blog entry by: Christin Broome
Until recently, addiction focused on highs received from the use of drugs or other substances that caused a particular reaction in the brain's chemical responses. Now it's been brought to public attention that the Internet can give someone a similar "high". Since this disorder seems to affect everyone close to the "user" there are now a few psychologists that know how to threat it.
In today's environment the use of a computer is a must, and the availability of the Internet is everywhere. Like any other hobby, this can be taken too far in the aspect of time spent. The people who cross the line are said to be suffering from Internet Addiction Disorder (Dr. Grohol, 2003, par.1)
According to Dr. John Grohol the original research cases were surveys which did not fully explain the connection between the behavior and its cause. It is agreed upon that there is a relationship and a difference between spending too much time on the computer and engaging in Internet use so much that people don't deal with the problems in their own lives.
Dr. Grohol has made a model to suggest an alternate theory about why people use the Internet so much; it proposes that the person goes through three phases in the process of recognizing the capabilities and resources of the Internet. Phase One- the person is new to his/her surroundings or is an existing user that finds a new online activity, also known as the Enchantment Phase, (Dr. Grohol, 2003, par.20). This the addictive phase. Phase Two- is "disillusionment" where the person becomes uninterested in the Internet activity that started him/her off. Dr. Grohol says this is an accomplishment that takes the person into the Phase Three- Balance. The balance phase shows normal usage of the Internet, and the phases can be recycled if the person finds another interesting Internet activity. (Dr. Grohol, 2003, par.20)
While online, most people visit chatrooms or discussion groups, use e-mail, or gamble; these activities are said to be a form of socialization. However, David Greenfield, PhD, founder of the Center for Internet Studies, disagreed by quoting "It's a socially connecting device that's socially isolating at the same time", (DeAngelis, 2000, par.7)
What do you think? Is Internet Addiction that same as chemical addiction? Do you agree with the last quote in this blog?
http://allpsych.com/journal/internetaddiction.html
In my opinion as an Internet user I went through the phase of addiction. In 2003 I started using and latterly the use of Internet grew gradually from a few minutes to an hour and finally I got to the point that I sat on a chair for 15-17 hours a day which caused me to isolate my self from my friends and family even in special gathering during holidays. I have seen friends of mine use a drug called hash which had a similar effects regarding isolation from the real world. I agree with the statement that its addictive but it also can benefit you if you use it with balance.
ReplyDeleteMeshal Almegreen
I do agree with the comment, "It's a socially connecting device that's socially isolating at the same time."
ReplyDeleteIt's hard enough for me to have a conversation with someone that is doing a quick search on the Internet. They do not pay attention to anything as soon as the search engine opens up.
Can you imagine trying to have a conversation with someone that is ADDICTED to the Internet? There will probably be a lot of one word responses to you or those awkward pauses that people just don't know how to handle.
As long as both parties have the computing tools and Internet access, any one person can connect to another person so the Internet is a socially connecting device. Now, if you are addicted to the Internet, that only means your face is glued to a laptop, PC, smartphone, tablet, gaming station, etc. If one's face is glued to any one of these devices, then you are socially isolating yourself because there isn't any personable, face-to-face interactions. Is there any interaction to the outside world that doesn't require a wire being transmitted or a radio signal for an Internet addict?
I do agree with the comment as well. I personally went through a phase in my life when I was 13 through 16 to where then msn messenger was huge! I started just to chat with friends for 10 minutes a day and the more and more friends I friended the longer I stayed online talking for hours. At that time online gaming with people had become huge going to internet cafe and playing "Counter-Strike" an online game of first person shooting. It came to a point that I was doing so bad in school that my parents had to keep me away from the internet cafe because I would play in computer for at least 8 hours a day everyday and it was very addictive. Now people are not only addicted to laptops and pc they are also addicted to their smart phones playing games, texting, listening to music and searching the web online
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure yet if I agree that Internet Addiction is a true disorder. When I think of an addiction I think of physical withdraw if that person is without what they are addicted to. How can you go through a physical withdraw when the Internet affects you in no way physically? This is one of those mind over matter issues in my opinion. I believe someone may have a difficult time overcoming a habit like surfing the Internet frequently or obsessively, but I don't believe it is a true addiction like that of drugs and alcohol that could end up being a life or death situation. It's kind of scary thinking about how we explain away so many problems that face society today. It's taking away from people learning how to overcome their problems and succeed in life. With technological evolution our society should learn to adapt to changes so that we continue to be a functioning society instead of a enabling dependent society. When the telephone was invented did we start sending people to rehab because they talked on the phone too often?
