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Internet as General Addiction in Present Times

Published 12 Jan 2017

Why is internet addiction on the rise?

Internet has truly been regarded as the greatest innovation of the 21st century. It is used greatly and has been hailed for its cost-effectiveness, convenience and the uses and innumerable advantages.

Communication

Internet is the ultimate and the inevitable tool for communication and the meeting of people. Through the means of chatting and other instant messaging services as well as the use of the email system that includes the yahoo, msn, AOL and gmail and others. It allows people to make and maintain contacts with acquaintances and friends and also a means and an important way to form new friendships and contacts. The internet, therefore, is seen as a socialising tool by many.

Apart from the instant messaging services and all, the internet now offers a variety of options in terms of social networking. It’s a new phenomenon in the world of internet and has the ability to take the internet and the social world by storm and it has already done so to a large extent.

The introduction of websites like orkut, multiply and hi five and the others of the same ilk has given life a new meaning. People now make friends on internet and talk to them there too. Social life has been limited to the internet.

Online Earning

Another means of internet usage is the availability and opportunities of earning online. People are now able to make money through online jobs such as the freelance writing and writing content for websites.

Apart from the above-mentioned opportunities there are students that could be taught online and other such opportunities that are taken up by people due to the easy money they offer and the convenience that is present in the form of earning from home.

Blogging and Social Activism and Expression

Another present phenomenon is that of blogging. Blogs are personal diaries in which people can talk about any and everything. They could be based on a particular theme, for example, sports or could be general. Blogging is another reason why people are badly addicted and hooked onto the internet.

It allows one to express oneself freely and thus, is highly popular amongst masses especially youth. It’s important because it’s free and most people are devoid of an outlet to express their feelings and ideas.

Social activism is another aspect of internet. Through blogs and websites such as CHOWK that allow interaction and discussion of ideas and serious political talk and analysis, it’s now possible to campaign for causes one feels passionate about.

All the above-mentioned causes become great motivators for people to become addicted to the internet. But as any addiction has its accompanying disadvantages, so is the case with the internet.

Internet addiction has been a cause of grave concern with sociologists, teachers, and social analysts and most importantly with parents.

The excessive use of internet is likely to result in the loss of concentration and also inflicts some negative consequences also on the health like poor eyesight and back pains.

Besides if children and/or teenagers are exposed to the kind of content on the internet that is not suitable and reasonable for their age, grave moral and social consequences shall follow.

Children are said to become violent and have destructive tendencies if they are exposed to violent images and graphics which are rampant and abundant on the internet.

Same is the case with the wide and easy availability of sexual images and content on the internet that are said to wreak havoc on the behavioural patterns and psychology of the children and young adults in the advices and opinions of the psychologists and psychiatrists and even cause destructive sexual tendencies in them.

Reasons of Spread of Internet

The changing societal set-up has given rise to the idea of internet addiction. The present times are such that everyone has multiple duties to perform. There is a dearth of time and people find it hard to juggle successfully their personal and professional lives. All of the hectic schedules leave little room and time for other activities of life such as socialising.

Internet thus replaces real-life interaction because it is convenient and one does not have to make any special efforts to talk to people.

On the other hand, the cost options are much better. Internet interaction and communication is free to a great extent. It’s an awesome way to connect to people that live abroad and are hard to talk to in other ways.

Besides internet is a great way to collect and gather information. Internet possesses great loads of information about almost all topics which is almost a click away in many cases or requires extremely little effort in comparison to other sources like books and libraries.

It is also cost-effective and the existence of search engines such google and yahoo facilitates matters a great deal. All sorts of information is available that mainly helps and aids the students and scholars alike in their assignments and studies and in the ever-lasting pursuit and quest of information.

Many leading universities of the world like Oxford, Cambridge and Princeton have their online libraries that have information and books that were otherwise present only in the libraries of their colleges and university campuses. Similarly many public libraries too have their online portals making it easier for students to manage their workload easily.

There are numerous earning opportunities also available online and through outsourcing. it gets cheaper for the international companies due to costs and other benefits.

The lifestyle coupled with the advantages of internet makes it into an addiction. Many are concerned because of that but there is cause not to as internet is a tool for useful interaction of ideas and has much to offer by way of academic knowledge.

There are also e-books available online and that enhances internet utility. There are zillions of books available online free for both academic and non-academic topics. This greatly attracts and allures the students as well as the casual and occasional reader.

Internet is an inevitable tool for communication and entertainment and slowly, it is turning into a force that can’t be controlled.

References

  • ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers www.clickz.com Accessed, March 28 2007
  • Google Directory – Computers > Internet www.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet Accessed, March 28 2007
  • internet.com – the Internet and IT Network from Jupitermedia Corp. www.internet.com Accessed, March 28 2007
  • Internet Society (ISOC) www.isoc.org Accessed, March 28 2007
  • Internet – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet Accessed, March 28 2007
  • How Stuff Works – Learn how Everything Works! Howstuffworks.com Accessed, March 28 2007
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