The Internet:

The Web of Society

Professor: James Lewis

Name: Bhargav Mohanty
ID: 0341103
 In this paper I will be analyzing the effects of internet addiction to a person’s social life

and activities. In recent years since the explosion of the internet across the globe, the number of

reports of people getting addicted to the World Wide Web has increased exponentially. This

paper is an overview of some recent research and findings done in the field of internet addiction

psychology to try to find some possible correlation, to determine if internet addiction has adverse

effects, and factors leading to the state of social isolation.

The number of users who were online in 1998 was 150 million individuals. Less than a

decade ago that number was less than a hundred thousand.

There are many reasons as to why the world of the internet might seem more attractive

than the real world. When people suffer failures or encounter challenges in social life, they turn

to the internet because here it is much easier to connect with people who may be complete

strangers. The internet is not necessarily a cold, harsh place. In fact, depending on fortune it

might lead to some warm and comforting feelings. And these facilities are available to one at a

delay of just few clicks on one’s computer. The ease of access and the relatively short connection

time makes it easy to break away and make new connections on the web rather than spend actual

quality time in the real world building relations or conducting social activities. The fact the one

can talk to other people, play games, gamble or even have cyber-sex online without the person

leaving his chair makes the internet a very powerful and attractive medium of communication.

The physical looks or personality of the person is of no consequence to the people who are

online. Maybe this is another reason why people who consider themselves unattractive or shy

prefer the indirect contact of the internet.

 An example of this would be a child who is shy and is afraid of making new friends or

meeting new people tends to prefer to stay alone or isolated. This behavior of his is reinforced

because as long as he decides to stay isolated, he is not facing any of the problems posed by his

fear of meeting new people or strangers. Therefore he continues to perform his behavior and

looks to other sources to satisfy his basic urges of society. The internet can offer him both

physical and emotional support. He starts feeling more comfortable talking to people on the

internet rather than make an effort to know new people in his real life. His reinforcement

continues and the thus, so does the vicious cycle of addiction.

Another particular attraction on the web that has gained popularity and notoriety very

quickly is the different forms of role playing games and activities. These games encompass

various aspects of a social life which include a place to hang out like a lounge where one can

discuss or joke with other players, an architecture to level up or achieve ‘achievements’ which

satisfies one’s innate tendency to learn and grow. These games also cater to the basic needs of a

person including eating, drinking, socializing and in some cases even limited pseudo-sexual

relationships. These games have come a long way and now provide the users with a

customizable, attractive graphical avatar. All these activities pertain to satisfy Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs. The need to belong can be satisfied by joining a particular group or faction

and doing missions with them in a fantasy-game world. Also, sometimes users play with people

who may be their friends from school, work or just acquaintances. Another influence which

comes into play in these games is the sense of power that a player wields when he/she is online

playing one of these games. This sense of control over one’s virtual surroundings or one’s

‘underlings’ which are basically other users, give the user a sense of superiority. These factors

stimulate the person in certain ways that make it seem like he/she does not need the society of
the real world. Status and respect are received in the virtual world in a different manner when

compared to the real world.

It has been found that people are much more willing to open up and be overly nice to

other people while online. This seems logical because there is no real physical aspect to this

phenomenon. This further reinforces, in the mind of the addicted, that he/she is being appreciated

more while in this form or avatar in the digital world. This does explain to a degree why people

develop such deep cravings for internet chats, emails and ‘facebooks’. However, it is when these

cravings turn to outright compulsions which in turn cause people to neglect their responsibilities

and duties in the real world that internet addiction becomes a real problem.

Research has shown that a person actually manifests chemically pleasure inducing

hormones when he/she is allowed to switch on the computer and visit his/her favorite sites.

People who are trying to avoid confrontation of some type or who are going through a difficult

stage in their personal lives may choose to select the internet rather than facing them head on or

consulting a friend, family member or otherwise close relative.

The two main broad types of pathological internet use (PUI) are specific (SPUI) and

general (GPUI). While the former is internet addiction based on a specific activity online, the

latter is a more generalized form of internet addiction which deals with a multi-dimensional use

of the internet. An example of SPUI would be someone who is addicted to chat rooms that focus

on sex-talk or just general pornography. In this case the reward for the behavior is immediate and

reinforcement is strong. An example of GPUI would be someone who turns to the internet for

company or for a sense of belonging or security. This usually happens when the user faces

neglect from his/her family or friends. The user starts to spend more and more time on the
internet. They keep an almost obsessive check on their emails and Facebook/Twitter status. They

feel an urge to comment on almost everything and want to be part of every conversation or topic.

Delay of homework, responsibilities, familial duties are all side effects of the user spending

increased amounts of time on the web. As time goes on and the procrastinated work piles on, the

pressure in the mind of the user increases and can lead to low self-esteem and depression.

Addiction leads to a decrease in the value of a person’s personality. A person who is

addicted to the internet doesn’t believe that he/she is being neglectful of his social life. The

effects of this neglect are first seen by people who are close to the victim. They could be parents,

friends, partners, etc.

