In our time, the number of Internet-addicted people around the world is growing every day. Experts already count up to 10% of Internet-addicted people from the entire population of the earth. Many countries are sounding the alarm and trying to fight this insidious social phenomenon, when hundreds of thousands of users are willing to exchange real life for a virtual analogue.
How to recognize Internet addiction in loved ones, why it is dangerous, why you can die because of Internet addiction, how to deal with it – Our portal will share these and many other interesting facts about Internet addiction in this article.
Internet addiction – what is it and how does it occur
Internet addiction (aka internet addiction) – it is an obsessive desire (bordering on manic) to be constantly on the worldwide network, spending all your free time there (and sometimes even a day away).
For the first time, the term "internet addiction" was used by the American psychiatrist from New York, Ivan Goldberg, in 1995, who even then assured that such an addiction is essentially no different from alcoholism, drug addiction or gambling addiction, causing depression, aggression and delays in socio-emotional development in the same way .
In our time, some countries of the world (USA, China, South Korea, Finland, Russia, etc.) officially recognize Internet addiction as a mental disorder and even try to treat it in clinics.
Each user can become overly fond of the Internet (especially emotionally unstable people), and it is not difficult to notice the first symptoms of such an dependence in a loved one.
Main signs of internet addiction:
- A person whose work or study is not connected to the Internet spends 5 hours or more a day online.
- Rejection of personal communication in favor of virtual correspondence.
- Removal from others, difficulties in live communication.
- Emotional depression.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Sleep and eating disorders.
- Neglect of personal hygiene.
- Irritation and nervousness at not being able to go online.
- Willingness to spend money (in the absence of educational or production needs) on expensive "bells and whistles"; for computer/games/paid services on the Internet.
Internet addiction is not inherently different from alcoholism, drug addiction, or gambling addiction, in the same way it causes depression, aggression, and social and emotional developmental delays.
What to do if you have an internet addiction
If you have noticed at least three signs from the list above in yourself or a loved one / friend / colleague, you will have to admit the presence of an Internet addiction.
The following techniques will help in the fight against addiction:
- Restriction of the time spent on the Internet (for example, you can log in two or three times a day for half an hour at a certain time, otherwise access is blocked).
- Digital detox (off the net and gadgets for at least a week – this technique works well on vacation or a trip to new places).
- Setting a rule to not use the internet at all, at least on weekends with playful "sanctions" for violation.
- Replacing the virtual world with real life hobbies – new hobbies, trips and travels, sports, frequent gatherings with friends, etc.
- Appeal to a psychotherapist (in an advanced case, if the other proposed methods do not work).
Top 10 most interesting facts about Internet addiction
Many active users of the worldwide network think that their hobby is quite harmless and there is no need to fight it. Many parents shrug it off, saying that it’s better if the child is on the Internet than looking for adventures on the street, and from some wives you can hear that husbands, carried away by cyber reality – it's better than alcoholics.
However, because of the virtual world, misfortunes in the real world are increasingly occurring: families are falling apart due to the fact that people irrevocably move away from each other, people lose their jobs and friends, teenagers slow down their social and emotional development to such an extent that they do not can in adulthood build relationships with people and adapt to society. And some even die.
To substantiate these arguments, estet-portal.com will list the most interesting facts about Internet addiction.
Many active users of the worldwide network think that their passion is quite harmless and does not need to be fought, however, because of the virtual world, misfortunes in reality are increasingly occurring.
- Internet addiction is divided into varieties
Psychiatrists distinguish several subtypes of Internet addiction. The most popular classification belongs to the Russian psychologist Maria Drepa.
According to it, there are 6 main types:
- Mindless web surfing (endless scrolling through pages and internet tabs).
- Virtual communication (dating only online, communication exclusively in chats and forums, virtual friends prevail over real ones in terms of quantity and quality of communication).
- Gaming addiction (online games).
- Cybersexual addiction (an obsessive desire to visit porn sites without the desire to have a live relationship).
- Financial network addiction (online gambling, uncontrolled shopping in online stores, etc.).
- Movie screenings on the Internet (in case a person cannot tear himself away from the next novelty or series for days for the sake of real deeds).
