Dear All, I wanted to post this because I wish to inform all of you about internet addiction. To me it is a real disorder/issue and sadly in my eyes it is not given much attention. I have suffered from this myself and I didn't realize it at the time. This was in my first year of college, now I did quite badly at my schoolwork/exams that year and have to deal with the consequences till today. Because of a lack of awareness I just couldn't pinpoint what I was doing wrong, see moving an ocean away from home the internet became my sort of coping mechanism. I constantly told myself oh I need to just see this clip, oh just that one post, oh lets just read this and then I'll put it down. I knew somewhat I was doing something wrong but just didn't know what. (Not helped by being cheap and having pdf books :eusa_doh: ) The addiction was exacerbated by my interests in history and other things not having anything to do with my coursework at the time & because I had constant access to the internet through phones and a laptop. (had previously had a desktop only). My dear friends, just be careful, internet is fine but have an idea which sites your going to visit beforehand and time yourself. I learnt it the hard way, (sometimes I still do relapse). [YOUTUBE]QXiXN1mCm8E[/YOUTUBE] Thanks (Edit ... Youtube link fixed by mod.)
Take the string of letters and numbers at the end of the url, and paste that into the youtube tags without the rest.
I think a very high percentage of the world's population is probably a little bit addicted to the internet these days. Whether it's social media, youtube, chat, forums, interests, porn, whatever... It's everywhere and it's cheap entertainment. It would be nice to go back to a time when there was no internet, but I don't think that will ever happen. The best we can do is purposely visit somewhere without mobile coverage.
Hmm a little addiction is fine, but it is important to understand where the barriers are. I didn't, my addiction was quite consuming. Like I did skip coursework training sessions to go on the internet. And it really hurt my performance.. You know I stayed too much online, till 1/2am on weekdays surfing God knows what. Just wanted to get it out there that's all. & thanks hexagon, after posting I guessed that was the way but wasn't sure.
I don't have a problem with the fact that i'm addicted to le internet, though that's probably because I don't let it interfere with my school or anything.
[youtube]QXiXN1mCm8E[/youtube] There ya go Although apparently it's not available to view in 'murica.
Internet addiction is in the class of what are known as "process addictions" (gambling, compulsive shopping, video games, compulsive sex or masturbation, pornography, etc.) Process addictions are just starting to become recognized in the US. Gambling, I believe, is the only one currently recognized by the APA in the DSM-V, the "bible" of psychological disorders. But many clinicians recognize them and treatment centers have started popping up for them. The addictions are real, but the percentage of the population that actually are addicted, as opposed to just spending a lot of time doing those things, is pretty small, and the distinctions can be difficult to make. However, for those truly addicted, all of the signs of more traditional addiction are there: anxiety when the addictive material is unavailable; excitement in anticipation of participating in the addictive activity, neglecting friends, job, family, or real-life activity on a regular basis in favor of the addiction-oriented activity; participating in that activity alone; lying to oneself or others about it, and difficulty when attempting to give it up. Process addictions are notoriously difficult to treat. They stimulate the same neurotransmitter pathways as more conventional drug or alcohol addictions, and stem from the same neural pathway development failures. I agree it is something that needs more recognition in the US.
I've been told that I have an addiction to the internet but I know I don't. An addiction is where you can't stop and I can definitely stop. I can go out camping for 2 weeks if invited. I can go out for coffee with my friends without looking at my phone. I can stay off the computer if I really wanted, especially to read a book or do some paintings. The bottom line is, I don't have a well paying job, I work on my own time and when I don't have money for the things I need, there's really nothing else I can do but wait for someone to want to buy something from me.. so I have the internet. There's really not a lot I can do in my area.
The "I can stop whenever I want" is one of the first denial mechanisms of the addict (of all types.) So... if you insist that you don't have an addiction... start tomorrow and give it up for 2 weeks, both on your phone and on your desktop, laptop, tablet, etc. Don't wait for the theoretical "Well, I know I could", or the invitation to go camping... just do it. If you can do so and not feel anxiety about it, then you don't have an issue. If you feel anxiety, or come up with reasons to justify "just checking this or that"... then you probably have a problem. The camping excuse, by the way, isn't a good one. Many drug or alcohol addicts can go without their drug of choice if it simply isn't available for 2 weeks, but they'll go right back to it. The key to determining you don't have a problem is if it is available to you but you don't seek it out.
isn't it a bit much to ask someone to quit for 2 weeks just to prove they aren't addicted? especially when the only reason to suspect addiction given is he's "been told he has an addiction." We dont even know who/how many people said that or how credible their perspective on the matter is. Like you said the behavior of someone who's addicted to the internet is probably indistinguishable from someone who just likes it and uses it alot. I consider myself to be someone like that and my parents are always telling me how "addicted" to computers and videogames I am. In truth I think alot of people are just using the term addicted inaccurately. As much as I like giving everyone the benefit of the doubt I'm sure it's a real and serious problem for some people though. Honestly I'd say it used to be for me, at this point not so much anymore though.
If they aren't addicted, it shouldn't be a problem. If there's certain stuff, such as business email, that has to be attended to, then limit online time to 10-15 minutes a day to handle the urgent matters, and take a break. Go for a walk. Take a swim. Play some sports. Sunbathe. There's a lot one can do outside of sitting in front of a computer.
