Psychologists compare Internet addiction, which appeared with the development of the Internet, with alco- and drug dependency. Unquestionably, the Internet has great importance for humanity in the modern world and greatly benefits humankind. The network is a great source of information and an affordable way to acquire skills and knowledge as an irreplaceable assistant in work and business. In addition, the Internet is a place for spending and planning leisure time, new acquaintances, and a way to keep in touch. The Internet facilitates the selection and purchasing of necessary goods and services; it allows you to save while buying online. However, continuous usage of the Internet might lead to perceptible inauspicious consequences.
Internet addiction is a mental disorder accompanied by a large number of behavioral problems. Generally, it means the inability of a person to shut down the network in time and the constant presence of an obsessive desire to enter the Internet. One does not consider this problem a threat in truth unless one contemplates it in more depth. Thus, a prolonged and uncontrolled presence in the network changes the state of consciousness and the brain’s functioning. Gradually, this leads to a loss of the ability to learn and think effectively. The term internet addiction, for the record, was first officially used in the 1990s, and since then, a growing number of medical reports related to this disorder have been published (Kuss 3). Many accidents confirm the existence and severity of this problem, which can lead to substantial negative consequences.
Over the past decade, the Internet has become an integral part of life for the majority of the population. Today, any modern person visits the World Wide Web at least once a day for communication, work, or simply searching for the necessary information. All this makes human’s life easier and comfortable, but at the same time, such actions are becoming a habit. As it turned out, sometimes this habit goes beyond the frames of an inoffensive daily wont. However, according to Phoenix’s study, people with internet addiction are more likely to share their feelings such as depression and anxiety to others, and they use the network for it. (89). Accordingly, the Internet becomes a place where they can forget about problems and stabilize their emotions. Whether this is good or bad is unclear since live communication, which is undoubtedly an essential factor in dealing with such issues, is excluded. This outlines a point: the Internet is slowly replacing the necessity for live communication, going out to a store or just outside from the everyday life of people.
However, impaired thought processes and memory degradation are not the only adverse effects of the continuous presence on the Internet. Plunging headlong into the World Wide Web, a person gradually loses fundamental communication skills, which leads to a kind of asociality. One does not need to meet with friends, but one can chat with them on Skype or send an e-mail. People do not have to look for and buy goods in a local store because they can purchase anything online. Thereby, all these conveniences described earlier as advantages with long-term and uncontrolled usage turn into a problem. Getting into an unfamiliar company for an Internet addict becomes stressful, and communicating with unknown people starts to cause difficulties.
Further, the person snaps, which might affect work or study, and acquires sleep (it is no longer possible to get rid of insomnia without the help of a specialist) and food intake problems. Then the person can go online more frequently, since feeling more depressed as becoming socially isolated (Montag and Reuter 8). As a result, one can have a snowballing problem which might lead to severe consequences. In addition to mental disorders, Internet addiction is dangerous for physical conditions as well. People spend an enormous amount of time near the monitor screens, which worsens their eyesight; many have carpal tunnel syndrome. Internet addiction, followed by a sedentary lifestyle, leads to various diseases of the spine and joints (scoliosis, osteochondrosis, arthrosis, etc.) and cardiovascular pathologies (tachycardia, arrhythmias, arterial hypertension).
The danger also lies in the fact that people underestimate the potential and risk of internet addiction. Certainly, it does not cause any severe physical symptoms such as withdrawal symptoms. This is the main snag since a person may not even think about this problem but already have it. People believe that this is a natural feature of technological progress, just like cars, airplanes, etc. People mistakenly believe that as the Internet is an environment, then it is controversial if anyone could be addicted to an environment (Johnson 23). This is similar to how drug addicts justify their addiction by saying that drugs are just medicine that helps them. The outcome in such situations is, in most cases, unfavorable since the person denies the real problem. In other words, under the influence of a strong habit, one can no longer soberly assess the situation, opportunities.
There is an opinion that the Internet is not a problem by itself, but things somehow connected with a network are (videogames, social networks). In other words, the Internet may be just a trigger to start a mechanism of other online addictions (Kuss 15). To a certain extent, this is true because people get used to actions, whether it be communicating with friends or strangers, pumping a character in a video game, or constantly posting photos. In theory, nothing prevents people from using the network exclusively for valuable purposes. For example, an electronic dictionary gives out many meanings and synonyms of a word in one second or as an encyclopedia, saving time. True, as for the last point, this is not always so useful because it is not easy to find truthful information online.
As a result, technological progress, which made our life so much easier and opened up many opportunities, presented a serious problem. Some data and statistics show that internet addiction is a real problem. A seemingly harmless tool can lead to severe psychological issues. The solution seems to be simple, it is enough to use the network in a metered manner and only for beneficial purposes. The question of whether people will be able to do this remains open.
Works Cited
Johnson, Nicola F. The Multiplicities of Internet Addiction: The Misrecognition of Leisure and Learning. Routledge, 2016.
Kuss, Daria, and Halley Pontes. Internet Addiction. Hogrefe Publishing, 2018.
Montag, Christian, and Martin Reuter, editors. Internet Addiction: Neuroscientific Approaches and Therapeutical Implications Including Smartphone Addiction. Vol. 2, Springer, 2017.
Phoenix, Mo. “The role of social support on emotion dysregulation and Internet addiction among Chinese adolescents: A structural equation model.” Addictive Behaviors, vol. 82, 2018, pp. 86-93. ScienceDirect.