Author: Rukhsar Khalid
Internet addiction
is the use of excessive or overtime internet and appeared a latest mental
health issue. Internet addiction is a severe problem, which is common among
people, especially in youth. Spending a lot of time using the internet creates
an adverse impact on individual mental and physical health, etc (Kuss, &
Lopez-Fernandez, 2016).
Today, no one
can understand the worth of life. Everyone is busy in one’s life, and most of
the individual spend excessive time on internet or social media sites. Use of
excessive internet has different impacts on the individual physical and mental
functioning (Kim, 2018). Individual sitting
a lot of time while using the internet creates a wrong sitting posture and
backbone fracture— also it limit the thinking ability of the individual. When
the individual thinks about something, our brain gives them different choices
or solutions (Franke, 2002). Children and
adults who exposed much time on the internet were gradually cutoffs from the
world around them. Young people check updates repeatedly, read comments also
suffer from health consequences, loss of sleep, feel irritation (Kuss, 2015).
The research
discovered that an individual who is habitual internet user range from 60%-70%.
People who consider the difficulty in reducing the time of excessive internet
range from 40%-50%. Some individual use extreme internet for reducing their
pain or changing negative mood is about 10% (Kuss, & Lopez-Fernandez, 2016).
Causes of Internet Addiction
Neglecting behavior from parents are the
main causes that contribute very much in the development of children. Children
who experience neglecting attitude from their parents develop an extreme
interest in using the internet and find it the best option for time pass.
Mothers who are working women give mobile,
tabs or laptops to their children and providing internet facility for
continuing their job, so child becomes habitual in using the internet.
Individual who are shy or introvert and
they are not willing to communicate face to face, then express their feelings
on social media by using different chat rooms and develop the association with
other and interested in spending a lot of time on the internet.
Peer pressure contributes to extreme use of
the internet. Individual learn very much from peer’s and also learn new tasks,
learn about how to run new games, how to install a new app, and how to download
the movies. So peer pressure is a common cause of internet addiction.
The behavior of individually shaped or
formed through their environment. Individual who are belong to a high class are
mostly suffer from an internet addiction problem.
For some individual, remain online becomes
an addiction. Individual feel relaxed when remain online and manifest
uneasiness when appeared offline.
Effects of Internet Addiction
Internet
addiction and Cognition. Excessive
internet is harmful to an individual. It negatively influences cognition.
Cognition is the process by which individual involve in exploring new
knowledge, and experiences. Excessive use of internet reduces the power of
creating thinking, distort perception, and decrease the capability to
comprehend things (Kuss, & Lopez-Fernandez, 2016).
Internet
addiction and Depression. Individual feel
difficulty to control overuse of internet connecting through social media read
comments, uploaded pictures, as a result feel gratification. People feel sad
when trying to remain away from using the internet.
Internet
addiction and Academic performance. Overuse
of internet has a lot of effect on studies. Adolescence is more vulnerable to
that problem. Academic performance becomes affected, hard to control time for
using the internet and it adversely creates effect on the mind of Adolescence
and Adult.
Internet
addiction and Social life. By spending
much time on the internet, individual want isolation and feel happy. Social
circle reduces badly. People communicate by only those people who are available
on social media.
Changes
in Brain associated with internet addiction. Addiction
makes people dependent on activities. Internet dependency is responsible for a
change in brain and behavior. Behavioral changes that other people’s notice
easily. Over dependency in the use of internet create negative changes in the
brain that are not visible to others (Cassidy, 20010). Changes in the brain are
noticed by the behavior of a person. Brain control all the function of the body
so change in the brain also impact on behavior.
Addicted person
feels pleasure and satisfy by using the internet because it activates and makes
changes in certain areas of the brain that are also called the pleasure
pathway. A neurotransmitter Dopamine, a chemical released by neurons in the
brain. It controls cognitive functions, movements, and it is the motivational
center. When the synthesis of dopamine increases, it also effects on other
areas of the brain. Excessive dopamine release in the region of basal forebrain
rostral to the preoptic area of the hypothalamus called nucleus accumbens,
reward pathway. It plays a role in promoting desire and satisfaction for
addiction. A 24-year-old male reported.
“I believe
technology brings a lot of happiness into my life. Nothing satisfies and
relaxes me similar to technology. Still, when hopelessness overwhelms me, and I
feel depressed, I likely to use technology as a way to cope with depression and
isolation.”
How to Eradicate Internet Addiction
Set
time limit. Initially, it
is difficult to remain away from internet use. So, setting time limits for
internet use is the first step in the struggle of eradication of internet
addiction. If people’s use internet 6 hours a day then reduce it to 4 hours a
day then after successfully done, reduce time limits to about 2 hours a day.
Setting time limits is the most effective way of decreasing internet addiction (Kuss,
& Lopez-Fernandez, 2016).
Learn
new activities. Learning is the
process that continues in the whole lifetime. Involvement in new activities
such as help in the preparation of a meal, seek knowledge about self-grooming,
try to learn new languages, help in reducing internet addiction.
See
the therapist. Experts help
in reducing internet addiction. When an individual fails to control the use of
the internet, and this interferes in satisfaction of life, then see the
professional are the best option in reducing this problem. Professional helps
you in changing your routine and also guide about how to overcome such a
problem.
Accept
that it’s a time wasting. When individual
accept that overuse of the internet is a waste of time and its effect badly to
your health, then it’s the first step you take in decreasing your habit of
internet addiction.
Family
is the most important element.
When an individual spend time with family, develop a strong association. Making
new friends and make fun with them is the main contributor to reducing internet
addiction (Cassidy, 2012).