Comment by ASalazarMX

> I also personally witnessed multiple friends who dropped out of college due to IRC addiction in the early 1990s.

I think there's always a segment of any population that will get addicted to anything, to the point of dropping family, friends, school, or work. Blame it on culture, nurture, genetics, unfulfillment, or simply lack of self control, but it always happens.

Blaming IRC, which is a pretty neutral outlet, is unfair. This is specially true today, as we have things designed and constantly honed to be as addictive as possible.