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Internet Addiction

explanatory Essay
539 words
539 words
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Internet Addiction

Anna is a quiet 18 year old girl. In her spare time, she keeps her social life in full running condition. Armed with the comfort of using a different persona, she logs on to the net, plays games with online friends from around the world, responds to more than 15 email accounts, and dates a bunch of people belonging to every race conceivable. She may be one of the most inactive person in school but as soon as she logs on to the net, she is the most aggressive bitch you´ve ever came across with. Before she knows it, the day is gone, in fact, it´s 7 o´clock in the morning and she´s going be late for school.

Anna is one of a few people who is suffering from cyber-addiction or in clinical terms, Pathological Internet use1. Cyber-addiction is an obsessive disorder with the computer and an inability to get away from it or connect to the world apart from it2. It affects as many as 5 to 10 percent of internet users3. The people most likely to be addicted4 are people with marked psychological traits that include obsessive- compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, and low self-esteem, prior addiction history, those who are introverted, those with college or school stress, those susceptible to societal encouragement, and more women than men.

In a study made by Dr. Kimberly Young, a psychologist in the University of Pittsburgh, only 8 percent of addicts were in the high tech industry. More than 40 percent said they had no permanent jobs and 39 percent were either secretaries, teachers, bank tellers and journalists5.

Experts say that it is not necessarily the number of hours spent on the web but the reasons for being online6. When the internet starts replacing the real life in terms socialization and/or bothers your normal day-to-day functioning, then it starts to be an addiction. Dr. James Fearing said there are three main components of internet addiction7.

First is avoidance, where someone logs-in to the net instead of dealing with their own issues. Next is fantasy, when someone isn´t really happy about the way they are and uses personas different from their

1http://www.computernewsdaily.com/227_081597_114210_27912.html

2http://www.monkhouse.org/david/nw/postcards2.htm

3http://www.healthsurfing.com/health/2001/02/02/?p=1&n=1

4 http://www.selfpsychology.org/_forum/000000aa.htm

5http://www.computernewsdaily.com/227_081597_114210_27912.html

6http://www.healthsurfing.com/health/2001/02/02/?p=1&n=1

7http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0058km

everyday lives to reinvent themselves. Last is sexual, either in the form of pornography or engaging in cybersex.

How do you know if you are a cyber-addict?

In this essay, the author

  • Explains that internet addictionanna is a quiet 18-year-old girl who logs on to the net, plays games with online friends, responds to 15 email accounts, and dates people belonging to every race conceivable.
  • Explains that anna is one of a few people who is suffering from cyber-addiction or in clinical terms, pathological internet use.
  • Explains that dr. kimberly young's study found that only 8 percent of addicts were in the high tech industry and 40 percent had no permanent jobs.
  • Explains that the internet replaces the real life in terms of socialization and/or bothers your normal day-day functioning. dr. fearing said there are three main components of internet addiction.
  • Explains avoidance, fantasy, and fantasy. avoidance is when someone logs-in to the net instead of dealing with their own issues.
  • Opines that healthsurfing.com/health/2001/02/?p=1&n=14 http://www.selfpsychology.org/_forum/000000aa.htm5.
  • Explains that the center for online addiction gives some typical warning signs if you are a cyber-addict.
  • Describes the reasons why they feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop internet use.
  • Opines that if you can answer yes to five or more of the questions, then you may suffer from internet addiction. technology offers us a lot of possibilities.
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