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Characteristics of friendship
The effects of spending too much time on social networking sites
Impact of social media addiction
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Recommended: Characteristics of friendship
Introduction
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, addiction refers to the strong yet harmful need to constantly have something or to do something. As for cyber relationship addiction, it is the addiction to “social networking, chat rooms, texting, and messaging to the point where virtual, online friends become more important than real-life relationships with family and friends” (Ramdhonee 2014).
Why is this topic of interest important? The main reason cited is that the Internet has undoubtedly become part of our daily lives and has made a radical change in communication leading to the build up of relationships. However, the effects of such online relationships ranges from positive to negative, hence in the following literature review, we will be reviewing on the extent of online relationship, the demographics affected by such an addiction, as well as reasons for falling into such an addiction.
Literature Review
The extent of cyber relationship addiction these days.
In a research done by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, the basic demographic shows that more young adults use social media compared to older adults. According to Duggan, 83% of internet users between the age of 18-29 are most likely to use social networking sites to engage in any form of cyber relationship and the remaining percentage (27%) refers to older adults under the age of 50.
Social Interaction
The internet serves as a platform to a new social environment whereby they learn of self identity as well as build new relations (Ramdhonee 2014). Through engaging in cyber relationship with others, it may help the youth in fulfilling “unmet real life social needs”, thus leading to a longer time spend on social networks and cyb...
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...males are more active users of social media. Thus, gender demographics in cyber relationship addiction is inconclusive due to the lack of research done on the topic. The same goes for age, where research is concentrated toward adolescents despite the shifts in technological dynamics, in which few researchers touched upon.
It is also important to take note of the speed of internet penetration, and the speed in which technology changes, as it’s extremely fast moving nature may render statistics and research conducted just years ago irrelevant.
Finally, we need to understand that while the majority of the studies and statistics cited in the review are not in a local context, they will be crucial in helping us formulate concise survey questions for the demographics of our sample.
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The experiment was based on 1319 responses to an online questionnaire. People were asked how much they used the internet and for what purposes. The respondents were aged 16 to 51, with an average age of 21. The authors found that a small number of users had developed a compulsive internet habit, replacing real life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. They classed 18 respondents, 1.2% of the total as Internet addicts. This group spent more time on sex, gambling and online community websites. "This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction."
2. Previous Research: There is a debate as to whether Internet use has a positive or negative impact in our social lives. One study found that for 40% of the college students in their sample, the Internet had been instrumental in the formation of new friendships. Moreover, 7% of their sample had used the Internet to find a romantic partner. The participants in the study claimed that one of the main benefits of communicating through the Internet was reduced social anxiety and shyness (Knox, 2001). In another study, there was evidence that lonely individuals were more likely to use email and the Internet in order to stay connected with others—in theory, giving them a healthier social life—however, evidence showed that heavy use had a negative social impact (Morahan-Martin, 2003). Finally, another study found that individuals comfortable or regularly involved in social gatherings reported more positive effects from Internet use than shy individuals less involved in their community (Kraut, 2002).
Addiction, a compulsive psychological need for a habit-forming substance according to an online dictionary (p). In this instance, the substance is sex or masturbation. A sex addict needs progressively more and more explicit pornographic material in order to become aroused. Their behavior becomes centered on different sexual experiences and the desire to attain them. The person cannot control their sexual appetites resulting in severe consequences for themselves and others. Sex addiction is a lifelong problem that needs to be contained in order to avoid continued complications. Shame, secretiveness, and abusiveness in a person accompany the addiction. Treatment is available in different forms; however, because this subject is relatively new a cure is not known. An important question is arising around this subject is whether or not sex addiction results from nature or nurture.
Whitty, M. T (2008). Liberating or debilitating? An examination of romantic relationships, sexual relationships and friendships on the Net. Computers in Human Behavior [Online] 24 (5) p.1837–1850.
regarding women who engage in cybersex activities as well as “sexting”. As women find empowerment in other aspects among societal norms, sexual empowerment via cyberspace relationships would seem likely.
This paper will provide evidence and use of online dating, and show the effects on psychological, safety and social aspects.
