Introduction
Looks like you're reading some text from the screen again? Perhaps this is not the first page today, not the first in the last week, and certainly not the first in all time. The Internet has become a mandatory condition of existence in human life .
Everything would be fine, but the virtual world, neglecting the powers of a trusted post, begins to cross the line and give rise to computer addiction. Content
- Internet in human life
- What is computer addiction
- Why computer addiction is dangerous Lack of control Network clutter
- Information overload Example with news
- Brain is busy
- Zero observation
- Loss of identity
- Static Search for ready-made solutions
- Fear of problems
- The insignificance of virtual actions
- Wasteful use of time
- Health effects
- Virtual communication What are we missing?
- Neglect of people
- Loss of communication skills
- Disunity
The rumors in this reading will be about how popular the Internet has become, what being tightly wrapped in modern networks entails, and how virtual communication affects us.
Treatment methods
Computer addiction can be cured. A person must himself realize that he is addicted and needs urgent treatment, otherwise it will be difficult to overcome computer addiction, and the situation will only worsen. Psychotherapists and psychologists play the main role in treatment.
Preparing for treatment
A strong passion for computer games and the Internet is noticed by those people who live with the patient; relatives need to start fighting addiction.
They give the patient ultimatums and prohibit him from approaching the computer, but this behavior is wrong, it is necessary to turn to professionals. Advice from a psychologist will help determine the direction of treatment. You should not take a patient for a consultation for the first time.
Treatment on a psychological level
To cure addiction, you need to find the cause of its occurrence. At the first session, the specialist conducts diagnostics: asks questions, talks, and conducts tests. After this, you can determine the direction of psychological correction: improve the relationship between relatives, friends, colleagues, increase self-esteem and teach you how to cope with life’s problems.
At a psychologist's appointment
The psychologist must interest the addict so that he returns to the real world. You can find a hobby, start playing sports, drawing, dancing or music. At the initial stage of treatment, sessions take place simultaneously with relatives. They will help you tune into the home atmosphere. If the psychologist could not help, it is necessary to use hypnosis.
Drug treatment
The medicine will help cure physiological problems that arise due to craving for the computer. The following medications should be used:
- antidepressants if the patient is aggressive;
- sedatives to relieve nervousness and irritability;
- vitamin and mineral complexes to normalize proper nutrition;
- symptomatic medications to improve vision, heal the stomach and intestines, and normalize heart function.
The bad habit of computer addiction cannot be treated only with medications.
Internet in human life
A minute of statistical information:
- 4 billion people have access to the Internet.
- 5 billion have a mobile phone.
- 3.5 billion users are registered on social networks.
- Every day the Internet audience increases by 1 million users.
- 6.5 hours a day is the average time spent online for a person from the CIS.
We have to admit, in our quest to be online, we got a little carried away . For example, you can ride in public transport, looking at people, half of them will not meet your gaze due to their involvement in their display. You can walk into a restaurant and see friends sitting opposite each other, lighting up their faces with their devices. You can also walk through the park and notice how the owners walk their dogs, not forgetting to systematically discharge the smartphone battery. There, on the benches, someone will enjoy nature while watching the news of friends on the social network.
Wherever we go, our phones are always with us . They also have relatives: PCs, laptops, tablets, TV. Recently, this family has become more and more numerous, because people now access the Internet from a player or a wristwatch, and even the clothes of the military can do this.
Is this addiction dangerous?
Computer addiction in its development mechanisms is identical to gambling addiction. People who have experienced this type of addiction know how insidious and harmful this addiction is. And if access to psychoactive substances is strictly limited, then it is almost impossible to isolate a person from this device.
Probably, only on a desert island, where there is no electricity or internet, will an addicted person be able to rest and recover. In the modern world, where new “tricks” are constantly being developed to attract people and increase the duration of their stay on various sites, it is impossible to abandon the Internet on your own. In addition, the online world is for the most part much brighter and more interesting than the reality around us.
What is computer addiction
Every cooperation has its price. No matter how much a person boasts of modern achievements, he often turns out to be unable to cope with them. One of these manifestations is the obsessive desire to live in the embrace of some device, simultaneously devoting free time to it.
According to the Internet, addiction to computer technology is observed in 50–90 percent of people (the range is given by different assessment criteria and forms of addiction). This means that at least half of people are not fully able to control their interaction with the virtual world.
Maybe not everything is so cloudy? Everyone experiences oxygen dependence, for example, but this does not create any special problems for us. Let's look at the impact the Internet can have in a person's life, given such generous attention.
Need for game
At the second stage of addiction development, a person develops a new need - the need to play . Its basis lies deep in the soul and depends on the individual psychological characteristics of the individual. A person begins to strive for a game in order to escape from some problems in real life by taking on a different role.
