Introduction
The Internet is an essential part of the everyday life of each person. Digital portals, educational resources, and day-to-day tasks have moved to the worldwide web, and we cannot imagine our life without them anymore. Despite its global coverage, the debate about its impact on society has been ongoing for as long as it exists. The following essay will explore how the Internet has negatively influenced culture and its outcomes for the current world.
The Internet will play a larger part in everyday life as more people throughout the world acquire accessibility to all of the capabilities of the electronic era. People in emerging economies believe that the growing use of the Internet has had a positive impact on education, social connections, and the economy thus far (Pew Research). Despite all of the advantages of this new technology, individuals are more inclined to believe that the Internet has a negative rather than a good impact on morality. Thus, this essay will aim to break down all the significant adverse effects on demonstrating and preventing users from experiencing its outcomes.
Social Media
The Internet is evolving from a simple means of disseminating information to a medium for social interaction and involvement. Individuals can develop a public profile inside an established net system using social networks. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Linked In, YouTube, and Pinterest are among the most popular websites that allow users to communicate, and share reviews, images, and other information.
Despite the ability to connect people from different parts of the world and communicate within seconds, social media is proven to have a variety of adverse effects on people using them, specifically on mental health. Because social media is such a new technology, little research has been done to determine the long-term effects, good or ill, of its use. Multiple studies, on the other hand, have discovered a strong correlation between heavy social media use and an increased risk of depression, anxiety, isolation, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts.
Cyberbullying is the most common cause of mental illness. In the past, the majority of young people have been victims of Internet bullying (Akram and Kumar 352). Because anyone can make a fake record and do anything without getting caught, it has become extremely easy to offend anyone on the Internet with no repercussions. Threats, intimidating messages, and gossip can be sent to the general public, having a substantial impact on mental health and potentially leading to severe problems (Diomidous et al.). This is especially true for teenagers, who rarely can apply critical thinking and are in poor mental health. This is especially applicable to teenagers, who rarely can apply critical thinking and have weak mental states.
Adverse Effects on Cognitive Development
The way humans process information has changed dramatically since the advent of the Internet. The Internet presents texts in a non-linear fashion, with individual web pages originating from a variety of sources. The Internet has thus provided a new type of information organization and memorization that necessitates new patterns in the development and execution of mental processes for learning and making decisions (Quaglio and Millar 8). Computer memory enables just information retrieval, whereas biological memory is organized in an integrative, constructive, and interlinking manner.
According to a recent study of cognitive performance in people who have problems with the Internet, this issue is linked to numerous cognitive deficits in attention control, motor inhibition, decision-making, learning, and memory (Quaglio and Millar 9). As a result, it’s reasonable to assume that continuous internet use can affect a variety of interconnected aspects of cognition, including memory, critical skills, cognitive and emotional judgment, or reading.
The varied flow of incoming data encourages us to engage in attentional switching and “multitasking,” rather than continuous focus, which explains why internet users have less attention span (Firth et al.). Overall, the early stages of the Internet’s adoption in our Society are critical for initiating extensive research into how Internet usage interacts with human cognition to optimize our possibilities for leveraging this effect while minimizing the apparent adverse impact.
Information Overload
The human cognition changes in the human brain are partially caused by information overload, which evolved with the establishment of the Internet. As a result of this phenomenon, a person’s standard cognitive capacities are hampered by an abundance of, or increased complexity in, acquired information (Firth et al.). Users are less likely to respond when they are constantly overwhelmed with information because their focus is increasingly divided between different sources.
Overloading information is also linked to a sense of lack of control and being overwhelmed. People accessing more information feel lost and disconnected, which is paradoxical to the notion of wide informational access. According to a study, young individuals have a higher prevalence of information overload than older generations, with 41% saying that they are overwhelmed, compared to 31% of older generations (Quaglio and Millar 11). Such findings raise a concern regarding the development of cognitive functions among young adults, precisely attention span, decision-making abilities, and mental health.
Privacy Violation
The manner the Internet and cellphones blur the lines between varied contexts – such as work and home – jeopardizes people’s ability to distinguish between their public and private lives. There is a growing trend of displaying one’s life online, which often clouds the image of the actual world, resulting in low self-esteem or unrealistic expectations. The ability to create a personal social vision on the Internet has resulted in the alteration of personal boundaries.
Unfortunately, the Internet’s fast means of collection and constant access to information may lead to the altering of brain functions. For example, an experiment revealed that people who were directed to look for specific data online finished the task faster than those who used physical encyclopedias, but they were less able to retain the material correctly as a result (Firth et al.). Furthermore, the Internet’s “supernormal stimulus” characteristic was discovered, possibly implying that online information collection swiftly educates people to become reliant on it when confronted with unknown circumstances.
