Internet Addiction: An issue of government policy or a personal responsibility?
BIS 421/CSS 411 - Spring 2010
“Why is it drug addicts and computer aficionados are both called users?” – Clifford Stoll
Introduction
There is no doubt the presence of the internet is increasing at a rapid pace. A Pew Internet and American Life Project study finds two thirds of all Americans use the internet to frequently participate in internet related activities (Fellows, 2008). Another study shows that 55% of all Americans have high speed internet in their homes and even higher among college or academic arenas. (Saville et al, 2010). Needless to say, the possibility of becoming addicted to the internet is now easier than ever. The average American is presented with internet opportunities everywhere he/she turns; daily activity is analogous to running a digital gamut. Reading the newspaper or a book, watching TV, saying hello to an old friend, purchasing you Mother’s day flowers all can be done on the internet. Is all of this digital connectivity a good thing or are we taking it too far. The following paper will attempt to define internet addiction; present pending disorders correlated to the increased use of the internet; solutions implemented abroad and then propose a U.S. public policy to combat the battle.
Digital/internet addiction is a growing problem, which is inclusive but not exclusive to adolescents; college students and middle aged Americans. Other nations have addressed this problem by implementing government mandated policies such as; age restrictions for internet café’s; black-out periods; videogame restricting software; and other measures. However, the U.S. has yet to properly address this growing but silent disease. The ...
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...ed May 18, 2010, from Newsweek Online: http://www.newsweek.com/id/216911
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The internet is used today for many reasons. It is a platform for people to stay in touch with others, entertain themselves and complete work tasks. In the following articles, “Internet Addiction Left my Brother Homeless” by Winston Ross and “The Pointlessness of Unplugging” by Casey N. Cep, the internet is discussed very deeply, but in two varying lights. In the article by Cep the author is writing from personal experiences and research. In the article by Ross the author is writing merely from opinions. Another major difference in the two pieces is the main idea of the articles. In Cep’s article the main idea of his work is the idea of Unplugging from the internet. In Ross’s article, rather, the main point of his work is to discuss internet
He had a group of high degree web surfers and a group of beginners. Gary gave both groups a pair of goggles to wear and told them to search the web. If technology is interfering with your daily life, it is an addiction and taking a toll on you. A clinical psychologist, Ms. Dowling calls that “Internet Dependence.”
According to Li, O’Brien, Snyder, and Howard (2016), problematic internet use may lead to serious psychosocial dysfunction and has resulted in a proposed diagnostic criterion for the DSM-5 in order to assess the disorder. In the United States, 6% to 11% of internet users are problematic internet users. Researchers, in fact, compare problematic internet use to the assessed criteria for gambling and internet gaming disorder. They have also concluded that college-aged teens and young adults are at most risk due to the availability of internet access around them and the direct relationship between the internet and education. Symptoms include impaired physical health such as obesity or sleep disorders, psychological distress, and behavioral problems. Students may also experience more interpersonal problems and worse school and work performance.
In their article, Janarthanan Balakrishnan, and Mark D. Griffiths discuss that “internet viewers online addictions are primarily about addictions on the Internet rather than addiction to the Internet, and that most of those with online problematic behavior are addicted to the online content rather than
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
Bente, G., Kneer, J., & Glock, S. “Are Digital Games Perceived as Fun or Danger? Supporting and Suppressing Different Game-Related Concepts.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15, 604-609.
In a survey conducted by the Entertainment Software Association it was discovered that over half of Americans engage in digital games. In the past few years interactive electronic entertainment has grown from non existence to one of the most popular means of recreation. In an american home it is estimated that at least one member of the family is a dedicated gamer. The Entertainment Software Association also found that video games attract gamers of all ages and genders, so there is no longer a specific stereotype that can represent the gamer population (2). It was also found that the average gamer spends about forty hours a week solely on video games (Anderson and Bushman 353). In addition Emily Hughes stated from the Metrics 2.0 research that “the video game industry is a rapid-growing market...In 2013, the worldwide market volume totaled $93 billion” (n. pag.). This actuality that such an immense number of young children and adults are routinely playing video games makes understanding the effects of video games on players an important research objective. Both scientists and psychologists have recognized the increasing popularity of video games and have released numerous articles. The increasingly massive research literature in this area shows that video game effects are not to be taken lightly; serious effects of interactive video entertainment are found in short term and long term
Griffiths, Mark. “Excessive Internet Use: Implications for Sexual , Behavior.” CyberPsychology & Behavior. 3.4 (2000): 537-52.
The internet is an essential tool in everyday life. The age of a person does not matter, because whether they are a teen, an adult, or an elderly person in order to stay in contact with others they will need the internet. However, the internet is dangerously addictive. Some studies say that the internet is not the addiction, but the means of getting to the addiction. The more believable of the two studies are the ones that discuss the internet being the addiction. Curtis stated in 2012 that reports on the brain are showing that people who excessively use the internet show abnormalities similar to people who suffer from substance addiction. Curtis also stated that internet addiction was becoming
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.
A lot of research has gone into understanding the real impacts of technology in people’s lives. The impact of Internet on our life becomes more and more significant and undeniable. Life without Internet is definitely very troublesome and inconvenient. However some do think that this technology is more of a nuisance than useful. Even more complaints have come forward about the Internet disrupting humanity. Over the last two decades people have seen time and again complaints from parents that their children play video games 24/7 or relationships that have been ruined because of a partners inability to use technology in moderation (i.e. Technological addictions). Technological addictions are categorized under behavioral addictions and involve human-technology interaction. They can be passive (e.g. television) or active (e.g. computer games) Internet Addiction does have the core components of any addiction and will be expounded on in this
Video games are not considered as a serious addiction amongst teenagers and adults, often being compared to severe cases of addiction, such as drug abuse or alcohol abuse that may result in the appearance of a decrease in the severity of the addiction. However, video game addiction is a serious matter and has unhealthy consequences for an individual 's life and their health; spending too much time playing video games can take a great toll on one 's physical and mental well-being. Continuing unhealthy patterns of video game activity for prolonged periods of time can result in mental health issues, physical health problems, and a decline in a social life.
This online article was useful for my research because it showed how over use of technology impact on people. This article also gives background information on internet addiction and internet dependence. The source is one of the best sources used in my research due to the fact that it had some of the basic information about the harmful effect of becoming so much dependent on technology.
Internet addiction is a growing problem with more and more people. The internet is much more accessible to people now than it was just a few years ago. The internet provides people with entertainment, loads of information, and an escape from everyday life, but like anything else, too much a good thing can be addictive. This paper will cover what internet addiction is, warning signs of internet addiction, problems caused by internet addiction, who develops internet addiction, preventing and treating internet addiction, and safety guidelines for internet users.
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.