At this stage, a person begins to play computer games systematically. If a computer is unavailable, negative emotions arise of such strength that they sometimes prompt a person to take quite active actions to eliminate the obstacles that have arisen. According to existing data, about 10–14% of players become addicted to computer games .
Why is computer addiction dangerous?
Lack of control
People are always unhappy when something limits them. We don't like bosses for their orders and dominant position. We hate stupid laws that for some reason diminish our rights.
Here the virtual world affectionately offers a person freedom of self-expression , because people’s activities on the Internet are practically uncontrolled. Where does this all lead? We stopped thinking about our actions. How much anger, hatred and other negativity people leave online.
Network clutter
On paper, the Internet looked like an ideal source of information, but here, too, the lack of outside control took its toll. A person today generates an insane amount of publicly available content that no one but himself simply needs.
So many meaningless websites, spam, advertising, photos and thoughts that serve no purpose at all. Because of this, the Internet ceases to be useful, because it becomes increasingly difficult to find what you need among the trash .
Information overload
Some more statistics: there are currently about 1.2 billion sites on the Internet, and the total amount of information on the Internet doubles every two years. Along with this, the uncontrollable curiosity of a person is the worst combination.
Our brain daily processes gigantic amounts of information from news, videos, podcasts, pictures and other information delights of the Internet. As a result, the mind becomes filled with useless information .
News example
News makes up a significant portion of a person’s intellectual diet online. But about them, we cannot even be sure of the reliability of the data, because news is written by people based on what they saw or from the words of other people. And the state can make its own adjustments to the text, because it’s so convenient to control the consciousness of citizens who swallow dozens of news a day.
From here we already see several route points, passing through which information can be distorted beyond recognition. Question: how reasonable is it to pay such attention to the news , and what does it actually give?
Brain is busy
Our boundless love for data, coupled with computer addiction, affects the brain's ability to be a useful tool. To perceive, process and store information, some resources are needed. Now they spend their time absorbing what we find in large quantities on the Internet.
Any sensible thought needs space , but if our brain is constantly busy, there is no room left in it to generate ideas necessary for life. Because of this, we do not know how to qualitatively analyze emerging situations in order to make decisions; accordingly, we do not know how to solve problems, in which direction to move forward.
Zero observation
Why is information on the Internet in demand? Here we strive to follow what is happening in the world, keep up with it, and not be left behind. The intention is laudable, but implementing it by reading news on the Internet for the reasons described above is very strange.
From the pages of websites we can know about the political relations of countries, but at the same time we have no idea what the birds that sing outside our window look like. It is physically impossible to observe the world by looking at a smartphone screen . We prefer someone's words to our own eyes - this has nothing to do with observation.
Loss of identity
There are millions of stories, opinions, thoughts and other vital information on the Internet. Analyzing all this, a person takes a piece from one place, a piece from another source, and so piece by piece he collects his vision of the world. True, in this process he loses such an expensive thing as his own opinion. Personality is a person’s key weapon, we talked about this in the article about the problem of growing up.
The Internet in people's lives acts as a teacher of moral theft. They copy everything they can from each other, instead of observing and creating their own. We strive to be similar and have begun to fear our own uniqueness, although our greatness lies in it .
Static
Search for ready-made solutions
Taking advantage of the fact that the Internet is the largest knowledge base on the planet, we like to look for ready-made solutions there. For example, ready-made solutions to our problems that we are no longer able to generate ourselves.
Search queries highlight this concept very well. Now among them you can find many such: “How to hammer a nail correctly”, “How to communicate with people”, “How to be yourself”, “What to do if you are bored”, “How to start taking action”. Even 20 years ago, all these questions would have caused bewilderment in the interlocutor: “Why are you asking, just try and you will understand everything.”
All this speaks of our intention to ride the sled without lifting it up the hill, but this does not happen. Now we are trying to get information, ignoring the most accurate and reliable tool for obtaining it - experience . All people are different, they have their own way of thinking, a set of personal qualities, capabilities and are in different conditions. Therefore, the experience of one person described on the Internet is not always applicable to another.
Fear of problems
Computer addiction has made activities an uncomfortable state of being for a person . We don’t like to move, this is confirmed by the services and services appearing on the Internet. Now you can order anything without leaving your home: food, massage, you can even build yourself another house in another place, without crossing the threshold of your apartment.
As a result, we have difficulty solving problems. Firstly, we cannot understand what to do with them, and secondly, acting without specific instructions is somehow scary. So, after all, you can accidentally make a mistake, and suffer failure - the omnipotent gentleman on the Internet clearly will not sign up for this.
