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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