Addiction does not happen overnight. Initially the person may just use the activity as a

pastime. However, as time goes on and as he continues to get reinforcement from the activity in

different forms, from self-enjoyment to appreciation from other people, he/she starts to devote

more time to the action, sometimes unconsciously. He starts to weigh his physical outside social

life with his digital life. He/she may choose to meet people online rather than go out with his/her

friends or colleagues. He starts to see the internet in a different, needy and more positive light

which rewards time spent online. One of the first adverse effects of internet addiction is seen in

the life of addicts who are students or are working. A decrease in the level of work efficiency is

one of the first signs of internet addiction. A lot of companies, especially IT firms, have to decide

whether the pros of allowing their employees internet access at their workplace outweighs the

possibilities of internet addiction.

As a person sinks deeper into spiral of addiction one starts to see withdrawal, anger,

depression and general mood swings in the addict’s social activities outside his online life. One
tends to mismanage his time, so as to get the most out of his time on the web. Poor grades,

argumentative nature and a tendency to lie are further possible symptoms of excess internet

usage and addiction. Other adverse effects include sleep pattern disturbances and deprivation, in

addition to lack of exercise, increased risk of back problems, due to the prolonged state of

hunching over the keyboard, and bad eyesight.

The problem of internet addiction is dependent to a large extent on the victim. It is the

victim who decides how much time he/she wants to spend on the internet. I believe it is useless

to blame the internet for the problem of increasing web addicts. At the end of the day, it is up to

the addict himself to decide whether he/she wants to change his internet habits. Of course, like

any type of addiction the initial consequences of this would be sudden, uncontrollable urges to

switch the computer on to go to your favorite websites. These signs of withdrawal are common

and normal in the process of rehabilitation of an internet dependent. Another method is to

gradually wean away from prolonged internet use. The user can have a sort of schedule or diary

where one keeps track of the amount of time one has been online. By using the schedule as a

reference one can slowly start to decrease the time spent on the internet. Maybe the user can limit

his internet activities to just in the morning for a few hours. He must keep himself away from the

internet apart from the mornings. The control of the urge to check the results or consequences of

your actions, which in this case could be emails, is a big step towards curbing your internet abuse

habits.

The very first step in going for an internet addiction disorder treatment is to admit to

oneself that he/she has an addiction problem. In this day and age, it is impossible to stay

completely away from the internet because in today’s world, every business has a virtual aspect

to it and the world audience is just as likely to look for information online as they are in books. If
the cause of the addiction can be pin pointed to real life depression, anti-depressant drugs or

counseling or both are probably the right steps towards curing your addiction and also solving

your real life problems. Also, due to the somewhat intermediate level awareness about internet

addiction, support groups have started sprouting up in a lot of places which provide therapy. This

could be individual or group therapy or family therapy. Other researchers suggest educating the

people would lead to a general decrease in the number of internet addicts while yet others

suggest the usage of actual drugs. The treatment centered community is divided mainly due to

the relative young age of the ailment.

Many people compare internet addictions to drug addictions and the people of the

internet like game makers/programmers to drug dealers. I don’t see how that is an appropriate

comparison. Game makers make games to provide a unique experience for the gamers and to

create a unique kind of passion and love for a particular game character maybe. I don’t see how

game makers are any different from movie makers. I believe games are a form of art as most

games convey a story which usually has a moral core just like movies. Games, like movies, even

go through a censor board to keep certain games away from the younger children. Drug dealer

sole purpose is to earn money by selling drugs that they know are detrimental to the health of

their customers.

In conclusion, I believe that while the internet has brought with itself a lot of unforeseen

negative effects on the society, the overall effect of the internet for mankind is positive.

Technology has brought us to this point and the internet is one of its greatest children. One can

now publish one’s idea via a blog for potentially everyone on the internet to see. The relative

novelty of virtual relationships and virtual activities makes it normal to an extent to see the great

increase in the number or people who spend their time online. . The internet is one of the biggest
sources of information in the world and is growing each day to make the lives of humans easier.

It is an extremely quick form of communication, a large source of entertainment and causes

minimal to non-existent levels of pollution to the ecology. For every evil that the internet has

spawned it has also created a positive entity. More than 45% of the communities online are

helpful and exist to solve problems or debate productively. These communities cover topics

ranging from studies, games, and politics to the environment, space, etc. I think it is wrong to

fault the internet for the number of addictions related to it. Many people have consented to using

the internet for recreational purposes and have been able to not it affect their personal social

lives. I think internet addiction is the fault of the user himself. If one wants to decrease addiction

it is up to the user to curb his cravings for the virtual world and control his urges to go online for

unproductive activities.
References:

1. R.A. Davis: A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use

2. J. Morahan-Martina and *,P. Schumacherb: Incidence and correlates of pathological

Internet use among college students

3. Wellman, B.  An Electronic Group is like a Social Network.

4. Jabs, C (1996 May). Fatal Distraction? Learning the Signs of Online Addiction

5. Peter M. Yellowlees & Shayna Marks: Problematic Internet use or Internet addiction?

6. Egger O. & Rauterberg, M:  Internet Behavior and Addiction.