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Internet Addiction ?

Discussion in 'Other Substances' started by Teresa, Jan 2, 2015.

  1. Sydney R

    Sydney R Member

    I believe an Internet addiction is totally possible. Especially now in today's age, everyone seems to use the Internet and some more than others. I've heard of some people losing sleep because they're on social media sites too late and too frequently. It truly is an addiction when it affects your life in this manor.
  2. ZXD22

    ZXD22 Senior Contributor

    I seem to have it I guess hehe. Anyone could get addicted to anything which is in the most part very true, but it is like what Rosyrain said, if you have bad influences while doing something or pretty much of anything such as Internet surfing, it will bring negative consequences upon you.
  3. Matthodge1

    Matthodge1 Community Champion

    The fact that there are people across the world who do not consider internet addiction as a real and alive addiction is mind blowing to me. I do not understand how people do not think that is a real thing. I have known lives that have gotten destroyed because they would much rather be a part of an online community rather than a living and breathing community.
  4. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1 Community Champion

    Though I personally addicted to the internet, I believe a person can be addicted to anything. If it interferes with normal daily functions like work, family and personal relationships in a negative way and is a chronic behavior, I consider it an unhealthy addiction. It may not be scientifically validated, but it is detrimental.
  5. anne16

    anne16 Active Contributor

    I can't go as far to say that it is a disorder, but there is definitely something wrong when a person stays in the internet too much even if he or she have to be doing something else. I have seen students who failed exams because they are staying online too much.
  6. rightct

    rightct Community Champion

    It is possible, but it can be cured with little to no effort. We just need to impose ourselves we don't need to access Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin that often, and that news can be get from other reliable sources, like our dying newspaper.
    Of course, it's more about being hooked to multiple ways of cyber interacting with others, but if people knew that it was nothing compared to real socializing, we'd see a huge increase among teen social skills. :)
    I personally access Internet a lot of times a day, but I don't have anything left to do in life, so...
  7. Carmilla

    Carmilla Active Contributor

    I think it can be a real addiction - I think anything can be if it interferes with your daily life, but I think many people tend to say they have it when they don't using it as a joke, similar to people saying they're 'OCD' because they like things tidy, people say they have Internet addiction when they just spend some time on the Internet. I do spend a lot of time on the Net', I admit. More than I should. But I don't think I'd classify it as an addiction just yet.
  8. amethyst

    amethyst Community Champion

    I can tell you that internet addiction disorder is very real, because I suffered from it for quite some time. I got addicted to constantly checking my mail and browsing on Facebook and certain photo blogging websites. At some stage I felt totally stupefied from waiting for comments and mail on my latest uploads. There were days when I felt like I was in a total haze. I couldn't stop myself from checking my accounts every 15 minutes. And at the end of the day I felt exhausted and strangely empty and disturbed. This stage of my life lasted for several months before I could find a permanent cure from constantly getting lost in cyberspace.
  9. henry

    henry Community Champion

    Well, I am an Internet addict, but not the social type. I really hate places like Facebook and Tweeter. I just don't like having an online diary of my life on some Internet page. What I mostly do on the net is watch videos on Youtube, watch movies, search for guitar tutorials and things I'm curious about. I used to download lots of books for my Kindle too, but that copyrite stuff has gotten really tough lately, so now I buy them.
  10. Bonzer

    Bonzer Community Champion

    I think, Yes it is! I've seen people in my neighborhood, who feel crippled if their internet connection is lost or if there was a temporary link failure. Some of my friends are too addicted to facebook that they feel their hands tied, if they can't chat with their FB friends. Some rely on online news portals for a quick round up of day's news. The fact is most people are getting too shut-in and are constantly living in virtual world. They feel helpless and choked if they can't lay their hands on their keyboard.

