A comparison of Television and Internet Addiction

A comparison of Television and Internet Addiction
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A comparison of Television and Internet Addiction
Introduction
Addiction is the situation that results when individuals ingest stuff such as alcohol, cocaine, nicotine or involving in pleasurable activities that are deemed addictive. The continuous engagement or use of such stuff results in the interference of a person’s normal body and work relations. Those in such situations may fail to recognise that their body and mind status is out of control, thus creating more problems not only to themselves but also to other people.
Many people may be aware on addiction as having negative consequence on the users, but they fail to articulate on the pleasures that accompany the “pleasurable” stuff and activities that they engage in. This is because the quintessence of any person involving himself or herself in such activities is the search for pleasure or “high life”, which normal life seems not to offer. This paper provides a comparison between television and internet addiction among users.
A comparison of Television and Internet Addiction
The television can teach, entertain or amuse. It can also provide the much-needed distraction and escape route from the realities of life, but the problem arises when the viewers find it hard to stop or reduce their viewing. One could argue that if someone can become addicted to watching television, then people can be addicted to anything. In essence, this aspect can be true in some perspective. This is because any obsessive practice that induces negative repercussions could be labelled rightly as an addiction. For psychological professionals, addiction with regard to watching television is known to exist as a form of behavioural addiction that is comparable to gambling. A convention by the American Psychological Association defined television addiction as heavy television viewing instinctively observed as being to some level involuntary, showing many productive activities, which are hard to curb
Internet addiction on the other hand is taking excessive time in online “surfing” or “browsing”. Obsessive Internet use can be a waste of precious time that could be used productively in doing or performing essential chores. In today’s perspective, it is not strange finding people obsessed with facebook, twitter, YouTube MySpace, and so on. The time spent on such sites can affect normal life operations, work and relationships. People who are accustomed to the internet may feel quite comfortable and free with their online “friends” than with their real friends. Additionally, some may be obsessed with computer games, gambling or obsessive browsing regardless of the negative ramifications that these activities pose on their life aspects. If one is using the internet excessively, this may just be a sign of internet addiction.
The addictive nature of the...