The Impact of Internet Addiction on Society
The overuse of the internet that causes societal, educational, occupational, or psychological problems for society is known as internet obsession. Due to the research and educational resources available on the internet, students are the group that uses it most frequently and are therefore more likely to be impacted. The internet is also essential to society because it is used by people to investigate news, jobs, business issues, and other topics. The addiction is viewed as a psychological condition that leads to people using computers excessively to the point where it negatively impacts their relationships, health, and other aspects of their lives. Some of the social ills associated with internet addiction include cybercrimes and cyberbullying that are continuously growing across the globe, and therefore, this paper will strive to expound on both social and psychological issues related to internet addiction.
Psychological Effects of Internet Addiction
Internet addiction results in depression and is an indicator of low self-esteem among the users, who are mainly teenagers. According to research conducted by Bahrainian et al. 40.7 percent of the respondents had internet addiction that had a correlation with depression and self-esteem. In a global perspective, there are roughly 2.5 million individuals addicted to this resource out of 50 million people. The findings also established a correlation between Internet addiction and self-esteem that mainly emanates from the copying culture. The internet tends to create a virtual world whereby individuals, particularly teens want to imitate celebrities regarding looks or behavior. In the process, individuals who do not attain the celebrity standards suffer from low self-esteem. Moreover, some Internet users are addicted to the resource as a means of compensating their low self-esteem, since the platform creates a virtual world where they can assume a different social identity and personality. There is also a positive relation between depression and internet addiction since most addicts use the platform as a means to escape reality, thus implying that if people could reduce their addition to the platform, then it would lessen the depression levels. The findings were echoed by Wiedrhold's affirmations that "adolescents with problematic Internet used showed dysfunctional coping strategies with problems in school and home, and showed worse interpersonal relations." As a remedy, the report suggests that parents should limit their kid's screen time and also if they think their children are overusing the computers, they ought to visit a medical practitioner for evaluation. Evidently, the modern society is addicted to the internet as a means of avoiding the realities of life by developing an imagined world devoid of challenges. Since the individuals consistently create this scenario, it results in an addiction to the resource that continues to heighten the self-esteem and depression problems.
Social Consequences of Internet Addiction
Internet addiction has escalated to the extent that it is considered a disorder that ruins individuals by causing psychological disturbances, social problems, and neurological complications. Countries such as South Korea and China deem internet addiction as a threat to public health and require education, research as well as treatment. The tool has been associated with restlessness, anxiety, and guilt since the addicts use any means just to ensure they can access the internet. In a means to provide a vivid description of internet addiction, Beard in 2005 proposed five diagnostic gauges i.e. preoccupied with the Internet; requires the Internet increasingly to attain satisfaction; unsuccessful efforts to manage internet utilization; moody, restless, irritable, and depressed when trying to manage internet usage; and remained online more than the intended period. Furthermore, an addict may jeopardize his career, job, or education opportunities due to the web; might lie to some other individual just to hide his/her utilization of the internet, and utilizes the platform as a means of relieving oneself. As elucidated by these findings, internet addiction is a psychological disorder that continues to gain prominence in the globe due to its detrimental impacts revolving around mental problems. The affected individuals always find it hard to resist the internet and may even lie to gain access or even jeopardize their jobs or education just to quench their internet thirst. Though it is an informative resource, when individuals overlook other important life issues just to stay online, then it becomes problematic.
Other Effects of Internet Addiction
Internet addiction causes insomnia, which is a psychological disorder related to sleep issues. According to a study conducted in some of the Lebanese University medical students, 9.8 percent of the respondents suffered from clinically significant insomnia, which was prevalent among internet addicts. Sleep issues are normally regarded as negative outcomes of internet addiction since most of the involved individuals spend much time on social networking sites. Addictive gaming also contributes significantly to insomnia as people tend to have poor quality sleep. The research also affirmed that the relation between internet addiction and stress, depression, and anxiety was high as compared to individuals without an addiction. As per this research, most internet users, particularly teens spend too much time on the social platforms to the extent that they develop sleep problems. Evidently, it is normal to find individuals chatting, viewing pictures, or updates among other elements of social media at odd hours, thus affecting their sleep time.
