a system and method are provided for treating excessive or problematic computer use . in at least one embodiment , a method is employed to treat excessive or problematic computer use by acquiring information about the unwanted user activity , monitoring user activity for the unwanted behavior , controlling the behavior when it occurs , enabling the user to record self - observations and evaluating the results . this method may employ a computer based system to treat excessive or problematic computer use which includes configuring a user activity monitor with constraints , programmatically enforcing those constraints , reporting the activities monitored and restricted , and enabling a user to input self - observations . potential constraints include a complete bar on the user activity , as well as , progressively decreasing the amount of time the user may engage in the activity , i . e . titrating the user activity .