Research Paper
Sally is staring at snow piling on her lawn outside of her window. She can hear the television in the background declaring what she was hoping for; that school has been cancelled for the day. She checked her Facebook to see what all of her friends are going to do, it turns out that all of them have already made plans and somehow forgot to invite her to come along. Before she knows it she starts to play various online games and it seems as if her entire day has slipped through her fingers. Now imagine this happening to you every single day. Anyone can have internet addiction, but people who are experiencing loneliness, depression; A.D.H.D [attention deficit hyperactive disorder], etc., are more likely to experience it. This is a very recent problem and it hasn’t been listed in the DSM, but they plan to put it in the newest edition. If someone experiences internet addiction they should seek for help from other people. Internet addiction is something that must be prevented from a young age and if not then it should be controlled with certain methods.
Most of the things that we do on the internet, such as gaming, release dopamine into our brains pleasure center, thus making obsessive pleasure seeking behaviors. Internet companies use this fact to exploit their customers, so that they can make more profit [6]. Thus resulting I games on Facebook such as Farmville, Cafe World, Words with Friends, etc., and advertisements on gaming sites personalized to you. This makes it hard to leave the site because you need to level up to get to your next bonus.
Most of the things that we do on the internet, such as gaming, release dopamine into our brains pleasure center, thus making obsessive pleasure seeking behaviors. Internet companies use this fact to exploit their customers, so that they can make more profit [6]. Thus resulting I games on Facebook such as Farmville, Cafe World, Words with Friends, etc., and advertisements on gaming sites personalized to you. This makes it hard to leave the site because you need to level up to get to your next bonus.
When someone you are close to, or even if you are addicted to the internet can make your life hard to live. When you know someone with it you should be willing to help them out and not just shrug it off like it is nothing, like it doesn't even matter to you. In order to get over the addiction you need to tackle the things that are causing your addictions. We should be learning from a young age the negative effects that the internet can have on you, and that the internet should be used for your benefit.
Addiction to the internet isn't like the addictions that you usually hear about, such as alcohol and drugs; it is a behavioral disorder and is most common with people who have compulsive tendencies. This addiction is newer, because the internet has only been around for 30 years which is far shorter than any other kind of well-known addiction.
Gaming sights can be appealing because they can receive achievements, such as leveling up, defeating monsters, gaining skill levels, they may feel that their achievements in the game are more important than their achievements in real life. Another reason why some people like the internet more than real life because it is easier for them to make friends, it is risk free and you don’t have to think about the real person but only of their avatar, profile picture. This could be a good thing, making it easier for shy people to get used to talking to people; so that when they meet real people they will know how to handle the situation. This can also be a bad thing because it causes people to spend too much time playing games instead of interacting with people in real life.
One of the main causes of having internet addiction is loneliness, and someone can be lonely even if you have a lot of friends; it is a state of mind. Anyone can get help from someone they love or a therapist, they will be willing to help you. When someone is addicted to the internet they may experience negative emotions when they don’t have the internet accessible to them. If addiction is causing someone to neglect their relationships with the people who they are close to, then you should try your best to prevent it every way possible to quick the addiction.
Getting over internet addiction by yourself is not an easy task, because you will set limits for yourself that don’t really help you, but make you happy for a short time. Their needs to be someone who helps you set difficult goal and help you keep them by having them check on your progress routinely. The internet can be used for a lot of good things such as family history, teaching, charity, business, spreading your beliefs, being connected to the whole world, sharing your ideas, research, etc. Some people tend to be addicted to the bad parts of the internet instead of the parts that will actually help them, such as pornography, social sites, on-line gaming.
Some of the most popular online games are World of Warcraft, Steam and Runescape. World of Warcraft has 10.2 million subscriber’s [1], while Runescape has 200 million accounts and is in the Guinness World Records for being the world’s largest free MMORPG (Massive Multi Online Role Playing Game) [2], but a lot of these accounts could very well be mods or inactive. Steam’s top games are Dota 2 with 73,647 players and Team Fortress 2 with 35,982 players. [3] With so many people playing these games the companies are gaining profit but the players are not gaining anything necessarily from these games.
There are some people who make a living of playing video games and posting their commentary of them onto YouTube. Some of my favorite YouTube gaming channels are Pewdiepie and ChaoticMonki, a.ka. Cryotic, who are both very witty and fun to watch. Pewdiepie has 2,944,353 subscribers and is the 11 most subscribed person on YouTube, and is gaining 13,000 per day [4], this is his full time job and he makes his living off of it. ChaoticMonki has 292,307 subscribers and is gaining around 2,000 per day [5] and posting YouTube videos is also his full time job. Even though some people can manage playing video games into a job, means that video games aren’t all that bad they serve a purpose but we shouldn't get addicted to them because there are far greater things in life.
A good way to get over this addiction is to do something that is productive, for example if you are addicted to video games; it is not very hard to find out how to make them. Try going to your local library and finding books on how to make games and finding someone in school who is an expert in making video games. All you need is to be patient because it isn't easy and you won’t make a masterpiece the first time that you try. If you keep making video games, and perfecting your idea, you can find a job in that field.
Addictions to anything mean that you are dependent of that object. Spending a whole day playing video games means, that you are addicted, not necessarily if you don’t really do that all the time, it could just be that was the only day you could do that and you never get to play video games on a regular basis. However, if you find it hard to keep up with your responsibilities because you feel that you need to beat another level than that could be a problem. If you need to play a certain video game to be happy, if that is the only thing that can make you happy, than this may mean that you are addicted.
You should never diagnose others or yourself with mental illness, and Internet addiction is a part of this and if you know someone that exhibits these traits, don’t just say their addicted, you should talk to them and tell your concerns; let them know that you care about them, don’t ignore them. You have probably heard someone say that they will finish playing a game in an hour, but in reality they don’t finish for another couple of hours. Not everyone is the same; everyone deals with addiction in different ways and needs to be helped in different means. Curing internet addiction starts with you wanting to, not because someone is telling you to.
Internet addiction is a very new disorder and hasn’t even been put into the DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel or Mental Disorders [7]] yet, it is classified as a behavioral addiction. There are several ways to cure it, such as going to a therapist or having someone helps you set goals and monitor what you do on the internet, or using your time in a more timely matter. It is also a good idea to start with small step and gradually get to even bigger steps. The internet can be used both for good things and bad things. Internet addiction is something that must be prevented from a young age and if not then it should be controlled with certain methods.
Bibliography
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