Internet Addiction, the New Drug by Bry Anna Garate

         

Have you ever felt lost when you forget your phone at home? Afraid that you’re getting multiple text messages, calls, and social media notifications, but you are not able to check them? Internet addiction has yet to be classified as “psychopathological framework”, but as more and more individuals value the network, it is becoming a problematic epidemic (Christakis). It has been proven that over 70% of internet addicts have suffered from other addictions such as drug use, alcohol, pornography/sex and many other things that effect one’s life (“Internet Addiction Disorder”). Are you willing to let this absurdity of internet use take over the world? archers believe that while an individual is excessively using the internet, their brains begin to release more dopamine, which is a “neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates pleasure” (“Life in the Age of Internet Addiction”). As technology is constantly enhancing and becoming more accessible to anyone who owns a phone, it is causing for the vast majority of the American population to be attached to the technology around them, especially adult males from the age of 18 to 30 years old (1). Addiction to the internet is classified similar to any other common addiction to other objects or doings. As the internet became more popular in 1990, people began to utilize it more than usual, and it is only continuing to grow on us (“Dr. Kimberly Young Internet Addiction."). It is continuously advancing, and it has become the main source of a person’s social life. Kimberly Young, a licensed psychologist and an expert on internet addiction, discovered that after the internet became a daily routine for the human population, in 1995, it became extremely addicting (1). She published multiple books such as “Caught in the Net”, “Tangled in the Web”, and others. She then founded the Center for Internet Addiction around the same time to help those who felt like the internet was taking over their life (1).

Internet addiction is not recognized as a true “mental illness”, but it is causing for medical practitioners and other health officials to become concerned with people who need therapy and treatment centers for what can be classified as something more than just an everyday social media and internet problem.  An addiction is an addiction, and Hilarie Cash, a researcher, attempts to promote the understanding of the problems and epidemics that the world is currently facing and for the future predicaments to come (“Internet Addiction: The next Mental Illness?”). Cash, the Director of the “reStart program for internet addiction and recovery”, established this program to help those who are struggling with depression, anxiety, a substantial amount of stress, and other personal issues that affect a person’s life each day (1).

In 2011, Gabriela, a young 20 year old college student in New York, had trouble with staying away from being online (“Miss G.: A Case of Internet Addiction”). It eventually got to the point where she would sleep with her laptop and stay up for hours a day on the internet just looking for entertainment. As she would start on one website, it would lead her to another, creating a chain of internet searches (1). Gabriela considers surfing the Web as “a state of being” that helps her become more relaxed. This would be one of the many cases that demonstrate what the web can do to a person’s belief about their well being once they get a hold on such technology that we have to this day.

As this epidemic creates feelings that we once got from other humans, will we stop communicating with others in the future and just refer back to the internet? Is it worth losing your ability to maintain your social skills because you become used to staring at a bright screen? The questions about the internet are endless and it is even more ironic that as researchers create an analysis about internet addiction, the internet is being used as a source to develop important precautions.

Internet addiction disorder, also known as IAD, has multiple names such as Internet overuse, pathological computer use, and problematic computer use (“Getting Help for an Internet Addiction”). In 1995, Dr. Ivan Goldberg established internet addiction disorder as a psychiatric disorder based on compulsive actions with the web. IAD remains in the debate of what to really define it as by the American psychiatric community and what solutions are the most useful and helpful for a person who experiences this disorder (1).

The most important thing about addictions is discovering that you have one. People tend to get so wrapped into what they like to do thinking they are creating hobbies, but in reality their “hobbies” become the source of their addiction. Some individuals refuse to come to their senses and believe that they have a crisis developing. A few ways to know that you reached the point of becoming officially addicted to the internet would be: spending more time with your computer or mobile device more than actually communicating with others, not being able to tolerate your own boundaries that you have created to not overuse the internet, not being able to go throughout your day without it, and lying to others and yourself about how long you use it (“11 Ways to Detect and Solve Internet Addiction”).

Many researchers would classify internet addiction as a single disorder, but there is a variety of ways to categorize this addiction depending on different behavioral issues and its main commonality. Some different internet addictions include video game addiction, which is the excessive use of online games, pornography addiction, also known as the overabundance of viewing and collecting online pornography, social network addiction, or the obsession with knowing everything about everyone, online gambling addiction, which are websites that provide you with the pursuit of monetary gain, and lastly online entertainment addiction, also referred to as excessively browsing the internet and watching videos that waste time ("Internet Addiction – Symptoms, Signs, Treatment, and FAQS – Tech Addiction”). Now the question remains, what type of addiction have you developed and what is the best way to solve this epidemic and get away from excessively using the internet?