    It's high time problem browsing is recognized as a disorder and corrective measures put in place.
  11. Bluesman

    Bluesman Member

    That is kinda true. I mean I am myself a minor victiom of that addiction. I can live without Internet for few days but I prefer not to. I sometimes choose Internet over socializing. But I try to keep it all in some sort of boundries. But as can be seen via Japan case Internet addiction may become a huge problem in years to come.
  12. kassie1234

    kassie1234 Community Champion

    I think it can be seen as a real issue and a real disorder if it impairs your life and your functioning to some degree. I googled internet addiction and found this article - it's really quite interesting

    http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/03/is-internet-addiction-a-real-thing/

    In the article they mention a quote that stuck with me, when addressing the use of video games and possibly being an addiction --

    "It just means that video games may be an outlet for other compulsions or psychological conditions, or the people in the cases above were mentally ill in other ways that can already be addressed."
  13. thisizznaveen

    thisizznaveen Active Contributor

    Now a days people love to spend their mostly time in internet suffering . People spend most of time on social sites.
    But internet helps too in studies but children's waste their precious time in internet suffering.
  14. xSentaru

    xSentaru Active Contributor

    I would consider Internet an disorder/addiction to the point that it affects your real life. I mean chores, responsabilites and in my case school work. I wouldn't call myself addicted to the Internet at this point, but at any point in my life I realize I am, I would seek help immediately.
  15. Johnsnow123

    Johnsnow123 Active Contributor

    I don't think it's a real disorder, just because you are addicted to the internet and go on it for long periods of times, it doesn't really make it a disorder. There are some bad things that can come out of being addicted to the Interent, such as not doing regular work, being late on eating, not going outside, and more. I definetly am addicted to the Internet because I do a lot of stuff on it, but it's not a disorder.
  16. keekz38

    keekz38 Member

    I must admit, I definitely think I am addicted to the internet. I can go without a phone for days, but if you take the internet away from me altogether, I feel like I'm no longer connected to the world. I don't think I would call it a disorder, but there probably are people who can become abnormally obsessed with it. (Just as you can with most things). Everything is just best in moderation.
  17. katherine25

    katherine25 Senior Contributor

    I used to be the worst for junk food and the internet. When I was in college I found myself constantly on the computer and eating. It became a very unhealthy lifestyle and I had a hard time cutting them both out.
  18. 6up

    6up Community Champion

    Nowadays people spend a lot of time online. It is recommended that you be doing some constructive work online than just spending time there. The social media has stolen our attention so that we spend a lot of time chatting with friends. Unless we change the habit then the Internet will be of no help to us.
  19. Totalarmordestine

    Totalarmordestine Senior Contributor

    Internet addiction usually occurs within teens who are socially awkward or have a mental illness.
    Internet addiction signs usually include excessive use of the computer, anticipation to next time you could use the internet, iritibilty when confronted about it, ect.
  20. tarverten

    tarverten Senior Contributor

    It is a psychological rather than physiological "addiction" -- and "addiction" is probably not being properly used in terms of the internet. It is more a matter of being a coping mechanism.

    I have no "textbook definition" for you, but would say that basically it is when a person prefers being on the internet to anything else -- internet friends over real friends, chat rooms over telephone conversations, digital pictures over reality, websites and blogs over books and newspapers (though this last can just be an issue of preference due to content, so should not be judged in isolation).

    There is a feeling of safety which comes from the physical isolation found on the internet. Your internet friends can only hurt your feelings, they can't steal your boyfriend or girlfriend. Your chat room buddies can be ignored by just clicking one box, you don't have to take calls from them at 1 in the morning. It is safer and cheaper to look at a picture of a volcano than it is to fly to Hawaii and go climb one to see it for yourself. And if you only listen to writers who agree with you (or "bash" anyone who posts opposing viewpoints), your world view is never challenged. Thus, for people with insecurities, the internet provides a low-risk way of staying in touch and up to date -- but it is a very shallow connection, a fact which is often not clear to the "internet addict" because just as with any othr coping mechanism, they will invent justifications for it.

    There are deeper psychological addictions that do go hand in hand with "internet addiction" such as gambling addictions, pornography addictions, etc (where the internet provides a convenient, fast, and relatively cheap way to supply these addictions), but these are seperate issues of their own.