Researchers are seeking a clarification of the term “Internet addiction.” It is debatable whether the compulsive use of the Internet should
One argument is that the internet is not the addiction, but is a medium to the addiction. The other argument is that the internet itself is the addictive substance. The argument that has the most support and is more believable in the research that it does is that the internet itself is the addiction. This makes sense for multiple reasons. One of the reasons is that some of the addictions on the internet are not possible to be addicted to without the internet. Another reason is that people also need information, and people can get addicted to the internet because they want the information. These are only some of the reasons why the internet should be considered an addictive substance. It is also important to know the difference between being addicted to the internet and being addicted to something on the internet. According to an article written in 2012 titled Internet addiction: how to fight it, it is two different ideas to be addicted to the internet and to be addicted to things such as online gambling and online sex. These differences are another part of why internet addiction is a real thing and not just a
The extent of Cyber Relationship Addiction in Singapore today is considerably high. With a higher usage in Social Media platforms among not only the youth, but adults as well, we can conclude that Cyber Relationship Addiction is affecting a relatively larger group of people. Cyber Relationship Addiction is serious to the extent where they are affecting our primary relationships and discouraging us from non-virtual interactions with our partners. This may lead to little face-to-face interaction and socializing in the future.
As social media use continues to increase for teenagers and young adults, so do the concerns on the social development in adolescents due to the internet. Many teens are attracted to social media because it provides a place where they can be anonymous and make friends, when at school they may be too shy to do so. In fact, a survey shows that, “participants...said they were better able to express their true selves online than offline, and they tended to project ideal qualities onto their online partners” However, when you have been given the tools and technology to maintain your lives without even speaking a word to someone face-to-face, it is anything but social. As a teen, social development is critical. During these years, a child will learn how to maintain friendships, thrive in social situations, and other important skills. When you are spending your day h...
People who are addictive tend to obsessively go on online and follow up one of their role models or to play videos to create different characters in the virtual world. One of the mains reasons of why people become addicted to the internet is so they can escape their realities. People, who usually had unfortunate childhoods, try their best to find a way to become distracted with their own life. If they are not happy with themselves, they play videos games to create characters online or they obsessively update themselves on others that they wish they could be. Another reason why people become obsessive because it is a way for them to meet others online that share the same interest. From personal experience, my father used to have an obsession playing “World of Warcraft.” If he had the choice to, he would not leave the house and would play until he had to go to sleep, rinse and repeat. In a military family, it was common for us to constantly move around and for my father it was difficult in finding friends. My father would mostly play the game to find others that had the same interests that would keep him company. If my father didn 't realize how badly the game had corrupted his lifestyle, the addiction may have became more
When someone says the word “addict,” what is the picture that comes to mind? The most common response would be that the word “addict” refers to someone who abuses alcohol or some other drug. If someone smokes cigarettes they are also considered addicts because the materials inside of them are addictive. Tobacco is the most addictive recreational substance used around the world (Kleinjan, Engels, and DiFranza, 2015). The most addictive material is known as the internet. Millions of people are addicted to some form of the internet. This will almost certainly lead to problems in society and everyday life. Social skills will certainly start to decrease, because of people spending too much time on the internet. Internet
In the twenty -first century, teenagers live in a life of social networking and life’s online. It’s hard to believe how much the world has changed over the decades, especially in technology. Technology helps people to contact relatives and friends from long distance more easily and conveniently. People can now talk to each other from everywhere in the world simply through chat and video calls. By time, internet connections have spread throughout households and social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram has increased gradually. However, the internet and several modern technologies have wasted many times and has hurt the society. Social media plays such a big role in people’s lives that some people couldn’t even imagine
There are five types of internet addiction. The first is Net-Gaming. People with this addiction participate in online games, Multi User Dungeon Games (MUDs), will visit virtual casinos, and my become obsessed with e-auctions and online trading and shopping. Another type of internet addiction is Cyber-Relational Addiction. People with this tend to make chat room relationships more important than their relationships with family or friends. They may even try to meet someone personally after meeting him or her online. The third type of internet addiction is Information Overload. People become obsessed with tracking down certain information and organizing it.
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