First, they were persecuted. Then, they were addicted.
Yes, it appears that full-blown dependency is the next great tribulation of the Google Glass superuser. We now have a reported case of Google Glass addiction in the books.
The case comes from a study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, where a man is said to have the first case of “internet addiction disorder involving the problematic use of Google Glass.”
According to researchers, the man – who was being treated at the Navy’s Substance Abuse and Recovery Program – displayed alarming behavior when deprived of his beloved Google Glass. He’d been using the wearable tech for upwards of 18 hours a day.
“The patient exhibited a notable, nearly involuntary movement of the right hand up to his temple area and tapping it with his forefinger. He reported that if he had been prevented from wearing the device while at work, he would become extremely irritable and argumentative,” says the study.
According to the the report, the subject had “a history of a mood disorder most consistent with a substance induced hypomania overlaying a depressive disorder, anxiety disorder with characteristics of social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder, and severe alcohol and tobacco use disorders.” Doctors originally thought that the 31-year-old man’s withdrawl symptoms were entirely due to alcohol – but that wasn’t the whole story.
According to NBC News, the “withdrawal symptoms from Glass were much worse than withdrawing from alcohol.”
The story has a happy ending, I guess. After 35 days of treatment, the man “noted a reduction in irritability, reduction in motor movements to his temple to turn on the device, and improvements in his short-term memory and clarity of thought processes.”
Apparently he still has dreams about wearing Glass.
Image via Google Glass, YouTube