Spring 2016

Spring 2016
(All Works Cited Posted with Conclusions)

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Internet Addiction, the Newest Epidemic - Jacob Perales




           
        When you go to a concert, what do people generally hold up? When you go to bed, do you stay up checking your phone? What is the first thing you check when you wake up? To pass time and even start relationships, people are using the internet. This epidemic can lead to a lower productivity in the work life, or the decrease in social skills. Signs of this addiction can be constantly checking your email instead of doing what you needed to do, or finding yourself playing offline games more often than being productive at work. About 1 in 8 people suffer from internet addiction today, but with technology growing and affecting more lives, the risk of becoming addicted are increasing. ("Internet Addiction Disorder." NetAddiction. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.)

            Although it may seem silly to think that someone can become addicted to the internet, this addiction is like every other. It can become harmful to the addict and the addict’s loved ones. Isolation, distance, and the lack of social skills are all associated with internet addiction. Strangely, romance problems may arise with internet addiction, depending on why the person is addicted.

            The internet was a man made gift that has shot our world into a new advanced age, but there is always a risk of abusing the gifts we are given, and if we fail to be careful, we could all become addicted to the internet.


History and Examples

            Internet addiction is a rather new epidemic, given the last decade of technological advancement. There is no particular starting location of this because this epidemic is very personal, but the beginning of the time line can be pinpointed to when the World Wide Web was truly implemented, which was around 1990. Since then, the spread has become more and more rapid. With all of the new computers and abstract ways to communicate, people are becoming more and more addicted. We now have apps for anything you want. From simple games where you crush candy to apps for intercontinental communication, our accessibility is endless. On the other hand, our endless communication has given us problems too. For example, the creation of cyber bulling has become an issue for teens everywhere, but none of that would have happened if this spread never occurred. Although some negatives are associated with the internet and the addiction to it, some good has had to come out of this technologic revolution in which we live in. Many medical procedures are now safer and communication to family across the globe is as easy as clicking a button. The issues come when the communication becomes excessive and problematic, or when children pay more attention to their iPad, rather than their parents.

 This recently found epidemic, which has no direct starting point, has spread like tsunamis over our world, and whether we notice it or not, we all may be addicted. For example, young Brett Walker has reported to an NBC article about his own internet addiction (“Trapped by and internet ‘addiction,’ Obsessed Surfers Seek Rehab Help.” NBC News. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.). His addiction is to the classic game of World Of Warcraft. He, himself, explains the troubles his real life gained as he became better and better at this video game. Walker says, “whenever I was on the computer I would feel great.”(1) But, when he would have to be away from the keyboard, his life would crumble, and he would even admit to being disappointed as he lay in bed at night (1). Walker is the perfect example of internet addiction. Life crumbles away as the virtual life expands. The positive is that he loves playing and communicating with millions around the world, but the negative side of reality is he has a dragging force that harms Brett Walker everyday.  


Solutions

            Internet addiction can be a challenging thing to fight due to the fact that the problem is so accessible. The internet is everywhere nowadays, in your pocket, at your house, and even at work, but there are some solutions that can help people overcome this problem. Scientists have figured that exact medical procedures should be taken to solve this problem. Some solutions can be as simple as planning ahead and figuring out exactly what you need to get done on the computer before you even log on (“11 Ways to Detect and Solve Internet Addiction." Alcohol SelfHelp News. 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.). If you plan on logging on to finish a project, that should be your number one priority, rather than getting on the computer for games. If the problem continues, making a “Log On” schedule would help as well. Find exact time intervals in which you log on. Make it 30 minutes to an hour per day. Slowly, but surely, increase the time intervals until the problem no longer needs attention. Those time intervals should be used for work, though. To help the problem, one must first commit to helping themselves.   

            Other solutions involve the close family or friends of the patient. This would mean giving others your passwords or having them monitor how long you are on the computer and if it is even for productive reasons. They can act as the lines you are required to stay between. Their job can be as simple as reminding you what you logged on for. This form of control is almost similar to teaching a dog why they get outside when let out. They leave, do their business, and come back in. If needed, the patient should almost be treated as such. An act like this would be somewhat of a personal therapy from home. If you cannot help yourself, have others keep you in line and help you get over the addiction.

