Internet Addiction ( Pathological Internet Use ) Essay

Internet addiction is now considered to be a “grave national health crisis”(Dokoupil 2012, 27). Several cases have emerged where people went completely insane due to the abuse of technology. This was to the extreme where two parents were so addicted to taking care of their virtual baby, they forgot about their real child. The infant was neglected to death. Another case is of a son who turns on his own mother when she suggests “he log[s] off”(27). As a response, the young man beats his mother until she eventually dies. These aren’t the only examples of insanity and for this reason, for the first time in history, “Internet Addiction Disorder will be included...in an

Tony Schwartz wrote an article called “ Addicted to Distraction” on November 28, 2016 to inform the readers about how the internet is a distraction and how distractions can affect your life. One of the main points in this article is that people use the internet for non important things. Another point is stated in paragraph 14, “ The problem is that we humans have a very limited reservoir of will and discipline.” Through out the article, Shwartz did not only write the article to only talk about his own addiction, he also wrote it to where the readers can relate to it and to compare it to their very own distraction.

Unfortunately, many people are finding themselves forced into going online. Scores of businesses, educational facilities, medical and governmental entities are only accessible through the internet. We seem to have no choice but to use something that may or may not turn into a full-blown addiction, the negative effects of which, concern some people so much, that there have been requests made, to the American Psychological Association, to add “Internet Addiction” to the list of official medical disorders. Statistics and research indicate that the addiction exists, but not that it is fundamentally detrimental. Social networking researchers further concluded the effects for most people are positive; in general people feel more comfortable about themselves, and more, not less connected to society.

Internet addiction has become a huge problem in today’s society. In Greg Beato’s article, he discusses the growing phenomena of internet addiction disorder. The writer explains that more and more people are becoming addicted to the internet. For example, he tells of a teenager in Ohio, who shot and killed his mom and injured his dad because they took away his Xbox. He tells how it is stated that five to ten percent of the 52 million internet users were addicted. The author is telling us that the internet has become very addictive in our everyday society.

Patho-physiologists define addiction as a disease, thus affording to the chemical imbalance between the limbic and frontal lobes of the brain (Litowitz 2012). Psychologists have taken a broader approach, linking neuroscience with a binomial relationship to human behaviour in order to diagnose and challenge whether addiction is mind over matter, or indeed a neurological disorder (Burton, Westen, Kowalski, 2012). The following essay will firstly discuss three theories of psychology and how they each approach this binomial relationship; with particular reference to Internet addiction. Secondly, the paper will discuss research and results particular to each therapy and finally, argue that cognitive therapy as opposed to psychodynamic therapy and behavioural therapy, is a better catalyst for effective treatment of Internet addiction.

One example found in the article of dangerous behavior caused by internet addiction is of a kid killing his mom and injuring his dad because they took away his xbox. Another example is of a couple who cared more about their online baby that forgot to take care of their living baby which ended up dying.

Addiction online has become very common in this day and age. With 88.8% of Americans having access to a device with internet there are plenty of individuals who have started drifting away from from their friends and family because of internet addiction. Internet addiction can become very dangerous for youths who are beginning to develop core learning skills which become essential later on in their adult life. It can cause students grades to take a harsh dip. This type of addiction can even cause cause financial problems. It can cause financial problems because of online gambling where a person would end up losing their sense of time and continuously spend their hard earned money on a risky decision that can lead to depression and and has the potential to strain family

Behaviors speculated to be addictive in nature include gambling, Internet use, sex, exercise, and eating. The negative outcome of devoting an increasing amount of time to the Internet can potentially lead to misuse which can result to social isolation, poor interpersonal relationships, family, instability and low academic performance.

In the article, “The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good of kids Use of Social Media,” Jim Taylor gives us a definition of the phrase internet addiction. He states, “Internet addiction is commonly characterized as excessive use of internet that interferes with daily functioning and that can lead to distress or harm,”. The addiction from the internet surely has a price to pay. Internet addiction is harmful psychologically, addictions to the internet shouldn’t be our only concern when it comes to social media, and internet addiction has no age limit.

There is not a clear stated definition of digital addiction however Shaw and Black (2008) characterize Internet addiction by excessive or poorly preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding computer use and internet access that lead to impairment or distress. However as the term addict is a strong description DA is seen as a general misuse of the internet in various forms, as no formal definition exists the author sees the disorder as problematic computer usage resulting in negative consequences. According to Young et al DA is a broad term covering a wide variety of behaviours and impulse control problems. K.Young (1999) also categorised DA into five subtypes of DA, they are cybersexual addiction, cyberrelationship addiction; net compulsion (e.g. gambling or shopping on the internet); information overload (e.g. compulsive database searching); and computer addiction (excessive game-playing). This project highlights social network addiction which falls into the category of cyberrelationship addiction but also contemplates all other types.

Internet gaming is one of the most common problem of which many people around the globe are facing in their daily lives. Addiction, one of the serious problems with internet gaming have caused severe changes to their behavior and attitude to life. Majority of teenagers and

The Internet is a technology that has negative impacts on our daily lives. It has changed aspects of our life for the last 50 years, and it has demonstrated the considerable influence on people’s lives. Almost 3.2 billion people in the world use the internet. The Internet has gained acceptance across the globe, and it has also become a reason behind the critical changes in the modern society. Some of the changes are social isolation, health disorder, lack of privacy and internet addiction.

Users who spend too much time in cyberspace are typically fleeing problems with relationships or trying to address deep feelings of insecurity or loneliness…and as with other addictions, what at first seems like a pleasurable retreat from pain, gradually becomes a tyrant, interfering with work, family life and normal, healthy contact with other people (Macklin).

Meeting the any of the five symptoms which include always thinking about what your missing online, feeling uneasy when you offline, lying to family and friends to hide how much time you spend on the Internet, lacking control on how much time you spend on the Internet, putting your relationships and education on hold to spend more time online, and going online to escape reality and problems, could be signs

Users who spend too much time in cyberspace are typically fleeing problems with relationships or trying to address deep feelings of insecurity or loneliness…and as with other addictions, what at first seems like a pleasurable retreat from pain, gradually becomes a tyrant, interfering with work, family life and normal, healthy contact with other people (Macklin).