Since 2001, the number of internet users has shot up by 1000%. The internet certainly offers a lot of potentially addictive activities: shopping, gambling, chat discussions, online relationships, gaming, information-seeking, and pornography viewing. Most people know what it’s like to get drawn into spending more time online than they had planned, but for some people, it becomes a consuming addiction.
Internet addiction intersects with many other process addictions, including internet gaming disorder, online gambling addiction, and online pornography addiction. Overall, the concept is that someone cannot control their use of the internet despite negative consequences. Some people even experience serious withdrawal symptoms when they are away from the internet.
Related Topic: Pornography and depression
Statistics on Internet Usage
Worldwide, the average person spends about 6 hours a day using the internet.
A Pew Research study showed that internet usage is a daily activity for most American adults:
- 77% of American adults go online every day
- 43% go online several times a day
- 26% are online almost constantly
- 8% go online once a day
- 11% go online a few times a week
- 11% don’t use the Internet at all
Children between the ages of 8 and 10 spend an average of 8 hours a day using various kinds of electronic media, with the internet increasingly dominating that time. Children ages 10–18 spend an average of more than 11 hours per day using electronic media. The effect of all this screen time on the developing brain is currently a topic of intense research.
How People Spend Time On the Internet
Social media is the dominant internet activity, and it’s growing fast. Worldwide, there are more than 11 new social media users per second, with the annual growth of the number of users as high as 90%. A recent Canadian survey showed that 86% of school-aged kids in Ontario use social media daily, with about 16% of them spending more than 5 hours a day on social media sites.
Effects of Internet Addiction on Relationships
Internet addiction can have a significant impact on people’s social relationships. People who spend excessive time online often develop virtual relationships through chat rooms, social networking, and instant gratification, which may foster dysfunctional social habits.
https://www.creativehealthyfamily.com/the-reason-why-steve-jobs-didnt-let-kids-use-ipads/
Texting Has The Same Effect As An Orgasm, That's Why You're Addicted
https://www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/receiving-text-message-like-orgasm/845037
Texting is the Brains Latest Drug on the Streets
According to psychiatrist, Dr. Gary Small’s Nero-imaging study, texting and heroin stimulate the brain in the same primitive part of the brain called the dopamine system. So let me get this straight… are SCIENTISTS saying texting is as addictive as heroin?! One student even agreed by saying “I think that it’s just like a drug, once you get hooked on to it, you can’t let go. It’s like whenever I open my eyes the first thing I look at is my phone.” Some signs that you may have a texting addiction include: “losing track of time because of excessive texting https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/18/texting-is-the-brains-latest-drug-on-the-streets/
Internet Use and Obesity
The most frequent internet users had 47% greater odds of being overweight or obese when compared to the most infrequent internet users https://nutrition.org/internet-use-and-obesity/
Physical Symptoms of Internet Addiction Disorder
- Poor personal hygiene (e.g., not bathing to stay online) (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Poor nutrition (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Neck pain (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Dry eyes and other vision problems (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Weight gain or loss (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Insomnia (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Headaches (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Backache (Psycom.net, 2019)
Mental or Behavioral Symptoms of Internet Addiction Disorder
- Feelings of euphoria when using the internet (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Boredom with routine tasks (Psycom.net, 2019)
- No sense of time (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Inability to prioritize or keep schedules (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Mood swings (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Fear (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Loneliness (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Depression (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Feelings of guilt (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Dishonesty (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Anxiety (Gregory, C., 2019)
- Isolation (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Agitation (Psycom.net, 2019)
- Procrastination (Gregory, C., 2019)
https://financesonline.com/
Is Facebook Bad for You? It Is for About 360 Million Users, Company Surveys Suggest
The app hurts sleep, work, relationships or parenting for about 12.5% of users, who reported they felt Facebook was more of a problem than other social media
When the Pandemic First Hit—
Now, They’re Even Worse
- The fertility rate in the United States has been in decline since 2008, while cases of (previously unheard of) young adult erectile dysfunction as a result of excessive online pornography viewing are on the rise.9
- Recent studies suggest that only 56 percent of high-school seniors in 2015 went out on dates; for Boomers and Gen Xers, the number was roughly 85 percent. This is lower than the percentage of eighth-grade students who went out socially in 2009. This decline mimics the well-documented declines in sexual activity, leaving of parents’ homes, and obtainment of drivers’ licenses.10
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2018/september/technology-new-addiction
THE UNSETTLING PSYCHOLOGY OF AN AMAZON PRIME ADDICTION
“As with other addictive behaviors, the common theme behind the shopping ‘symptom’ is a manifestation of avoiding negative emotions,” Duke told me via email. “And similarly to other behaviors that are qualitatively described as ‘vices,’ they are also intended to fill an emotional or spiritual void or experience of emptiness in one’s life.”
https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/amazon-prime-addiction
Metaverse will be addictive and rob people of more personal data
Internet addiction disorder
negatively alters the
physical structure of the
brain.
Internet gaming or other behaviors increases the frequency of dopamine release, much like taking drugs or engaging in other addictive activities. However, it leads to the lower dopamine transporter and dopamine D2 receptor occupancy, which shows an insufficient sensitivity in dopamine reward mechanisms.
In other words, it takes much more dopamine to feel good in an internet-addicted brain in comparison to a normal brain. Addictions such as the internet or gaming, also impair executive neuronal circuitry, which helps us achieve goals and sustain motivation. So, IAD disrupts the parts of the brain associated with rewards, goals, and decision-making..
Unravelling the truth behind conspiracy theories
Is ‘pornified’ culture preventing military efforts to combat sex crimes?
Thanks to the ever-expanding archive of internet pornography, erotica is available anytime and anywhere.
But is our “pornified” culture impeding the military’s efforts to combat sexual harassment and assault, while stymying the goal of becoming a truly inclusive force for all? Porn has already been found to have impacts on a viewers’ personal relationships, and research increasingly focuses on how porn use impacts organizations and businesses.
