Substance Abuse Trends

TOP 10 NON DRUG DRUG ADDICTIONS

People struggling with substance abuse turn to the internet for help and information every day. Whether searching for signs of an addiction, addictions treatment resources, or addict relapse prevention, the ratios within these search statistics help us understand the nature of substance abuse today.

The following table highlights the most common substances found in online searches for addictions to legal drugs. How does this knowledge challenge your assumptions? How can you use this information to prevent addictions in your community?





Top 10 Addictions - Legal Drugs:

1 GAMES 1,326,314 *
2 SEX 505,353
3 INTERNET 231,922
4 LOVE 230,544
5 PORN 178,975
6 GAMBLING 131,336
7 FOOD 114,377
8 SOLITAIRE 103,755
9 COMPUTER 62,420
10 CARBOHYDRATE 61,407

"Honorable Mentions" - The Next 10:

11 DIET 53,849
12 CHURCH 45,482
13 CAFFEINE 32,722
14 SHOPPING 32,680
15 SUGAR 32,372
16 PAIN 25,964
17 MASTURBATION 25,182
18 PANTYHOSE 23,324
19 RELATIONSHIP 18,587
20 PANTY 18,185

* Estimated annual searches across all search engines in phrases including 'addiction', 'addictions', 'addict', 'addicting' and 'addictive'.

Addictions to games, sex, pornography and gambling account for a large share of addictions-related online searches. While many of these searches may spring from harmless situations, the pattern of abusing substances to cope with stress is a more common social issue than addiction to one specific substance.

 

Several bizarre addictions highlight the strange range of habit-forming acitivites reported by tens of thousands of people, inslcuing addictions to shopping, panties, soliatire, diets and computers.

Additional topics in this series:



Complete analysis of addictions online search trends available at:
http://www.clearhavencenter.com/addictions-research