- Internet addiction is officially recognized as a mental disorder
In 2013, the International Society of Psychologists and Psychiatrists decided to officially recognize Internet addiction as a mental disorder and include it in the international Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
- Internet addiction can kill you
A multi-day session of one of the most popular online games in the world in 2005 led to the death of a Chinese schoolgirl from exhaustion – she never looked up from the screen even to sleep and eat.
In 2011 in the USA, a housewife, also carried away by an online game, forgot about her 3-year-old daughter – the unfortunate girl died of starvation and dehydration.
In 2011, an adult resident of Beijing barely looked up from a monitor in an Internet cafe for 27 days. He died of exhaustion.
In 2015, a high school student from Bashkiria, after several weeks of sitting in front of a computer, died due to a blood clot in the circulatory system. A teenage athlete, after being injured, sat in front of the monitor for 22 days, interrupted only by a short sleep. Because of his passion, he did not go to the doctor in time, which killed him according to official conclusions.
- Social networks – the most popular resources for "killing" online time
According to scientists, back in 2009, social networks took an average of 2 hours a day, in 2011 – already 5.5 hours, now – all day.
The audience of social networks is growing every year: about 80% of Internet users have an account in at least one social network. And in the top 10 most visited sites in the world, half of the rating positions belong to social networks.
- Unhealthy social media addiction betrays a person's low self-esteem
Many scientists who have studied the problem of user addiction specifically to social networks have come to the conclusion that people who devote all their free time to Facebook, Instagram and other resources have low self-esteem and many complexes. Self-sufficient and happy people in real life have nothing to prove to each other with beautiful pictures and pretentious statuses in social networks – they already know very well what they are worth.
Besides, the envy of a glossy picture of someone else's life, which inevitably arises with regular scrolling, can lead to depression and an even greater decrease in self-esteem.
- Constant mindless web surfing reduces human cognitive capabilities
Reckless browsing on the Internet harms some brain functions – cognitive abilities. And among them – the most important options for a person that help him survive in society: memory, the ability to concentrate, the ability to learn, spatial orientation, critical thinking and the ability to reason logically.
- Internet addiction impairs work performance and academic performance
According to research by the US Department of Commerce, employees who are addicted to web surfing and social networks spend much more time on the Internet (10 times!) than they do their main work. This reduces productivity by at least 40%. These days, it is not uncommon for even skilled workers to be fired from companies for this reason.
And studies by British scientists have shown that students who spent more time communicating on the Internet than studying, received 20% lower grades in the sessions than their fellow students who are not so dependent on the World Wide Web.
- In some countries, Internet addiction is the official reason for going to a clinic for treatment
Official clinics treating patients with Internet addiction have been operating in China since 2008, since 2009 – in the USA.
China even has special labor camps for Internet-addicted youth. True, until recently, in addition to occupational therapy and sports, they used truly draconian methods – for example, electric shock, which was later removed from the program under pressure from the world community.
The South Korean government has recognized Internet addiction as a serious public health problem and is treating young people with psychotropic drugs and inpatient placement in psychiatric hospitals.
In Finland, internet addiction – a perfectly acceptable reason for deferment from military service (along with physical and mental illness).
- Even climbers are addicted to the internet
The reason for such a statement may be the fact that the desperate conquerors of the mountains have established access to the network even in the most remote and inaccessible parts of the world. In particular, there is an access point to high-speed Internet even on the way to climb Everest – the highest peak in the world.
- The category most vulnerable to internet addiction – children and teenagers
Psychologists consider children and adolescents to be the category that most easily succumbs to the harmful influence of Internet resources and quickly gets used to them. This is due to the fact that at a young age people are emotionally unstable, self-absorbed, withdrawn, suspicious and impressionable, that is, they are easily subject to third-party influence. To avoid this, parents need to establish trusting and respectful relationships with their children from childhood.
Scientists have come to the conclusion that people who devote all their free time to social networks have low self-esteem and many complexes. And envy of a glossy picture of someone else's life can lead to depression and an even greater decrease in self-esteem.
Of course, few people can live without the Internet today – we use the worldwide network for dating, communication, leisure, education, work and much more. However, everything is good in moderation. We hope that the top 10 most interesting facts about Internet addiction from estet-portal.com will help readers to distinguish a simple hobby from a dangerous addiction and maintain their mental health.
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