What it means to be addicted to the Internet
by Lorelei Cohen
Internet addiction occurs when a person's behavior goes beyond simply enjoying what the internet has to offer into compulsive behavior. Internet Addiction is the inability of some individuals to remove themselves from the Internet.
In the past the word "addiction" was generally associated with an inability to control one's use of drugs, alcohol, or food, but our modern era has brought about a new form of over indulgence. Having access to an abundance of online activities has brought about a new twist to what it means to be addicted.
The World Wide Web contains an amazing arena for social opportunities, business resources, information, fantasy and game play. It brings the world to our fingertips, and makes it all too easy to delve into it's many pathways, to find ourselves transported to another place and time.
So when does our infatuation with the Internet become too much? Exactly what does it mean to be addicted to the Internet?
People can spend countless hours online and yet never have it develop into an addiction. Work, social isolation, or even the gloomy old drudgery of winter may be reasons for people to spend additional hours on the Internet. Internet use only develops into a problem behavior when there is an inability to discontinue the observance despite any negative consequences that may occur.
Many individuals work Online, so find themselves spending a minimum of eight, to twelve hours a day simply conducting business on the Internet. Others become infatuated with Online games, and spend the majority of their day delving in, and out of the numerous game sites that they play on. Social, dating, or porn sites also draw individuals into creating a new social sphere that can be completely independent of their real world existence, and considerably more addicting.
If you discover that it is a necessity for you to turn to the Internet to fulfill your emotional, or physical well being, then you may be addicted to the Internet. The internet is an addiction when your Internet usage interferes with your life, or the life of someone that you associate with, and you cannot give your habit up despite realizing this fact.
When the individuals you interact with on the Internet become more important to you than the ties, and bonds of your personal life, then you may indeed have a problem that you need to deal with. Internet addiction, like all addictions, can be detrimental to yourself or to the many other individuals who exist within your social network.
A recent news release broadcast the death of a small child due to starvation. The reason? Her parents were too busy role playing in a make believe life on the Internet to participate in the care and function of their true life. The Internet was more real to them than their child was. Although most cases of Internet addiction are not so visible to the masses, they are as equally traumatic to those who are affected by them. Husbands, and wives, who lose their spouse to another on social or dating sites.
Individuals who become addicted to the make believe world of the Internet often develop unrealistic online relationships. Young people become so involved with internet gaming that they find it difficult to distinguish between that world and reality.
The Internet addicts which we usually hear about are the persons who become addicted to Internet pornography. The sexual availability of Internet porn sites has destroyed many families and many lives. By creating a very unrealistic view of what should be a very normal physical, and emotional experience, the Internet prevents real relationships from developing as they otherwise would.
There is also one other internet addiction which is not usually detected until the consequences of these actions become known. This not so obvious Internet addict is the individual who spends far too many hours drowning in the business of Internet Marketing while his or her family slowly disintegrates into a memory.
For more information on Internet addiction, and resources to help you and your family deal with it's effects, please visit: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_ad diction.htm .
Spending numerous hours on the Internet is not a sign of an addiction problem but it can be. It is only you, or those around you, who can pinpoint when Internet usage is becoming an obsession. Enjoy all the benefits that the World Wide Web has to offer, but be wise enough to know when to hit the off button, and spend more time with your offline friends and family.
Sources:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_ad diction.htm