Internet Addiction

Internet Addiction

The Internet is filled with ways to spend one’s time.  There are literally billions of sites designed for every single unique interest.  There are sites to play games on, to watch TV shows and movies, to read the latest news, to get caught up on the latest gossip, to connect via social media, and to do research.  The Internet provides infinite possibilities to people anytime, anywhere without those people even having to leave the comfort of their own chairs.  Although the Internet has proven to be a useful tool, the extent to which people use it in their day-to-day lives has become far too excessive, keeping them from not only spending their time doing other, more productive activities, but also causing health issues.

Overusing the Internet has become a problem in many people’s lives. Courtney Blatch of The Weal News states that, “according to Doctor Martin Taft, an addictions expert for Adult Addiction Services Calgary, spending a lot of time online … becomes a problem when it absorbs too much of your time and causes you to neglect your relationships, your work, school, or other important things in your life.”  Many experience this problem, as it is becoming more and more common for people to spend their time browsing, playing games, and doing other activities over the Internet.  Blatch also explains that, “Internet addiction interrupts the everyday activities that you do to lead a healthy, balanced lifestyle” (The Weal News).  This shows that not only does the Internet consume one’s time that can be spent in other way, but it can also negatively affect one’s physical health.  Being on the Internet is not beneficial to one’s physical health like exercise is, since all you are doing is sitting down and starring at a screen while on the Internet.  This can lead to problems with obesity and can also cause problems with one’s vision since starring at a screen can be extremely tiring on the eyes.  Not only can Internet abuse harm one’s physical health, but it can also affect one’s mental health.

Recent research on the correlation between the amount of Internet usage and its effects on the human brain has come up with some disturbing results.  According to Alice Walton from Forbes, this “research has shown that people with internet addiction have demonstrable changes in their brains – both in the connections between cells and in the brain areas that control attention, executive control, and emotion processing. Most intriguing is the fact that many of these changes are what you see happening in the brains of people addicted to cocaine, heroine, special K, and other substances.”  It is clearly conventional wisdom that those who suffer from drug addiction develop mental health issues, and Walton’s claim gives us clear evidence that Internet addiction can be just as harmful to one’s mental health as drugs can be.  This claim is further proven by Courtney Blatch of The Weal News, who cites that, “researchers at the University of Maryland in a 2012 study asked 200 students to give up all media for one full day, and found that … many showed signs of withdrawal, craving and anxiety along with an inability to function well without their media and social links.”  Without the ability to use the Internet, these students suffered a loss similar to how drug addicts feel when they no longer have access to drugs.  This study verifies that Internet usage is not only addictive and “vital” to many people’s daily lives, but can also be harmful to people’s mental health as well.

            Some may oppose this view on Internet abuse, saying that using the Internet often can actually prove to be beneficial.  For example, Walton points out that others, such as, “internet addicts with a milder version of the disorder might argue that their dependence is actually beneficial, since it lets them be more productive professionally. At any hour of the day, your addiction will endow you with the capacity for lighting fast responses to work emails, making you a more valuable employee than your non-addicted colleague” (Forbes).  While this argument may hold true to some extent, this is just an example of the early signs of addiction. Once Internet addiction starts to intrude into one’s everyday life, it becomes more of a problem than an advantage.  By denying that Internet abuse is not actually harmful but can in fact be a good thing, addicts are only escalating the problem they face and will often find themselves sinking deeper down under until the addiction takes hold of them and their lives.  As many know, the first step in the road to recovery is to admit that you have a problem.  By denying the problem, one can never truly recover from it.

            There have been multiple examples of extreme Internet addiction over recent years.  Luke MacGragor from RT cites several horrifying incidents involving this extreme addiction: “[A] gaming addict died after playing an online videogame for 40 hours straight at an Internet café in Taiwan.  [Also] a Korean couple was arrested in 2010 after their infant daughter starved to death while the pair played an online game for hours. The videogame the two were playing involved raising a virtual baby.”  These are just a couple of real life incidents involving Internet addiction.  While these examples may seem extreme, they signify just how much this addiction can intrude in and destroy lives.  In these examples, we can see that Internet addiction is clearly a cause of physical problems and mental problems, along with being a distraction to what is really important and what the real priorities are in life.

As you can tell, Internet addiction has become a real problem.  While the Internet provides many useful tools to all different people, unfortunately, people are spending far too much of their time hooked to the Internet and the infinite possibilities and tools that it offers.  It is clear that when people begin to abuse this form of technology, that is when problems begin to form.  People begin to put the Internet over other priorities in their lives, which like other substance abuses, can cause one’s life fall apart.  Not only this but the abuse of the Internet is damaging to one’s mental health.  This particular addiction is something that that has become quite common, making it very likely that many have either experienced or are experiencing this firsthand or know someone that has experienced or is experiencing this.  With addiction there are always consequences that can last a lifetime.  Addicts are constantly faced with having to be in control of their instincts, how they behave, and what they are doing.  Being an addict is not something that can easily be controlled or go away, and with that in mind, people should watch over the amount of time they spend on the Internet and not let it become a harmful factor in their everyday lives.

Works Cited

Baltch, Courtney. “Contending with Internet Dependence.” The Weal. 13 November 2012. Web. 19 November 2012.

MacGragor, Luke. “Digital Age overload: ‘Internet addiction’ to be classified as mental illness.” RT. 1 October 2012. Web. 26 November 2012.

Walton, Alice. “Internet Addiction Is The New Mental Health Disorder.” Forbes. 2 October 2012. Web. 19 November 2012.

Internet Addiction has become an overwhelming aspect in many people's lives.  Some people have developed serious health issues as a result of this addiction.  This includes both mentally and physically.  Also, many of the mental health issues that people develop as a result of Internet addiction are remarkably similar to mental health issues developed by drug addicts.  I thought that this little cartoon summed it all up and was at the same time somewhat comical in regards to this addiction.

This video gives a brief insight on Internet use disorder, how it is becoming a more publicly recognized disorder, and how it is affecting people.  Also included in this video is some insight on other forms of technology addiction. 

Here are a couple of photos that I thought were quite funny, however at the same time, they are good examples of just how much the Internet can consume one's life.

The above picture is from 

http://vyanks.blogspot.com/

2010/11/internet-addiction.html.

The above picture is from 
http://digitalfortresshs.blogspot.com/2011
/01/how-internet-addiction-is-affecting.html.

For more information on Internet addiction and the negative side affects associated with it here are a few website articles to take a look at:

In this first article, you can find information of Internet use disorder, how it mentally affects your brain, and how Internet addiction is in many ways similar to drug addiction:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/10/02/the-new-mental-health-disorder-internet-addiction/

This article describes the fact that Internet addiction becomes a problem when it affects one's life and relationships.  Along with this we are given the results of a survey conducted to see how college students who handle a day without media:

http://www.theweal.com/2012/11/13/contending-with-internet-dependence/

This last article discusses how Internet addiction is being classified as a mental disorder.  It also gives some extreme examples of how Internet addiction has destroyed the lives of some people.

http://rt.com/news/internet-use-mental-illness-389/