No action, no experience, no development, this is a conversation about why people are lazy, and what it costs them.
The insignificance of virtual actions
Someone here may object that in the virtual world a person also acts a lot. Truly, you can do almost everything online, it’s just a pity that the electronic world is a world without consequences , and virtual actions are just a parody of real actions.
Of all the pivotal events in your life, did any of them happen on the Internet? What does another comment left, a new photo uploaded, or another video watched actually change?
Wasteful use of time
We all love to talk about the lack of time, money or effort we need to live well, but at the same time we continue to spend our time online. 6.5 hours a day is 1/3 of your waking hours that could potentially be wasted. Therefore, the Internet steals from a person’s life not only his personality, but also time.
Health effects
Another “bonus” of computer addiction is the low physical activity of people, which does not have a very positive effect on health. It is difficult to be on the move while being involved in your phone or computer.
How long has it been since you saw a person with a straight back? How often do you meet people with glasses? Movement is a way to maintain body tone . A person’s activity directly affects his hormonal levels, which can determine our mood or behavior of internal organs and body systems.
In general, it is not so easy to love the world, feeling imperfect and carrying around some extra ten kilograms of weight with you. A healthy person enjoys more often, but staying healthy with the temptations of the twenty-first century is not easy.
virtual communication
Computer addiction, expressed by constantly being in front of a screen, has led to the fact that it has become easier to find people online. Therefore, the Internet is a common means of communication in human life.
What are we missing?
We have facial expressions, body language, aura, mood, intonation, tactile sensations - how many different tools nature has given to man so that he can easily and most fully share his thoughts with other people.
Can a parenthesis replace a smile? Can human energy be transmitted through wires? Is it possible to send intonation and gestures via text message? So what do we ultimately exchange, and can this be called communication?
By sending a message, we give the interlocutor less than we could , forcing him to do the same in response, although the essence of human relationships is the opposite .
By making a choice in favor of virtual communication, we personally deprived ourselves of a powerful arsenal of tools. People began to understand each other worse , because the output from the other person is only a faceless text that can be perceived as you please, completely ignoring the thought put in by the author.
Virtual communication also means even closer involvement on the Internet, because now it is also a way to spend time together.
Neglect of people
The availability of communication through a couple of clicks at any time of the day has begun to affect personal meetings. Not only have they become rare, but their quality has suffered. We have learned to ignore our neighbor's attention by being glued to the phone during real communication. And this despite the fact that other people are one of the aspects of the meaning of life.
When you can constantly be in touch with a person, it teaches you to value his attention less. It is difficult to value something if you always have it in abundance - a simple principle of human values. Therefore, during a personal conversation, we calmly hang out on our smartphones, barely exchanging meaningful dialogues. It doesn’t matter - after all, then what was left unsaid can be sent by message, and everything will seem to be in order.
Loss of communication skills
In virtual communication you don’t need to intonate; you can think as much as you like when writing text. Well, in case of inattention, you can simply return to the previous message and read it again. This method of communication is primitive, but more widespread, so a person automatically adapts to it, losing a number of abilities.
Unfortunately, because of this, we lost live communication. People now speak monotonously, while weakly expressing their own emotions. Speech is usually full of filler words and awkward pauses in attempts to find the right phrases. The ability to listen to the interlocutor also suffered.
You need to go somewhere, look good, smell good and remember to watch your words, because in a personal conversation they are not a sparrow. And you will also have to give up the benefits of the virtual world during this time. In short, real communication has become too difficult for us .
Disunity
Here’s a funny paradox: the Internet was designed to unite people from different parts of the Earth, but instead it divides even those sitting at the same table . The last stop on our exciting excursion is solitude.
Remote communication has allowed a person to distance himself from society. And society in the traditional view ceases to exist, because everyone is on his own.
Personal conversation, due to the lack of sufficient practice, has become stressful; for this we are already too tense and reluctant to make contact. So the main way of receiving and giving attention was lost, and virtual communication in this quality does not shine at all, which confirms the feeling of isolation and absence of other people on the planet.
The Internet, it doesn’t bring people closer together. This is a cluster of loneliness. We seem to be together, but each one is alone. The illusion of communication, the illusion of friendship, the illusion of life.
Janusz Leon Wisniewski
Logically, this state of affairs should, on the contrary, bring people closer together again and convince them to interact with each other more often. But while the Internet is at hand, we continue to trust it to solve the problem of loneliness, so we immediately start watching some funny movie, playing games and continuing to feed our computer addiction .
