The popularity of the Internet and gaming has led children and adults alike to exhibit the same behaviors as those addicted to drugs, alcohol, or other substances.

Addictions are commonly associated with many health symptoms (such as stress-related sicknesses, anxiety, depression and insomnia) and social problems (such as difficulties with personal and work relationships as well as financial troubles).

A few recent incidents have highlighted how Internet and gaming addiction disrupts lives.

Alyse Baddley recently posted a Craigslist advertisement where she said that she was putting her husband, Kyle Baddley, up for sale because he was too addicted to the "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3″ video game.

"I am selling my 22 year old husband. He enjoys eating and playing video games all day. Easy to maintain, just feed and water every 3-5 hours. You must have Internet and space for gaming. Got tired of waiting so free to good home. If acceptable replacement is offered will trade," wrote Alyse on her Craigslist advertisement, according to the ABC News.

Although she admitted later on that it was done as a joke, it does reveal how this type of behavior can affect relationships.

This type of addiction has also been found in pre-school children and teenagers. Some parents in Australia have reported that their children, after becoming heavily addicted to gaming, would no longer interact with others or fail to go to school. A tendency towards aggressive behavior was also discovered in children under five who played games with a lot of violence, revealed the Herald Sun.

Meanwhile, teenagers who were addicted to the social networking sites like Facebook were found to be using it as a source of positive or negative reinforcement. Teenagers became so consumed on checking what people posted on Facebook about themselves or others that they could no longer pry themselves away from it, reported the Daily Telegraph.

Psychologists have suggested classifying internet and gaming addiction as an officially recognized mental health disorder due to the increasing number of people affected by it.