Section 2 - Internet Browsing and Internet Addiction

Then:

            Has there ever been a time where it was very difficult to abandon an interesting article or an amusing video in favor of a more important task? This may sound a tad bit silly, but there is actually a disorder that focuses on this feeling: Internet Addiction. One may roll their eyes and mockingly say that they have television addiction or radio addiction, yet there are some serious consequences to it that I will touch on later. I will not deny that the disorder was not taken seriously back when it was first discovered, though. It all started in 1995 when psychiatrist Ivan Goldberg created a parody of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, or DSM-IV, that consisted of a website that attributed the dimensions and cardinal features of pathological gambling for an imaginary disorder called “Internet Addiction Disorder.” The joke here was that spending ample time on online sources was not considered to be particularly abnormal or harmful at the time. Almost immediately, Goldberg started to receive hundreds of requests for appointments, and it started to dawn on him just how serious the problem actually was (Pacheco & Fisher, 2009).

While DSM-IV lacked an entry for Internet Addiction, it was prominent enough to be considered for DSM-V.

            Even if Goldberg was still hesitant to refer to it as an actual disorder, instead claiming that it was merely a symptom of other disorders, while others called it a “fad illness,” Internet Addiction was found to have some rather concerning risks associated with it. First off, let me start with the mixed news: Internet Addiction was considered an impulse control disorder instead of an “impure” addiction like the use of intoxicating drugs. While this means that the afflicted individual was not in any immediate danger of harming themselves, it also means that they would not be able to just drop the behavior without moderate to extreme difficulty. One of the biggest problems with Internet Addiction was that it serves as a sort of “gateway” to other, more destructive obsessions. For example, someone who became addicted to the Internet could find themselves straying away from browsing forums and lists of online games to browsing pornography websites. An alternate habit that could be formed was online gambling, but it was not guaranteed that one would develop either of these habits or any others; however, one should have remained cautious as the risk was present. Another problem with Internet Addiction was the speed at which it could set in: what could have begun as innocent usage of the World Wide Web for school or work purposes could quickly spiral into an activity capable of majorly disrupting one’s life (Pacheco & Fisher, 2009). This was surely no laughing matter, especially considering technology’s steady advance in quality.

Now:

            Unsurprisingly, the concern surrounding “Internet Addiction” has persisted to this day. Some experts on addiction disorders are still hesitant to refer to this phenomenon as a true addiction, and that point of view is not necessarily all that questionable. The World Wide Web has become intricately woven into our lives, allowing us to have fun, work efficiently, and talk to others with ease. Despite having been around for well over a decade, the Internet is also still a relatively new technological innovation and has yet to reach a plateau in its development. The problem with this historical recency is that there have been few official experiments or studies conducted to determine whether or not the Internet truly impacts our behavior in a negative way. Even so, Internet Addiction behaves enough like a true addiction that it should not be dismissed quite yet (Miller, 2014).

A one-panel comic parodying Internet Addiction.

            First off, Internet Addiction shares the three basic elements that are present in any other kind of addiction: loss of control, craving, and painful consequences (Miller, 2014). I myself know these symptoms firsthand; after spending so much time online doing anything from watching videos to talking with friends around the globe, being separated from it for any substantial amount of time is unbearable. In some cases, I have been forced to go without the Internet and even access to a computer for extended periods of time, and during these periods I would start to feel melancholic and restless. I also have to admit that being on the computer for so long has had its drawbacks, some of which include weak social life on campus and missed opportunities in all shapes and sizes. Something that should be clarified now, though, is that Internet Addiction is not being addicted to the Internet itself, but rather its contents. It would help to think of it as the relationship between narcotic addicts and heroin. The addicts are usually not addicted to the needles they use, but rather the drugs inside those needles. The same analogy applies to Internet Addiction, but with a vast network instead of a needle and funny cat videos instead of drugs. Sadly, one of the only ways to truly tell if Internet Addiction has set in is to be on the lookout for how it negatively influences one’s life; otherwise, it is extremely difficult to say whether or not the time being spent on the Internet is “too much.” It is best to ask oneself questions like “Is my sense of time distorted?” or “Do I feel productively engaged while using the Internet or do I feel anxious or guilty?” to help find out (Miller, 2014).

Later:

            Will Internet Addiction ever be put to rest, or will it continue plaguing us well into the future? Honestly, I am going to have to side with the former. The World Wide Web has already become so important to almost everything we do, so, unless we undergo an anti-Internet Addiction program like Korea is, it is only going to get worse as time goes on. Korea has had a massive Internet Addiction problem in the past, wherein people of all ages, but especially young adults, would spend countless hours in cafes made specifically for Wi-Fi usage playing video games and surfing the web. In an attempt to take care of it, individuals “diagnosed” with Internet Addiction by loved ones would be brought to camps where they would learn how to play and socialize with other addicts without the use of a computer (Griffiths et. all, 2016). Think of it like a rehabilitation program for drug addicts, but with the Internet instead of drugs. Despite this program having some amount of success in Korea, I do not think that it will be nearly as successful on a world-wide scale. I am not saying that it will be a total failure, but advances in the entertainment and social aspects of the Internet, along with others, will make it more difficult to weaken that bond once it forms.

            A branch of Internet Addiction that has expanded as of late encompasses social media and social networking websites. People suffering from Internet Addiction may end up latching onto these programs and websites to help fill the void that a lack of regular social interaction has left within them (Griffiths et. all, 2016). This type of Internet Addiction may be more reasonable to treat now, but later on it may be much more difficult as social networking websites and programs become more advanced. Some companies are even starting to intentionally incorporate this behavior into their daily routines! Instead of scheduling normal meetings in the real world, they make use of programs like Second Life to meet up with other employees in the virtual world using their custom-designed avatars. Now imagine this becoming as popular, widespread, and easy-to-use as websites like Facebook and Twitter or programs like Skype and Discord. With a means of communication that so closely imitates the real deal, people would be hard-pressed to go out of their way to arrange meetups in the real world. This is all only taking into account one specific service the Internet provides: socialization. With the inevitable improvements in other services, ranging from video games to digital art to online television, the world could very well end up like Korea. The deciding factor on whether or not this will be a good thing, however, is the strength of our self-control. If we can collectively realize and keep in mind that too much of a good thing is harmful, then we will be fine. If we end up letting this fact slip? Well, we will have to wait and see.

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