Internet Addiction Disorder Among The Youth Aged 18 To 25

Name Instructor Course Date Internet Addiction Disorder among the Youth Aged 18 to 25 The Internet has grown to become one of the most important discoveries in the history of humans. It is hard to imagine the world now without the internet. For all its benefits such as being a useful resource hub, it has come with its fair share of problems such as security and health issues especially for the youth aged 18 to 25. The problems for the youth have been magnified by the growth in the number of social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkeIn that they can subscribe to. Today, it is very common to find a youth spending a whole day on the internet, chatting with people from different parts of the globe, some of them strangers. Internet addicted youth find it hard to be without the internet and they may “…use the Internet for extended periods, isolating themselves from other forms of social contact, and focus almost entirely on the Internet rather than broader life events” (Sato 279). This paper will examine the causes of internet addition disorder. The youth today find it hard to separate themselves from the internet. Almost every aspect of their lives is dominated by the internet. When they want to do their assignments, they obtain the information they need from the internet and sometimes submit these assignments via the same medium. If they want to read news, they find it easy to obtain the information they need on the internet. If they want to communicate with others, they can do so in a more interesting manner via the internet especially through video calls such as Skype. In the end, the internet has dominated in almost everything they do. For most people who cannot control how they use the internet, they have become addicted in what has come to be known as internet addiction disorder. Internet addiction disorder is therefore defined as the “…excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges, or behaviors regarding Internet use that lead to impairment or distress (Weinstein et al. 99). Specifically, “…the Internet appears to have almost completely replaced other forms of pastime, such as interactive playing outdoors, in the neighborhood or/and at home” (Ayudin et al. 119). The youth have become accustomed to living virtual lives together with their real ones. Depression is one of the major causes of internet addiction among the youth. Consequently, depressed youths believe that being online all the time is the escape mechanism that they need. The internet offers them a platform where they can easily get lost while remaining faceless. On most occasions, being online offers them the much needed relief and fills them with a sense of excitement that they would want to relieve all the time. To relieve their depression, they opt to get online and play games. When they become addicted, they can do nothing but to “…get immersed within virtual worlds and gradually neglect their studies” (Jiang 16). The internet serves as an escapee mechanism for many youths in many spheres of life, youths dealing with problems at home and in their relationship lives turn to the internet for solace and comfort. In the end, they can never have enough of the internet and they “….often lose track of time spent online and have difficulties themselves in controlling their amount of use…” (Leung& Paul 130). Psychological challenges play a great role in internet addiction. Those with psychological problems experience mood changes when they are online and when offline. As a result, they would be highly “….active and motivated when they are online but their excitement stops immediately they go offline” (Ko et al. 2). The more they are online, the better they feel. To make the feeling last, they decide to be online as much as they can. What the youth do not know is that “…the more addicted the students are to the Internet the more they develop psychological distress and depression” (Uddin et al. 1133). In the end, overusing the internet only serves to fuel the depression rather than reduce it The isolations in the lives of the youths also contribute a lot to their addiction to the internet. It is common to find youths now with many online friends than they have in real life. And they feel more connected with these online friends than they are with their real life friends. The youths now have more emotional attachments with their online dates and pals. Gone are the days when the youth would approach ladies physically and begin courting them. Youths view online relationships as less risky. Online friends help the internet addicts to have contacts that they normally lack in real life. When they are online, the addicts create personas for themselves that replicate what they hope to be in real life. The youth normally create online profiles that do not correspond to their real personalities. They are normally oblivious to the dangers that fake profiles pose to them. And yet the addicts feel that the internet can relieve them from “…emotional problems, including depression and anxiety associated disorders and frequently use the fabulous world of the Internet to psychologically escape unpleasant feelings or stressful situations” (Uddin et al. 1127). The youth that are unable to find happiness in their lives also tend to overuse the internet leading to addiction. Within the internet, they have a fantasy that they would always want to relieve. When the addicted youth cannot access the internet, they become depressed and anxious. They cannot keep their schedules and do anything meaningful with their lives. They would rather spend their time playing online games and chatting while not doing anything meaningful with their time. The most serious consequence of internet addiction is the health effects that it has on youth. Normally, the addicts are oblivious of the health effects that might include: “…Salience (both cognitive and behavioural), Loss of Control, Withdrawal and Relapse and Reinstatement” (Abdulahi, Behrang & Behrooz 155). To them, they are members of the larger online community and that is what they identify with. They feel affiliated to those online friends to the extent that they would always try to remain online for hours to keep the contacts for as long as they can. While it is apparent that this has affected their lives, they never admit ...