Internet Addiction

The internet is one of the biggest issues our society is facing today. It is only rising in popularity and used among more and more people everyday. One of the larger areas of study in the use of the internet is with addiction. Many are becoming addicted to the use of the internet and in some situations it can become harmful to not only themselves but also others around them. You could go in many different directions with the topic from everything from child pornography, social media, to pornography in general. The internet can have valuable information that can help better society and individuals alike. However, if you look back at some of the things we discussed in class you can see how easily it has become to have an internet addiction. Additionally, we need to analyze what type of person may be attracted to the internet to be able to help them if and when they become addicted. 

One of the biggest things that makes the internet so attractive is its mainstream attraction. The internet has been a mainstream attraction since 1995. Some of the issues we have encountered over the years include dissociation, sensation-seeking, anonymity, and disinhibition (Warden, 281). It’s interesting that individuals can become addicted to anything that provides a stimuli. Take watching porn for example; an individual may become addicted to porn even when involved in a sexual relationship with another individual. Furthermore, it proves the power of the internet and how the providers of such content have adapted to their patrons, thus helping to lead to their addiction. Such users or patrons have been getting satisfaction that they otherwise could never have received. For example, regarding fetishes, your significant other may not be into such a fetish and so you take to the online pornography sites for the satisfaction.

The previous example isn’t isolated, and you can use it to prove other addictions. Take cyberbullying or trolling for example; we can use such means to be rude to other people to gain the satisfaction we desire. Maybe they do it because they’re too afraid to actually be rude to someone in person, or maybe they had issues when growing up. The fact is that when someone discovers something that satisfies them, they need more of that activity to become satisfied. It’s a vicious cycle that is the underlying problem of an addiction, which is again why we are focusing on internet addiction and it’s issues. 

In conclusion, internet addiction is serious and could be detrimental to one’s self and others’ alike. It all starts with an initial interest, and it’s just the way humans interact. However, with that comes the issues of abuse and others such as the affects it has on loved ones, including but not limited to social life and other basic qualities of life. We seek to discover the ways to overcome internet addiction and will hopefully find better ways to battle the issue. 

(I am on a canning trip so sorry for posting after 5pm!)

Works cited

Warden, N. L., Phillips, J. G., & Ogloff, J. R. P. (2004). Internet addiction. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 11(2), 280-295. doi:10.1375/1321871042707331