant presence of the device now has created an association between its use and a neurological reward.
"There's nothing inherently bad about Google Glass," said Dr Doan. But an individual who has some underlying mental disorder or for someone with a predisposition for addiction, such technology provides a very convenient way to access these rushes, Dr Doan noted.
"And the danger with wearable technology is that you are allowed to be almost constantly in the closet, while appearing like you are present in the moment," added Dr Doan, who believes that 'internet addiction' should be treated as a clinical disorder.
There was a time when people thought alcoholism wasn't a problem and they blamed the person or the people around them, he said. "It's just going to take a while for us to realise that this is real," he added.
