Do you think Internet addiction should be identified as a disorder?
I believe that we should consider internet addiction a disorder- when you have an addiction to something, it's incredibly hard to break, close to impossible for some. Without the proper attention and support, you may get stuck in this rut for a while, I know I was. I was addicted to the internet, chatting, for about two years straight. I'd come home, go on the computer, then do my homework in the late hours of the night- not getting enough sleep. I had to quit all the programs I loved, stop talking to my 'friends', and try and focus on real life. It was sooo hard. All I could think about was the computer- wonder what they are doing on the computer, etc. I started to dream about my old programs and chatting with the people, etc. It took months. :/ Horrible experience, I was so emotionally messed up. The self discipline was so hard, I gave away my computer to my younger sister.. I could not have a computer in my room- nope. It should be taken seriously, it's a real problem- I was floating through life! Sure I was getting good grades, and respecting my family- but I never left the house. Never. I never talked on the phone, never talked to people I knew in real life on the computer, nada. I had no social life! Sure, people knew me, but that's it. They could never say, oh that one time I hung out with her- etc,.. I feel like my computer issues were almost a direct result of being bullied and tormented in middle school. I then turned to the computer because that was the only place I could find acceptance, so I felt it was where I belonged. I was wrong! Even now, I'm only 15, I am having trouble being social. I currently have one friend who I hang out with. I try with others, but it doesn't really work. I'm okay with just one though, he gets me, knows where I'm coming from, we're so similar, it's great. Getting back on topic- yes, it should most definitely be considered a disorder. I agree 100%. Happy New Year! - Emilia
Is internet addiction a real disorder?
In a sense, anything can be a disorder when it is overused/abused and causes grief in someone's life. I've heard of people getting addicted to chapstick, for example! You won't find chapstick addiction as an entry in the DSM (the diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals worldwide). But if someone is so dependent on chapstick that they refuse to go to school or work without a tube in their pocket or have panic attacks about it . . . then for them, it's a disorder. Internet Addiction is real. People get confused because they may be spending 8 hours online every day at work so they wonder if that makes them an addict. The answer is, of course not. If being online is part of their job, it's no different than anything else someone may do all day for work (treat sick patients, assemble cars, paint houses). It is an addiction or problem when it disrupts your ability to function or even leads to tragic events. There are no lack of stories we see in the news -- a couple who allowed their baby to starve to death while they played marathon sessions of an online game, the SEC employees who were busy watching Internet porn while the stock market crashed in 2008 . . . The bottom line is that it does not matter if it is considered as an official disorder. If it turns someone's life upside down or results in a disaster (and it has time and time again), than it is a disorder for that individual. Literally millions of people are realizing that they feel compelled to view online pornography, gamble online log into facebook, check email repeatedly or just remain connected. Children and adults simply need to be taught how to integrate the Internet into their daily lives in a healthy way. Take an Internet Addiction Test to determine if you may have a problem: http://www.internet-addiction-guide.com/...
Is internet addiction bad?
Official opinions usually such because they basically say what society and media has created as 'accepted behavior'. Here is my normal opinion: no (if you don't use it for bad purposes of course). Being social in real life is extremely important and should never be replaced by social networking. However, internet addiction is not that bad if it's controlled (if you have survived without getting insane a whole week without internet, your condition isn't that bad). Internet has something that TV or society doesn't - in the internet you have hundreds of opinions and you choose which one you believe in. Society doesn't let you choose your opinion, it speaks one opinion which is supposed to be everybody's opinion. This, I believe, is really important and this is what's great about the internet although very few people actually take advantage of that and waste their time on useless stuff. So in my opinion, internet addiction is not bad if you still socialize in the 'old' way and do other things aside your 'addiction'. P.S.: Don't expect parents to understand that, mine don't either but they needn't, it's you who needs to understand. Good luck.
What is internet addiction?
It is a psychological rather than physiological "addiction" -- and "addiction" is probably not being properly used in terms of the internet. It is more a matter of being a coping mechanism. I have no "textbook definition" for you, but would say that basically it is when a person prefers being on the internet to anything else -- internet friends over real friends, chat rooms over telephone conversations, digital pictures over reality, websites and blogs over books and newspapers (though this last can just be an issue of preference due to content, so should not be judged in isolation). There is a feeling of safety which comes from the physical isolation found on the internet. Your internet friends can only hurt your feelings, they can't steal your boyfriend or girlfriend. Your chat room buddies can be ignored by just clicking one box, you don't have to take calls from them at 1 in the morning. It is safer and cheaper to look at a picture of a volcano than it is to fly to Hawaii and go climb one to see it for yourself. And if you only listen to writers who agree with you (or "bash" anyone who posts opposing viewpoints), your world view is never challenged. Thus, for people with insecurities, the internet provides a low-risk way of staying in touch and up to date -- but it is a very shallow connection, a fact which is often not clear to the "internet addict" because just as with any othr coping mechanism, they will invent justifications for it. There are deeper psychological addictions that do go hand in hand with "internet addiction" such as gambling addictions, pornography addictions, etc (where the internet provides a convenient, fast, and relatively cheap way to supply these addictions), but these are seperate issues of their own.