Criteria for computer addiction
The famous American psychiatrist Kimberly Young identifies four leading signs of computer addiction:
- obsessive anticipation of the opportunity to be online again;
- an irresistible urge to check email;
- complaints from family and friends that a person spends too much time at the computer;
- complaints from family members or friends that the person is spending too much money on computer activities.
In general, these symptoms can be observed in many addicted people. But every rule can have its exceptions. More and more people nowadays “work on the Internet” - they create websites, write articles for them, develop software, and work on website design. So it seems to uninitiated people (mostly parents or grandparents) that the guy (girl) spends a lot of time at the computer, doesn’t do anything meaningful, but in fact this is the job of this person.
Using the same example, one can criticize the fourth sign identified by Kimberly Young - high costs for computer activities. To create a successful Internet project, you must first invest a considerable amount of money, and success, as in any business, does not come immediately, and not always. Only if a person invests a large sum in a business in real life and goes broke, will those around him throw up their hands and say “c’est la vie” (such is life). If a similar amount is invested in an Internet business, then there will be much fewer people who will approve of such an undertaking, and many will say that this person suffers from computer addiction and is wasting money.
Stages of correction of computer-dependent behavior
It is unlikely that it will be possible to correct computer addiction in a couple of sessions. A step-by-step system is needed here. Let me give you a rough outline of how this happens in psychotherapy, and then describe what you can do on your own.
- At the first stage, it is necessary to overcome the person’s objection to his addiction. He is not yet ready for change, and may not understand the existence of the problem. Therefore, it is necessary to provide information to think about the benefits and harms of the computer, the presence of computer addiction as such, and the fact that this disease is not a death sentence, but can be successfully treated.
- The goal of the second stage is awareness of the problem. As a rule, people who finally realize that they have a computer addiction feel depressed. Therefore, here it is necessary not only for a person to understand that he is a computer addict, but also to believe that this can be overcome and that he has support.
- The third stage is the actual treatment of computer addiction, changing behavior and overcoming addiction, as well as the negative emotional reactions that arise from this. Taking and simply taking the computer out of the room is not an option; it is necessary that the person himself learns to control the time he works at the computer.
- The fourth stage is the correction of family and social relationships. They switch to it when a person can already control his behavior. But the risk of a breakdown still exists, in order to avoid it, it is necessary to improve relationships in the family, to fill the free time from the computer with something - for example, communicating with friends, some kind of hobby, visiting a class.
- The last stage is overcoming the consequences. The problem of computer addiction as such may disappear, but its consequences, what it led to, may remain. These could be problems in the professional sphere, difficulties in communicating with relatives, and problems in studies. All this also needs to be corrected. And the help of a psychotherapist will not be superfluous here.
What can I recommend for adults?
Prevention of computer addiction in an adult is practically no different from that in a teenager or child. In order to press the brakes in time and prevent the computer from taking over the person, it is necessary to switch his attention to something else.
Remember what hobbies this person has? Hunting, fishing, going to the gym, collecting collectible car models or ship models (for men). Or visiting the theater, fitness club, shopping, cafes (for women). Invite the person to devote the weekend to their favorite activity. Perhaps he will get carried away, get excited and switch.
There is probably no person who does not like to travel. You don't have to fly to Paris or Thailand. You can find a good place to relax in your region. Houses on the banks of a river (lake), an old castle, a museum, a botanical garden or a park, after all, you can also have barbecue at your dacha (in the village).
Another good way to distract yourself is to meet with friends or relatives with whom you enjoy talking and spending time. Invite them to come visit you or go somewhere together.
Cutting off the development of harmful addiction in a timely manner is a feasible task. The main thing is your support,
Simple test
Positive answers to 5 or more questions indicate the presence of computer addiction:
- Does your mood change if you are outside the virtual world?
- Are you finding pleasure, relief, or anxiety while using the computer, are you increasing the length of your computer sessions, and are your expenses on computer activities increasing?
- Are you purchasing new computer software or hardware?
- Do you have obsessive thoughts about the computer or the Internet, when you want to drop everything and immerse yourself in the virtual world?
- Do you often fail in your attempts to control your computer time?
- Do you experience anxiety, anger or depressive symptoms when away from the computer (Internet)?
- Do you use your computer as a way to escape from current problems?
- Do you feel out of control or overwhelmed outside the virtual world?
- Do you often lie about the amount of time you spend on the computer?
- Do you often lie about what you do while on the computer?
- Are you neglecting your immediate responsibilities due to computer use?
- Are you experiencing financial difficulties due to computer or Internet abuse?
- Are your relationships with others in the real world disrupted by computer activities?
- Have you encountered problems in school or at work as a result of computer activity?
- Do you experience health problems due to prolonged use of the computer?
