By Hannah Gordon
Assistant News Editor
St. Bonaventure University’s Dr. Kimberly Young, program director of the Strategic Leadership graduate program, is the director of the first in-patient clinical program in the United States to treat Internet addiction, located in Bradford, Pa.
Young’s initial interest in Internet addiction began in the 1990s, she said. Her first book, published in 1998, starts off with a story about her friend whose husband was addicted to AOL chat rooms.
“They were having a lot of problems with their marriage because of his Internet use,” Young said. “It essentially launched my career, and it piqued my curiosity.”
As Young’s questions arose, she began a study on Internet use and addiction.
“The study reported that all other people that I was talking to were having these same marital problems, work related problems, and students failing school,” Young said. “It just changed what I was doing. In 1995, I took a teaching job at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and I made Internet addiction my full-time line of research.”
Young’s career is comprised of 20 years of research on Internet addiction, five published books, work in private practice and traveling around the country doing workshops and educating people on Internet addiction.
“I’m quite sure I’m young enough that I’ll probably do more,” Young said about her books and career. “I think it is a growing concern, especially with the mobility of computers so widely available.”
gordonhr13@bonaventure.edu
