Internet Addiction ( Pathological Internet Use )
The Internet has become one of the most universal methods for communication with over 100 million users worldwide. From e-mail to the possibly billions of web pages, there is an infinite amount of information flowing. And another enticing aspect of the Internet, is the opportunity to interact with other people. Chat Rooms and MUD (Multi-User Dimensional) games offer the person the ability to talk and mingle with others online. But with this newfound freedom, also comes the possibility of abuse and addiction.
Internet addiction, also known as Pathological Internet use, has emerged as a very destructive force in today’s society. David Greenfield believes “an estimated 6 percent of the web users 100 million people are thought to be online addicts, and that number is growing everyday.” But what causes Internet Addiction? There are many different causes, but one of the most essential, is thought to be a personality disorder. Carol Potera, an author in Psychology Today says, “The lone, bored, depress, introverted, lacking self-esteem, or have a history of addictions are most vulnerable.” This group of people seems to be the most susceptible to all mental disorders, psychologically or physical. These people need to fill the void that has been created by not having any real life relationships, so they turn to the Internet, just as if someone would turn to drugs. Greenfield thinks “people feel closer, quicker to the people they communicated with online than in real life; time passes freely, and people like the anonymity.” (Greenfield)
A study conducted by the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society and InterSurvey (headed by Norman H Nie and Lutz Erbing) had some interesting findings. Twenty-five percent of the surveyed participants (4,113 in 2,689 households) say that web time has reduced their time spent with friends and family and participating in events outside the home. They also found that nearly 60% of the surveyed cut back on television viewing also, in which
Erbing added that “the Internet could be the ultimate isolating technology that further reduces our participation in communities, even more than TV did before.” (Erbing)
This is a relatively new disorder, and there hasn’t been much studying or research of it. So how does one know if he or she is a patholo...
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...es. Another treatment is Motivational Enhancement Treatment (MET). “MET is less familiar. Its aim is to help patients acknowledge that they have a problem and need to change their behavior. The stages of change are contemplation, determination, action, maintenance, and contemplation again after a relapse.” Therapists also assess the computer the use of patients in great detail and reaffirm their acknowledgment of the need for help. Therapy groups are the most advised way for treatment. When you can relate to others with others who also have the same problem.
The Internet has opened the door of the information age to many people. Actually, the information age was created due to the Internet. Yet, the negatives will never out shadow all the positives that the Internet has done for the world probably, and the Internet is almost assuredly here to stay. So people must be able to use it, without abuse. This isn’t the first time that something has been reared a society-destructive force, and it probably won’t be the last. It is just another way that people can escape the real world, and enter their own sort of utopia. Whether drug-induced or via e-mail, its all the same.
One of the major aspects of the Internet is how it affects humans’ emotions. There is one aspect of this, which has sprouted a new subject of academic research. Internet addiction is rapidly becoming a compulsive disorder as well as a sign of failure to control impulse emotions and to limit Internet use. There are many signs to tell if someone is addicted to the Internet or emotionally dependant on the Internet. Some people are compulsive shoppers and they have to buy something online whenever their e...
Beato stresses out the idea that “American psychiatric Association (APA) should add internet addiction to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)” by bringing up its consequences, he is extremely right. In its first conception, internet addiction disorder may appear as a negligible issue in our society since some of its effects are the promotion of the stupidity and the increase of the unconsciousness. An example of how ignorant and insensate we have become, Greg writes an anecdote about “the 18-year-old who choose homelessness over gamelessness” (para. 7). However, when in paragraph 8 he presents the tragic brief history of the young man who killed his mother and injured his father because they wanted to take his Xbox one, this leads us to question ourselves on how the internet can seriously affect our behavior like drugs. In addition, internet addiction has a negative impact on our mind. In other words, it may conduct to a depression. In his article Beato backs up this evidence with an example of students who qualify themselves “jittery”, “anxious”, “miserable”, and “crazy” (para.3) when they were deprived of their connections to the Internet. Finally, many young people have prefer their virtual life at the expense of their social life. They do not know what it means to communicate with other methods like a letter or a face to face communication. Greg support this idea by using a statistic graph. According to that graph, “more than 1
According to Internet Live Stats, 40% of the world’s population has access to the internet today. In 1995, this number was less than 1%. The first billion was reached in 2005, the second billion in 2010, and the third billion in 2014. With these overwhelming numbers, it can be presumed that having access to the Internet has never been so easy. In fact, we are so conditioned to this technology that most of our tasks depend on it to be done. Nowadays, most of the school work is done online and when looking for a job a lot of times it is required to be computer savvy. Of course the internet is not all bad, but becoming so dependent on this can surely have severe consequences. CNN released an article evaluating internet addiction. According to this article, “A 2014 study determined that about 16% of 18- to 25-year-olds are involved in compulsive Internet use” (CNN, Adair). Psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair further explains:
William James was born into an intellectual family of scientist and novelist. William was the oldest of five children. His father was a Philosopher and his younger brother, Henry James was a novelist and writer. William James and his siblings were educated by tutors in New York City and in Europe. When his family was living in Newport, Rhode Island around 1858 William took his own path to have a different life and live differently. He wanted to do different things and study different things. (1) http://www.biography.com/people/william-james-9352726
Henry James was born on April 15, 1843 in New York City, New York. He was a British writer in the nineteenth century. His parents were Henry James Sr. and Mary James. His brother was William James and his sister was the diarist, Alice James. He attended Law School at Harvard but left after one term in 1863. He found that his calling was a writing career, though he was not certain if writing would keep him from depending on his family financially. Henry James was a very intelligent man despite the fact that he was viewed differently from others.