Furthermore, the Internet and social media have the potential to intrude into our personal life in undesired and damaging ways. One of the delicate tissues of the modern global information society is the protection of personal data in light of technological advancements. People’s and corporations’ privacy has been repeatedly abused since the Internet’s inception. Bank account hacking, social networking, and personal information leaks are just a few examples of how the Internet has caused its users to suffer the repercussions of trusting it.
Internet Addiction
Throughout evolution, people have faced and experienced many forms of addiction, including severe ones like drugs and alcoholism. The emergence of technology has introduced a new form of addiction – the Internet. Although not formally recognized as a diagnostic category, Internet addiction is a disease that involves a severe decline in an individual’s social, professional, or academic performance (Diomidous et al.). Persons with problematic Internet use are progressively being approached therapeutically by medical experts.
Internet addiction manifests itself in a variety of ways. Quaglio and Millar write about the following: “impaired control, craving, impairment, risky/harmful use, and physiological traits are all core characteristics of addiction” (3). While there is no one reason for the illness, some data suggest that the brain makeup is comparable to that of people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol (Firth et al.). As a result, it could be classified as a medical condition.
Many claim that video games are among the most common recreational actions that contribute to internet addiction, but there are other types of this disease. Internet activity addiction is presented in many forms, including gaming, gambling, social media, cybersex, and compulsive information seeking. Nonetheless, gaming addiction is the most dangerous online behavior, with the strongest evidence foundation of any addiction associated with the Internet. Compulsive gamblers can’t stop themselves from playing online, even if it implies negative consequences. Because there are no evident physical indications or symptoms, gambling addiction may be referred to as a “hidden sickness.”
Furthermore, emphasis has been placed on compulsive use of social media, revealing the existence of many usage motivations and user profiles, as well as symptoms such as salience, mood modulation, resistance, separation, and confrontation (Quaglio and Millar 7). Online pornography addiction has become the Internet’s crack cocaine due to the volume and variety of sexually explicit material available. The addict’s obsession with sexual arousal derives from their imagination and dream past, impacting personal, and romantic relationships, and even being the cause of divorce.
Actions to Reduce Negative Internet Impact
The negative effect of the Internet on society has been numerously proved by multiple research and personal experience. Each person using the Internet has at least once faced its negative impact on themselves or their close people. Therefore, the most critical step in preventing the destructive influence of the Web is awareness of its harm. By knowing the consequences certain actions may lead to, the negative impact decreases significantly.
Furthermore, the government needs to start acknowledging the harmful internet impact more and initiate more policies and regulations regarding the behavior online. In the end, these negative impacts add up to societal harm that can be addressed through public policy. Regulating the development and usage of the Internet through regulations, legislation, and other policy measures is another aspect that influences the impact it can have on our culture and society. Such protective methods will guard the community against dangerous repercussions individuals may experience, like severe cyberbullying, hacking, stealing, and more.
Preventive and educational initiatives can reach a large number of people and can be used in conjunction with active therapies. Multi-system preventative efforts involving schools, parents, the community, workplaces, and others may be the most effective. Strengthening the health and social services support available for internet users who participate in dangerous behavior is also essential in today’s society, especially given the Internet’s apparent impact on mental health.
With all the preventive measures mentioned, the negative impact of the Internet may be significantly reduced. Users should be aware of and critically evaluate the information provided on websites to maintain healthy conduct and limit excessive use. As a result, no effect will ever arise that could jeopardize the users’ safety. In truth, the best way to maximize the advantages of the Internet is rational to use and maintain balance.
References
Akram, W., and R. Kumar. “A Study on Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media on Society.” International Journal of Computer Sciences and Engineering, vol. 5, no. 10, 2017, pp. 351–354. Research Gate. Web.
Diomidous, Marianna, et al. “Social and Psychological Effects of the Internet Use.” Acta Informatica Medica : AIM : Journal of the Society for Medical Informatics of Bosnia & Herzegovina : Casopis Drustva Za Medicinsku Informatiku BiH, vol. 24, no. 1, 2016, pp. 66–8. Web.
Firth, Joseph, et al. “The ‘Online Brain’: How the Internet May Be Changing Our Cognition.” World Psychiatry, vol. 18, no. 2, 2019, pp. 119–129. Web.
Pew Research. “Internet Seen as Positive Influence on Education but Negative on Morality in Emerging and Developing Nations.” Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, 2015. Web.
Quaglio, Gianluca, and Sophie Millar. Potentially Negative Effects of Internet Use. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service, 2020.