Teens and Internet Addiction

Internet addiction is a growing problem with more and more people. The internet is much more accessible to people now than it was just a few years ago. The internet provides people with entertainment, loads of information, and an escape from everyday life, but like anything else, too much a good thing can be addictive. In the modern world internet access is a vital part of everyday life. It is important for education, and is a necessary skill for those entering the job markets of today. The internet is highly entertaining and informative. These qualities make the internet an attractive escape from the stress of everyday life. People can enter a different world and make the problems of the real world disappear. Anything is possible on the internet.

The average amount of time people between the ages of 8 and 18 spend on the Internet every day is about seven and a half hours and some people even more. Internet addiction has the same symptoms as an addition to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or caffeine. When someone becomes addicted to the internet they will have increasing tolerance to the amount of time they spend online, withdrawal, mood changes between when online and off, and there will be an interruption of social relationships and activities. When access to the internet is not available people will show signs of anxiety, depression, irritability, trembling hands, and restlessness. Internet addiction can be compared to many other customs of addiction, but it is becoming more noticeable as our world evolves into an advanced era of technology. Although technology has many positive results such as communication with distant friends, research for school, or online job applications, it may also cause negative effects for society. When someone becomes addicted to something they will go to great lengths to get whatever it is that they are addicted to. This causes behavioral problems with the individuals who are affected by addiction and it could possibly cause problems with the people that are affiliated with the addict. Teens in particular are a big target when it comes to Internet addiction.

As previous mentioned teens have resorted to drastic measures to overcome internet addiction. According to USA Today, a teen battling internet addiction cut his hand off. In China, 14% of the youth are addicted to the internet. The teen “Little Wang” who was struggling with his addiction sought it better to cut his hand off to deal with his addiction. Teachers claimed that the boy’s internet habits made him impetuous. 

Internet addiction is a problem in society today. It’s inevitable with how easy it is to access the Internet and all of its databases and resources. While there are a few good results from the internet, it still is horrible in the sense that it effects people’s lives drastically. People may argue against it but in all reality our society is becoming more and more addicted to the Internet and it is causing more and more issues with their families and themselves in general.  

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/04/teen-cuts-off-hand-internet-addiction/22852555/