            Some solutions that may not be as effective include the ones that address only the addicted person, such as just changing your routine. Addictions should not be handled alone. Simply changing your routine would work for maybe a day or two, but as time goes on, you would get right back into the habit of wasting time and spending hours upon hours on the internet. Without the help of others to keep the patient in line the addiction would continue. But, like many addictions, this will take time. You can track the progress you make as you attempt to fix the problem. Making goals and keeping track of what you do on the internet, along with getting family and friends in on the idea of helping is the most effective solution due to the amount of people willing to help.

The last idea for a solution would be one seen for other addictions: distraction. When the patient becomes distracted, they may not crave the internet. Getting into sports or other activities may be rough to begin with, but eventually, opening up and allowing time to go to other activities away from the computer is a solution that just may work for everyone. This can be achieved with the help of the family as well. A family member may have connections to some organization that would help the patient get drawn away from the computer.

            Every addiction needs help. Without any other support, the addiction may or may not ever be resolves. Leaving the patient out to dry, with no support, may drive them farther into the addiction. The last thing they need is for someone to pester them or talk down on them, when all they want is help. But, every person is different and for some severe cases, a “cure” may not be possible. Internet addiction is much like any other addiction and sometimes, things do not get better. These solutions are suggestions that CAN help, but nothing is guaranteed.


Camus and Internet Addiction          

Internet addiction can be perceived as a distraction. Camus would strongly disagree with the use of the internet for pleasure and games. He believed that the world should follow the harmony of the day. This means that any and all distractions should not be present. The internet would completely throw off the harmony of the day, but unfortunately, many people are sucked into the distractions that are associated with the internet. Now, people throw off their schedule to log onto the latest game, or the newest YouTube video. This creates a sense of isolation from the rest of the world, and if the world refuses to interact, how does harmony become a reality?

Albert Camus is a writer of absurd fiction. His novel, The Plague, is a tale of a small city that is overtaken by a fatal disease. Of course, this being a piece of absurd fiction, the disease is open to interpretation. The plague can be seen as any kind of social “disease,” whether that be in the present or the past. In the past, around the time that the book was published, war was ravaging the land and caused literal death. The plague can be seen as war. Today, and relating to this particular absurdity, the plague can be seen as internet addiction.

Internet addiction drives people of all ages away from the normality of life. They become trapped in a new world that is run by them, for them. This is absurd because it does not fit in with what is considered “normal.”

At the same time, Camus would almost agree with internet addiction. Camus believes that life is pointless and should be lived on the edge, if one wants to fully grasp the idea of it (class handout). Therefore, since the people addicted to the internet are living the way hey want to live, Camus would basically find no problem with it. If life is pointless, why get away from the computer to go face the troubles of finding the solutions in life? We may see it as an absurdity because we cannot understand how one can sit in front of a computer for 14 hours a day playing games, but Camus would applaud those who do not worry about finding the solutions of life.

People who suffer from internet addiction are living a life they choose to live. They go into this virtual reality and basically play God. They make the rules they want to make, they watch what they want to watch, and shut out the parts of the real world that they do not want to face. Yes, this is problematic as a family member or friend, but in the eyes of the addicted, there is no problem. In the eyes of Albert Camus, there is no problem.


Conclusion

            Internet addiction is a rather new epidemic that is sweeping across our world. People have grown addicted to video PC games, chat rooms, blogs, social media, and pornography. No real cure has been found, but some solutions include distractions, family and friend help, or even a schedule to make sure you do not stay on the computer for too long. Those who are addicted escape from reality and enter a new world provided to them by this man-made gift to the world. The internet is a place for them to make their own rules and live how they want to live. If things do not go the way they planned, changing it is done with just the click of a button. Albert Camus, who believes that one should live life how they want because we are all going to die anyways, would applaud those addicted because of their use of the internet to almost play God in their virtual realities.

            This problematic addiction may be spreading faster than we think because technology is a must have nowadays. People do not realize how much they are on the computer doing things they shouldn’t. With computers taking over everyone’s lives and technology growing at a ridiculous rate, who knows, one day, we may all be addicted.











Work Cited

 "BMC Medicine." Internet Addiction: A 21stcentury Epidemic? Web. 01 May 2016.


"CyberPsychology & Behavior." Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder. Web. 01 May 2016.


"Internet Addiction Disorder." NetAddiction. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.


“Trapped by and internet ‘addiction,’ Obsessed Surfers Seek Rehab Help.” NBC News. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.


“11 Ways to Detect and Solve Internet Addiction." Alcohol SelfHelp News. 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

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