NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Prepared for Dr. Jere Mitchum By Marwan November 4, 1996 TABLE OF CONTENT LIST OF Illustrations ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Purpose Growth Of The Internet THE ADDICTION What causes itSymptomsHow To Overcome The Addiction The elements of any addictionCONCLUSIONOne Last Interesting Question REFERENCES 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1. The number of networks connected to the Internet vs. Time. 2. The percentage of the Internet domains 3.
Will the equation people = Internet Users be true in 2001? ABSTRACT The problem of Internet addiction is not very noticeable now and that's why not many people are taking it seriously, but what these people are failing to see is the connection between the very rapid growth of the Internet and the addiction problem. It is really simple logic the bigger the Internet get the more users will be which will lead to a bigger number of addicts that can have their lives as well as others corrupted by this behavior. The main objective of this paper is to make sure that all reader know and understand what Internet addiction is and how it can be solved or avoided. I can not offer a professional psychiatric solution but I believe if a person knows more about the addiction, the better chance they have to help themselves as well as others; that's why I have included a short summary of the elements of addiction. I hope that by the time you read my paper you will have a better understanding about this issue to keep yourself as well as others of taking Internet addiction lightly.
INTRODUCTION Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make you, the reader, alert and more aware of the newest type of addiction, Internet addiction. Many people would call it exaggeration to classify spending a lot of time on the Internet as an addiction, but since the subject is a fairly new not everybody is taking it as serious as they should be. Growth of the Internet I am sure that everybody knows what the Internet and used it at least a couple of times so there is no need for me to tell you what the Internet is. However, the incredible growth of the size and technology of the Internet is a fact well worth mentioning.
Ever since the Internet was commercially introduced to the public late in 1989 the number of the networks that form the Internet have been increasing exponentially. As you can see in figure 1 in the United States there is a new network connected to the Internet every 30 minutes. Figure 1 Number of Networks connected (Source: ftp: //nic. merit.
edu / statistics /nsf net) Not all these networks are commercial, some are educational some are for organizations and some are simply networks that provide Internet services. All these different kind of networks can be identified on the Internet by their domain extension, or in other words the last three letters in the address -e. g. web is a commercial site because of the.
com- in figure 2 the percentage of all four major domains is shown, and it is obvious that the big share goes to the commercial domains. It does not take a genius to figure out that since the Internet attracted that much commercial interest that means that more and more people are using the Internet, and even more are willing to spend time and money on it. Figure 2 (Source of data: web) THE ADDICTION With such vast growth of the Internet what is considered as a small problem can grow along with the Internet to cause an even bigger problem. In a recent publication in the Los Angeles Times Mathew McAlleseter reported on a survey conducted on the Internet by Victor Brenner who came up with the following results: ' 17 % said that they spend more than 40 hours a week online, 31 % said that their work performance had deteriorated since they started using the Internet, 7 % got 'into hot water' with their employers or schools for Internet related activities' (LA Times, 5 / 5 / 1996, pp A- 18). However, Brenner acknowledges that his survey is unscientific in many ways; respondents are self-selected and many may be Internet researchers.
On the other hand, Dr. Kimberly Young from the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford conducted a more accurate survey that included 396 men and women. In her point of view heavy on-line users in her study all met psychiatric criteria for clinical dependence applied to alcoholics and drug addicts. They had lost control over their Net usage and couldn't end it despite harmful effects on their personal and professional lives. What Causes It Finding a reason for Internet addiction can be as hard as finding a reason for smoking addiction, however, there are a couple of reasons that are obvious for some addicts: The power of instant access to all sorts of information and all kinds of people is a positive that can be overused. A different kind of community that can draw people who tend to 'shy out' in the real world because this new virtual community does not require the social skill that real life does, all you have to do is be good on the keyboard.
Adopting new personas and playing your favorite kind of personality is not hard when others can not see or hear you. Last but not least is the fascination with technology. This might be the best excuse -if there such a thing- to be addicted to the Internet, the information super highway, or cyber space. Symptoms When I was trying to collect more information about the symptoms of Internet addiction, I was surprised to find out that almost one half of the sites I visited took Internet addiction as a joke. So as a part of the research I decided to give you the top ten signs you may be addicted to the Internet: 10. You wake up at 3 a.
m. to go to the bathroom and stop and check your e- mail on the way back to bed. 9. You get a tattoo that reads 'This body best viewed with Netscape Navigator 2. 0 or higher. ' 8... You write down your URL when asked for your Home Address. 7.
You turn off your modem and get this awful empty feeling, like you just pulled the plug on a loved one. 6. You spend half of the plane trip with your laptop on your lap... and your child in the overhead compartment. 5. Your home page sees more action than you do. 4. You start to notice how much this list describes you. 3.
People ask why you turn your head to the side when you smile, i. e. : -). 2. The last girl you picked up was a JPEG image. 1. Your modem burns up. You haven't logged in for two hours. You start to twitch.
You pick up the phone and manually dial your service provider access number. You try to hum to communicate with the network. You succeed! ! On the more serious side, an Internet based support group for people who suffer from Internet addiction called the Internet Addiction Support Group (IASG) has established the Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) to be the following: A maladaptive pattern of Internet use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by three (or more) of the following, occurring at any time in the same 12 -month period: (I) tolerance, as defined by either of the following: (A) A need for markedly increased amounts of time on Internet to achieve satisfaction. (B) markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of time on Internet. (II) withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following: (A) the characteristic withdrawal syndrome (1) Cessation of (or reduction) in Internet use that has been heavy and prolonged. (2) Two (or more) of the following, developing within several days to a month after Criterion 1: (a) psychomotor agitation. (b) anxiety. (c) obsessive thinking about what is happening on Internet. (d) fantasies or dreams about Internet. (e) voluntary or involuntary typing movements of the fingers. (3) The symptoms in Criterion 2 cause distress or impairment in social, occupational or another important area of functioning. (B) Use of Internet or a similar on-line service is engaged in to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms. (III) Internet is often accessed more often or for longer periods of time than was intended. (IV) There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control Internet use. (V) A great deal of time is spent in activities related to Internet use (e.
g. , buying Internet books, trying out new WWW browsers, researching Internet vendors, organizing files of downloaded materials. ) (VI) Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of Internet use. (VII) Internet use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical, social, occupational, or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by Internet use (sleep deprivation, marital difficulties, lateness for early morning appointments, neglect of occupational duties, or feelings of abandonment in significant others. ) (Source: John Super, Ph. D. - Rider University May 1996 web) How To Overcome The Addiction Now that the problem has been established and given a fancy abbreviation (IAD), the next question is what to do about it. Several groups of people created support groups dedicated to help people who suffer from IAD. Some of the most famous support groups is the IASG which can be reached by a-mail at and the Webaholics support group which can be reached on web. However, the main key to getting rid of, or even avoiding, any type of addiction is to understand the basic elements of the addiction. Once you understand these elements you will have a better chance of overcoming the addiction or even not getting it at all.
The elements of addiction are: (I) Denial All people who are addicted (to anything) have some degree of denial. Without denial, most addictions would not have become established in the first place. Denial can take many forms. At the milder extremes, a person may believe 'I can handle this problem whenever I decide to do so. ' The fact that one has a problem is at least acknowledged. At the other extreme, denial often takes the form of: 'What problem? I don't have a problem.
You " ve got the prob...
Free research essays on topics related to: figure 1, e g, people who suffer, support group, internet addiction
Research essay sample on People Who Suffer Internet Addiction
