近日，美国一名海军军官被医生认定为首位“谷歌眼镜瘾”患者，这名军官今年31岁。之前，他一天中约有18个小时戴着谷歌眼镜。两个月后，他发现自己一摘下谷歌眼镜，脾气就变得暴躁，且容易发怒。每次看着眼镜上那个小小的灰色屏幕，就好像在做梦一样。

Scientists have treated a man they believe to be the first patient with internet addiction¹ disorder² brought on by overuse of Google Glass.

The man had been using the technology for around 18 hours a day -- removing it only to sleep and wash -- and complained of feeling irritable³ and argumentative without the device. In the two months since he bought the device, he had also begun experiencing his dreams as if viewed through the device's small grey window.

The existence of internet addiction disorder linked to conventional devices such as phones and PCs is hotly debated among psychiatrists⁴. It was not included as a clinical diagnosis⁵ in the 2013 update to the Diagnostic and Statistical⁶ Manual of Mental Disorders⁷, the official reference guide to the field, and many researchers maintain that its effects are merely symptoms of other psychological problems.

But Dr Andrew Doan, head of addictions⁸ and resilience research at the US navy's Substance Abuse and Recovery Programme (Sarp) and co-author of the paper on the patient, published in the journal Addictive⁹ Behaviours, says people are clearly suffering from problems related to internet addiction, and it is only a matter of time before the research and treatments catch up.

"People used to believe alcoholism wasn't a problem -- they blamed the person or the people around them," Doan said. "It's just going to take a while for us to realise that this is real."

The patient -- a 31-year-old US navy serviceman -- had checked into the Sarp in September 2013 for alcoholism treatment. The facility requires patients to steer¹⁰ clear of addictive behaviours for 35 days -- no alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes -- but it also takes away all electronic devices.

Doctors noticed the patient repeatedly tapped his right temple with his index finger. He said the movement was an involuntary mimic¹¹ of the motion regularly used to switch on the heads-up display on his Google Glass.

He said he was "going through withdrawal¹² from his Google Glass", Doan explained, adding: "He said the Google Glass withdrawal was greater than the alcohol withdrawal he was experiencing."

He said the patient used Google Glass to improve his performance at work, where he was able to quicken his job of making inventories¹³ of convoy¹⁴ vehicles for the navy.

By the time the patient checked into the facility, he was suffering from involuntary movements, cravings, memory problems and dreaming as if he was wearing the glasses. When he was not wearing them he felt irritable and argumentative.

Some of this, says Doan, may be because a wearable device is constantly there – so the neurological reward associated with using it is constantly accessible. "There's nothing inherently bad about Google Glass," Doan said. "It's just that there is very little time between these rushes. So for an individual who's looking to escape, for an individual who has underlying¹⁵ mental dysregulation, for people with a predisposition for addiction, technology provides a very convenient way to access these rushes.

"And the danger with wearable technology is that you're allowed to be almost constantly in the closet, while appearing like you’re present in the moment."