Internet Addiction & Internet Addiction Effects

Welcome to the internet, the savior and the plague of the 21st century, it has brought us information and money but gave us a new type of disease, internet addiction. The internet has changed our lives, it changed the way we work, the way we communicate with each other, it changed the way we learn. So how can we not use internet, it is a great place to evolve. But what happens when we talk more with our online friends than we do with our real life friends that are next door? What happens when we can’t control the need to go on Facebook, play a game online, or simply surf till we fall asleep? What happens is that we have become addicted to internet, while some may say this as a joke it is in fact a serious matter with serious consequences, so the question for all of us, me included, is how much is enough?

We rely on the internet, we work online, learn, communicate, buy, sell, do research, find entertainment, the benefits are enormous, the fact is that internet has become an irreplaceable tool in our lives for everything we do. In 2005 a first study about internet addiction was conducted, it showed that depressed people use too much internet as they have no desire to socialize with real people. The same study warned us about the opposite effect of too much internet use, the compulsive use of internet is not at all new, but we are just beginning to realize its aspects and effects. Internet addiction is not yet classified as official psychological disorder, but the compulsive use of internet has proven negative effects on our lives, our work, our ability to learn and concentrate and our relationships.

Let’s break it down; there are two types of internet use, healthy internet use and unhealthy one, the one that can be considered as internet addiction. The answer is a bit difficult, some of us work over the internet so we use internet more than some people that are addicted, but we use it like we are in an office, every work day 9am to 5pm, if we look at it that way, it is considered as healthy internet use. To clarify things, just because you are spending too much time on the internet doesn’t mean that you are addicted or that you have a problem. But if spending too much time online is interfering with your life, with your work, with your relationship, or any other important aspect of your life, then you have a problem. However you look at it, if your online life is interfering with your normal life on earth where you can touch the person you talk to, you have what is called, internet addiction.

Internet addiction effects should already be clear to you, the first internet addiction effect is clear; your offline life is suffering from your compulsive internet use. There are other internet addiction effects, most common ones are depression, lack of concentration, loss of motivation and my favorite, losing sense of reality. Internet can do all of these things to you, so not to let that happen here are the signs of internet addiction to watch out for:

Losing track of time is one of the first symptoms, this happens to all of us, but if combined with one or more of the signs then you have to worry about internet addiction.

Avoiding any choir or obligation you have because you don’t want to step away from whatever it is that you are doing online.

Isolation from your fiends and family because you spend too much time online.

And if you are defensive when someone talks about your obsession and too much time spent online, that is a real sign of internet addiction.

Internet addiction is an addiction like any other, and all addictions have one thing in common, they are really hard to quit. For each person the process of getting back to normal will be different, the fact of the matter is that you need to want to quit and get back to normal. Of course, like with any other addiction you will suffer a few relapses but if you truly want it you can make it, getting your life back should be a priority.

I’m evaluating myself at the moment, and I think I am addicted to internet, so there are a few things I need to do in order to unplug myself from the matrix, the first one is to create a work schedule, which I can recommend to everyone here on HubPages. We all need to have a set time when we work and when we play and when we are free, to tell you the truth, I feel so much better when I’m not near a computer.