Americans’ over-dependence on the internet is causing more harm than good. Technological advancement, coupled with our easy access to virtual life through computers, cell phones, iPods among others has introduced us into a new era of extreme livelihood and lifestyle; we have gradually expanded internet use to do most of our activities of daily living for us. This growing trend in internet obsession has led to increase in online sexual predators, social withdrawal, Internet fraud and health issues. This social stigma if left unchanged will lead to further deterioration in our emotional, physical and social wellbeing. This paper will take the position that our overly use of the Internet has caused more harm than good.
The prevalence of Internet use and the growing realization that it has become an addictive vice for some has spurned the creation of groups such as Webaholics Anonymous, Interneters Anonymous, Netaholics Anonymous, the Internet Addiction Association, and the Internet Addiction Support Group (IASG). All of these self-help groups can be sought on-line, which is rather ironic, given the topic, but nonetheless the groups seek to aid those addicted to using the Internet. The name, Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) has even been given to this growing phenomenon of Internet addiction.
In 1864, his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts to be closer to his brother, William, who was attending Harvard at the time. James attended Harvard Law School shortly after, but left after realizing that law was not his passion. Instead, he pursued literature at Boston and Cambridge, becoming acquainted with other public figures who would become his lifelong friends.
Much like Facebook, the internet ruins our social abilities and too much time can really cause harm to us. Dokoupil says that, “The current incarnation of the Internet—portable, social, accelerated, and all-pervasive—may be making us not just dumber or lonelier but more depressed and anxious, prone to obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit disorders, even outright psychotic” (Dokoupil). In order to prevent any of this from happening, Dokoupil says, we need to be able to limit the amount of time we spend isolated on the internet and choose face to face conversations wherever possible. It turns out that “The brains of Internet addicts look like the brains of drug and alcohol addicts,” so by abusing the internet and isolating ourselves from the rest of society, we really are harming ourselves (Dokoupil). It is for this reason we need to focus on the real world and not the online fake reality that many have come to
In Greg Beato’s article “Internet Addiction” originally published in august, september 2010 in to Reason magazine he argues that internet addiction is a problem in our society today. Internet addiction should be reported in the Diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorder (DSM). It is a huge problem, he also says that internet is like narcotic drugs and very addicting. He states that if ones use Google for few minutes only it leads us to spend more than a few minutes on the internet and it turns in to spending hours. Beato refers that University of Maryland did a group study for 24 hour and all the students went crazy without their phones and iPods, one girl admitted that she is an addict. The students were anxious and miserable. He also says that one kid killed his parents because they took away his Xbox. Internet also leads to death of people, therefore it is a problem and we should put it on to the DSM.
Abstract— This research examines three questions: Does Internet addiction really exist? If it does exist what criteria does one have to meet for them to be labeled as an Internet addict? And lastly an ethical evaluation of Internet addiction. The questions are explored by investigating the fundamentals of addiction (i.e., Compulsion, Obsession, living problems, lack of satisfaction) and then correlating them to excessive Internet use. This research concludes that whilst the concept of Internet addiction cannot be completely ruled out, the majority and most probable explanation when it comes to Internet addiction is that the Internet is being as a medium to engage in different types of addictions.
In this generation, everyone, mostly young adults, are glued to technology. We see people walking around, looking at the ground as if they have a ball and chain dangling from their necks. We see people sitting on their chairs and looking at their computer screens long enough for their backs to hurt and their eyes water from the bright screen. People addicted to the Internet are those who pay attention to a virtual world more than their own lives. Internet addiction has corrupted people’s social lives, prevented their maturation, and induced negative behaviors. In “Internet Addiction,” Greg Beato expresses how the Internet has corrupted lives and should be added to the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Behaviors.” If we continue our
Henry James was an American Novelist who was known for many of his novels. He wrote the short story “Daisy Miller” in hopes that he would seem more realistic, but many critics disagreed. The book “Daisy Miller” was published in 1879. In his short story “Daisy Miller”, Henry James writes on the conflict of independence and the harsh social characteristics of Americans that visited Rome, the culture, and how he sets the mood for the short story.
In the modern world internet access is a vital part of everyday life. It is important for education, and is a necessary skill for those entering the job markets of today. The internet is highly entertaining and informative. These qualities make the internet an attractive escape from the stress of everyday life. People can enter a different world and make the problems of the real world disappear. Anything is possible on the internet. Internet addiction has the same symptoms as an addition to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or caffeine. When someone becomes addicted to the internet they will have increasing tolerance to the amount of time they spend online, withdrawal, mood changes between when online and off, and there will be an interruption of social relationships and activities. People with an addiction will need more time online to be happy. When access to the internet is not available people will show signs of anxiety, depression, irritability, trembling hands, and restlessness.
For the past decade or two, Internet is a channel that promotes an access to information and communication in the global world. It is one of the most powerful tool. Now-a-days, an access to the internet has become easier than ever, whether we are using a computer, phone or tablets. There is no doubt that people are spending more and more time online. Because many people use the internet for their career and education, it is hard to differentiate between the normal usage and excessive usage of the internet. We all use web at a normal level, but when it becomes compulsory for survival it becomes an addiction.