The Impact on Society
Obesity is one the most prevalent societal problem in the modern society that can be attributed to internet addiction. The act of growing grossly overweight mainly emanates from the lack of physical activity, as most people are glued to the computers to the degree that they do not involve themselves in outdoor activities. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the rate of obesity among teens is continually rising with the number currently lying at around 42 million across the globe. Though junk foods contribute to this issue, much of it resonates around inactivity as kids tend to spend much of their time on the internet than participating in athletics or any other activities that promote healthy living.
Negative Impacts on Youth
Some of the internet resources such as games have contributed in teenage suicides. When individuals become addicts of the Internet, they tend to abide by whatever is portrayed in the platforms, regardless of the dangers involved. According to a recent survey, more than 130 teenagers have committed suicide due to a social media game Blue Whale. The game has several stages with the final phase imploring the individual to commit suicide to be declared the victor. It also gives someone different mechanisms of killing oneself. Internet addicts, particularly teens, therefore, strive to abide by these regulations to win and as a result, kill themselves. It is a major social problem in the world that puts the kids at risk, while the parents are in danger of losing their loved ones.
Cybercrimes and Cyberbullying
Cyberspace is also a key contributor towards cybercrimes and cyberbullying that are harmful to the society. Some of the internet addicts indulge and gain proficiency in matters regarding the internet but use them negatively to impersonate others or commit crimes to enrich themselves. Hackers, for instance, can gain access to someone's account and impersonate them then ask for ransom to clear their names. Furthermore, some hack government systems or even the banking industry to steal cash thus crippling the society. Some of the common examples of hacking issues include WikiLeaks that affected many governments. In that regard, the continuous utilization of the internet to gain knowledge is addictive to criminals who strive to use it negatively. Furthermore, the platform is also prone to bullying, whereby kids intimidate one another, and since they are addicted to the same, they continuously grow wrong characters, which they exemplify in the real world. The extent of this societal ill can be illustrated by the U.K.'s move, whereby the police called for awareness campaigns to be held in response to the ever increasing norm.
Counter Argument
On the contrary, the internet is one of the most vital resources that cannot be ignored by the society. The internet, which is an interconnection of computers in a global perspective can be regarded as the most prominent invention in the history of humankind due to the various benefits it has brought such as enhanced communication, businesses, education, employment, and research among other aspects. The Internet is not an addiction; rather it is a necessity that cannot be overlooked just like food, shelter, and clothing and therefore purporting that it is addictive is an exaggeration of the facts. For example, it is hard to find individuals who do not utilize cyberspace, whether in research or education among other services; hence, terming it an addiction is overlooking the significant contributions it has brought to the society. Though this argument is valid, it is worth noting that too much of something is poisonous; thus too much internet is detrimental to the psychological and social aspects of the society. The demerits arising from internet addiction are significant, especially since the numbers keep escalating across the globe.
Conclusion
Cyberspace addiction is problematic to the society in various ways including psychological and social issues. One of the common issues pertains self-esteem as well as depression. Through the internet, people create a virtual world whereby they can use to escape reality and form a new personality to reduce stress or depression issues. In this imaginary world, individuals deem themselves successful or a contrary to what their present life entails, and since they want the feeling to be consistent, they spend too much time on the internet, thus developing an addiction. Internet addiction also leads to insomnia, since the individuals spend too much of their time on the platforms even at odd hours, instead of resting. A good example can be depicted by a student who is addicted to the social media platforms to the extent that he/she stays online even at odd hours of the night and still goes for classes during the day. There are high chances that the student's academic performance will be affected negatively. Excessive utilization of the internet is also related to social issues like obesity, cyberbullying, and cybercrimes among others. One of the most recent social issues can be illustrated by the suicide game that implores the player to commit suicide to be declared the victor. The fact that teens comply with such rules and commit suicide exemplifies the extent of internet addiction in the society. In general, internet addiction contributes immensely to some psychological and social problems affecting the society.
Works Cited
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Peterson, Josh. "Internet Addiction Problem is a Serious Social Problem." 2 April 2012. 21 May 2017. .
Travis, Alan. "Cybercrime Figures Prompt Police Call for Awareness Campaign." 21 July 2016. 21 May 2017. .
Wiederhold, Brenda. "Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking." 19.6 (2016): 359-359. .
Younes, Farah, Halawi, G, Jabbour, H., Osta, N., Karam, L., Haji, A., and Khabbaz, L. "Internet Addiction and Relationships with Insomnia, Anxiety, Depression, Stress and Self-Esteem in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Designed Study." (2016). .
