Anabel Davis
{CSU CHICO}
Addiction
Internet addiction disorder (IAD), or, more broadly, Internet overuse, problematic computer use or pathological computer use, is excessive computer use that interferes with daily life. Supporters of disorder classification often divide IAD into different activities, such as excessive, overwhelming, or inappropriate pornography use, gaming, online social networking, blogging, email, or Internet shopping. This type of psychological dependence/addiction is not officially considered a mental illness but has grown in terms of acceptance as a legitimate clinical disorder often requiring treatment. With smart phones now part of our skin, many more and more people will become vulnerable to IAD?
If you are addicted to Googling or Facebooking you may recognize the Mark D. Griffiths' five criteria of Internet addiction in yourself:
Salience: Using the Internet dominates the person’s life, feelings and behavior.
Mood modification: The person experiences changes in mood (e.g. a ‘buzz’) when using the Internet.
Tolerance: Increasing amounts of Internet use are needed to achieve the same effects on mood.
Withdrawal symptoms: If the person stops using the Internet, they experience unpleasant feelings or physical effects.
Relapse: The addict tends to relapse into earlier patterns of behavior, even after years of abstinence or control.
Some researchers indicate that IAD affects between 6 and 10 percent of the population — but a recent study found that it may be on the decline. Most researchers agree there is a link between problematic Internet usage and its association with moderate to severe depression. Even though IAD numbers appear low, I am convinced many people are vulnerable, especially college students. Not only are we frequent users of social media and texting, we are required to do most of our assignments with the use of the Internet through research, writing, creating, and networking.
The key to healthy Internet use is moderation. For example if you are spending too much time on the Internet look for the warning signs in your feelings, behavior, and mood. If you are without your device for a period of time do you experience unpleasant feelings like extreme loneliness or physical effects like irritability or craving? In order to manage your Internet usage, practice stepping away from the computer and deliberately separate yourself from it now and then. Give your eyes and neck a break from the screen and get some exercise or fresh air. Heavy Internet use is linked to depression so make sure you seek out talking to people face to face. Try to meet people in person than just relying on email or texting to communicate.
As I read through the class blogs I didn’t find any reports of pathological computer use. However, just a few minutes ago I accidentally lost all my phone contacts and uploaded my brother’s contacts instead. I said things like “Oh my God, I am going to die,” “I hate computers” and made crying noises. Hmmmmm, could I have a problem? This leads me to wonder if there are simple self assessments that digital users could take to check in with themselves. It would also be interesting to find out what triggers internet addiction. Does the internet help a person cope with loneliness and depression or does depression lead to chronic internet use.
Work Cited
Are Today’s College Students Internet Addicted? Ensuring Healthy Internet Usage on Campus http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/are-today-s-college-students-internet-addicted
Internet addiction disorder From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_addiction
‘Internet Addiction’ on the Decline in College Students By RICK NAUERT PHD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 28, 2011 http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/06/28/internet-addiction-on-the-decline-in-college-students/27307.html
U.S. students suffering from Internet addiction: study http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/23/us-internet-addicts-life-idUSTRE63M4QN20100423