Doctors report first case of Google Glass addiction

Everyone jokes about not being able to live without a smartphone or tablet, but doctors in San Diego have documented the first reported case of "internet addiction disorder" involving Google Glass, where a 31-year-old man used his souped-up eyewear for up to 18 hours a day and only took it off to sleep and shower.

The man, an enlisted service member, checked into the U.S. Navy's Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program over the summer for alcoholism. While there, doctors realized he was also going through withdrawal from his Google Glass, Dr. Andrew Doan told NBC News. The Glass detox was "much worse" than his alcohol withdrawal symptoms, Doan said.

Doan co-authored a paper published in journal Addictive Behaviors about the case, and says that when a therapist would ask the man questions, "he would have this repeated movement of placing his index finger to the right side of face, similar to trying to turn on the Glass." He also started having dreams that seemed like they were taking place while wearing a Google Glass headset.

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The man is now in outpatient treatment, and is experiencing fewer withdrawal symptoms. Doan believes this is just the beginning of internet addiction; he says he expects to see even more behavioral disorders linked to technology, including "nomophobia" — or, fear of being out of mobile phone contact.