There are many ways to go about solving internet addiction, but there is no specific way that is 100% useful.  Even though the use of the internet becomes excessive, it is asked that you use the internet for one last search to clear your mind from any web desires (“Getting Help for an Internet Addiction”). The website “Helpguide.org” provides tips and important information to assist anyone who has trouble getting off of their computers, laptops, smart phones, and the internet in general. Another great idea would be to introduce the internet addict to others who are capable of controlling their internet use to a reasonable amount. Showing an addict what is known to be healthier is crucial because without an example, it would be even harder for one to know what is right (1)

Getting addicts involved in other activities helps to take their minds away from their obsessive desires for the World Wide Web. Providing support for the change that an individual may have to experience is important to show encouragement, but it is essential to continue to maintain a boundary that should be kept consistent to keep away from any temptations. Decreasing the amount of time spent on the internet is significant and starting somewhere is better than not starting at all. Some individuals create a new routine for themselves to follow to avoid being attached to what will soon control their daily lives. If the situation becomes uncontrollable to manage on your own, encouraging an internet addict to seek professional counseling would be the next step to stopping this absurdity from growing.

It is a proven fact that internet addiction has appeared among adolescents more frequently than any other age group (“Getting Help for an Internet Addiction”). As smart phones are advancing and obtaining faster web connections with wifi, teens are constantly on their phones accessing the web. Anxiety, depression, and isolation are all factors that emerge within those who believe that they “need” the internet (Cosslett).

 A 17 year old young man from China, Teng Fei, was given electro-convulsive therapy, also known as ECT, for overusing the internet at a centre in China (Branigan). He stated, “I admit the internet can be quite alluring and sometimes I would use it all day, but if I had others things to do – like playing basketball – I wouldn’t use it at all.”(1). Fei would insist that he did not have problems with accessing the web, and he believes that internet addiction is non-existent, but his parents thought otherwise (1). His mother would send him to the clinic where he received dozens of shocks that would last about half an hour to make him agree that he had an internet addiction disorder (1). Fei then declared, “…at the beginning they just wanted to create fear so you would follow orders. The shocks were punishment if I did anything wrong.” (1). Teng Fei’s parents were trying to “teach” him that the internet was unnecessary and that he needed to follow their orders about not using it as much (1). Although people can take different routes into training their kids that the World Wide Web is not needed, people will continue to have their own ways to solve the troubles the internet brings in their own families.

China has created a “tighter” policy into controlling the use of the internet that now requires for society to register their personal information to be protected from junk emails and from using things that are illegal (“China Tightens Internet Controls.”).  Internet addiction was classified as a clinical disorder in 2008 and addicts in Beijing joined an Internet-addiction treatment center that required for its residents to stay for a minimum of three months at the center (1). At this treatment center, exercise drills, therapy sessions, games, and reading time were the beginning of a change for the residents (1). The purpose for each of these techniques was to promote social skills and to counter the sense of isolation that was developed with this addiction (Traff). Controlling the internet is very important to Communist party chief, Xi Jinping. The deputy head of parliament’s legislative affairs committee, Li Fei stated:

"When people exercise their rights, including the right to use the internet, they must do so in accordance with the law and constitution, and not harm the legal rights of the state, society … or other citizens," (“China Tightens Internet Controls.”).

A policy was even created in Japan; the sound on your camera/phone should be on at all times to prevent anyone from abusing their use of the internet and to protect the privacy of others. People tend to overuse the internet in negative ways, therefore, in some areas any material that is considered obscene is banned and multiple websites are now blocked (“China Tightens Internet Controls.”).

On the other hand, Albert Camus’ opinion about life and how it should be was that nothing in this world has meaning to it and that people should go on about their lives according to their desires. If a person wants to spend hours a day on the computer, then they should be able to do what they choose because in the end, nothing matters. People tend to find their own ways on getting the true meaning of anything in life, but Camus didn’t “waste” his time finding something that is not definite. Camus believes that something either exists or it doesn’t exist and that there is no other way to look at things (Class Handout).

Surfing the World Wide Web can start off as an interest, but if not controlled it can lead up to problematic measures that involve addiction. Internet addiction is a growing epidemic that has no exact cure, but some solutions include getting involved in other activities such as sports, providing addicts with support to change their habits and creating new routines for those who have trouble “staying away”. Albert Camus would agree with the fact that some are addicted to the internet, but he would also almost encourage them to continue on with their desires because, again, in the end, nothing really matters. 

Work Cited

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