This is my opinion on internet addiction to start out. I do believe people can become addicted to the internet, when they begin to spend so much time on it that it effects their life. This is hard to prove, because of what people argue for the reasons why they are on the internet. Also the internet is an easy access to keep other addictions alive such as, gambling, pornography, and shopping. This is where I believe internet has its true affect, by being a gateway to “heaven” of these other addictions, that plague many people around the world. Again this was my opinion on internet and its usage leading to addiction.
Many proffesionals are now saying internet addiction is becoming a rising concern, especially to americans because of how easy the access is. Sarah Kershaw the writer of “Hooked on the Web: Help Is on the Way”1, says that many mental health professionals have called these people onlineaholics. Many argue that the internet is to broad of a topic to say someone is addicted. What these professionals are saying is that the internet can be used to further other addictions, and can put a family in jeapordy.
“Obsessive internet use is a public health problem which is so serious it should be officially recognised as a clinical disorder”, according to a leading psychiatrist. This was written in a UK Newspaper called the Telegrapher2. This shows that the problem is not only being recognized in the United States, but also in other places in the world. There is no real way of telling how many people actually would have an internet addictioin, because it is not counted as a real disorder so there aren’t any records being held on the disorder. A person with internet addiction suffers from four symptoms as told in the Telegrapher2:
1. Forget to eat and sleep
2. Need more advanced technology or more hours online as they develop resistance to the pleasure iven by their current system
3. Experience withdrawal symptoms
4. More arguments, fatigue, and isolated in society.
These are all symptoms seen in other addictions as well, and in John Suler’s The Psychology of Cyberspace3 people who are addicted to the internet begin to want to be on the internet no matter what is at stake.
A lot of people argue that this is not addiction, but is just a way to build on other addictions. Well in a broad aspect John Suler3 calls this cyberspace addiction. This means that they are addicted to all the things that is on the web, being able to play a game at their fingertips, get on social sites, and also build on other addictions at the same time. The internet gives us an infinite amount of tasks we can do at once. This is becoming a concern across the world, as technology grows the use for internet becomes more and more popular. As seen on http://www.netaddiction.com/4 they have information on how to find help for the addiction.
From what I have found internet addiction disorder is becoming a real problem. Even though it is not stated in the mental health book for disorders, it is clear that psychologist and mental health professionals all believe it is a disorder.
Reference
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2152972/Internet-addiction-is-a-clinical-disorder.html