ReplyDeleteI believe you can truly become addicted to literally anything. Most humans have atleast a small addictive personality, whether it be for alcohol, food, lottery tickets, video games or a myriad of other things. Internet addiction exists and should be treated very seriously. For addiction problems one should not look as much to what people are addicted to, but rather to how they began the addiction and how they can moderate use of the addiction.
ReplyDeleteI feel like now internet addiction is just going to be apart of everyone's life. They will probably change the severity to say you are actually addicted to the internet. I saw this because now everything is online.
ReplyDeleteFamily Time- Now they have smart TVs that can connect to the internet to watch movies and shows. You are even aloud to get on social media sites to check your Facebook in between commercials.
Shopping- Now many families have started to shop online due to cheaper coupons and getting more options. Shopping online saves time and also it can be done by just sitting on your sofa and looking at everything you need.
Mobile Sites- Now many people use there phone more then ever. Why? Because they have internet on it. Internet addiction will get worse and worse because now when people have five minutes to do nothing they get there phone out and get online and see recent activity.
In my opinion the Internet addiction is not the same as a chemical adiction. It is more a mental addiction that is happening more often to people in this days. With technology changing so fast, putting everything in our hands more and more people just want to be infront of a computer all day chatting, buying online, playing, etc. People are loosing track on how many hours they are spending on the computer sometimes forgetting to eat and sleep. I do agree that Internet isolate people from one another. Now that we have the possibility to chat from our cellphones and send text messages, we prefer to do that instead of calling and having a real conversation. You can see people getting together with friend and at some point everybody is looking at their cellphones, updating the status on facebook, chatting with other or sending text messages instead of sharing time with whom is actually there with them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carolina that internet addiction is a mental addiction much like ocd or off of impulse.There is something engaging these people and then it becomes an addiction they are getting some kind of high from being on the internet.It is crazy how technology can change everything for the good and the bad.I think this is just the beginning of all of this technological advance.Everyday it gets better and better the more we become less involved in our own lives.For instances watching our kids,"driving our own cars,etc.
ReplyDeleteI think that people sometimes just don’t realize that they have Internet addiction. It is easy to understand by notes how fast dishes start piling up and there is probably nothing to eat in the house because person have spent all his time on the Internet. Sometimes we have to stay later at work to finish everything because we were online almost all day long. Perhaps we have tired of our parents or spouse telling us all the time to get off the computer for a while and spend time with them. Just stop for a minute and think, may be they are right and we should pay attention to “real” life more than we do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Yulia. I believe some people simply do not realize that they have an addiction. Others may outright just be in denial. To me, these are the first two indicators that there is an addicition present. Just as others have stated, I also agree that it is more of a mental condition. As technology advances and society makes things more convieninent for everyone (doing things from home on the computer), I think that it is obvious that this so-called addiction will have no choice but to consume even more individuals.
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age there are many people that spend a majority of the times on the internet and with the wide range of use of the internet I can see how people become addicted to it. In comparison to a chemical addiction I think it is different because the chemical addiction has server side effects on a person’s psychological development. When addicted to the internet I think that it is more so what a person enjoys doing and how they may get caught up in the activity they are doing. For instance internet gaming in relations to the final quote of the blog, the people who are addicted to these interactive games such as World of War craft and Diablo 3, they can form teams and communicate with the people on the game. Even though they are socially interactive they have no physical connection to the outside world but they get their fulfillment from their accomplishments on the game.
ReplyDeleteResponse by: Bryan Gaither