The Internet appeared in 1982. At first, it was perceived by users as a repository of valuable information. And today, many people can no longer imagine their lives without him. It replaces almost all spheres of human life. Need to buy something? Please online store. Chat or meet? Skype and social networks. Work? Freelance. To relax? A sea of ​​diverse information and games. Library? The grand selection of electronic literature. Gradually, virtual life displaces the real. No need to exert much effort. There is absolutely no need to even leave home. And along with diseases such as drug addiction, smoking and alcoholism, a new one has emerged - Internet addiction.
Reason for occurrence
Basically, this ailment affects people who find it difficult to realize themselves in real life. Perhaps due to over-complexes, dissatisfaction with oneself and fear of the real world. On the Internet, such people can feel bolder and more relaxed, because they are not visible to users on the other side of the screen. And if something goes wrong, you can start all over again. Most often in real life such people suffer from loneliness.
Internet addiction in children
Many parents do not attach much importance to the fact that their child spends a lot of time at the computer monitor, tablet or phone. Toddlers who have not yet reached school age are bought expensive gadgets. And small children, instead of outdoor games, fun, reading, tricks and talking with peers, watch the screen fascinated for hours. What interests a child in a tablet or any other gadget? Games! Yes, he, renouncing a real game that would develop it physically and mentally, giving communication and coexistence skills with other children, enthusiastically goes through level after level in a virtual game.
The fact that games on the Internet develop a child is a myth. Interaction with other people will give him much more for development. Books will also help the baby develop: various encyclopedias, instructive tales, funny stories about peers. Books contribute to the development of imagination and imagination, enrich the vocabulary, give new knowledge. But modern children refuse to read. Why do they need books? After all, the Internet is a more interesting pastime. You don’t have to strain, you think too. As a result, society is degrading.
Fault of parents
So why do parents buy gadgets for their little baby? After all, he does not need them at all. Why doom your child to Internet addiction? The answer is simple: parents do not have time. They are busy with themselves, their adult problems. Adults get tired at work, they do not have enough strength to somehow entertain their child. Moms and dads are easier to give the baby a tablet and turn on the game on it. Result: the child does not indulge, does not make noise, does not act up, does not distract.
Of course, not all parents do this. Those who understand that the child must develop, that he needs the attention of his parents, that you cannot trust the child's education on the Internet, will not brush aside the questions of the baby and send to the computer. And with pleasure they will play with the baby, read to him.
It is important for parents to remember that the child really needs them. Awareness of this will help to avoid a lot of adolescent troubles, misunderstanding of the youthful period.
Teens
School children’s Internet addiction is becoming an increasingly global issue. Monitors are getting more and more teenagers. The adolescent period is the most difficult in the development of man. The teenager is frantically looking for the answer to the question: who is he? It seems to him that he does not understand, that he is not like everyone else. The psyche of a teenager is very unstable. And against the background of psychological imbalance, there is a real riot of hormones. If a teenager does not have careful parents and good friends, and, of course, there is a need for communication, then he seeks understanding on the Internet.
Internet addiction in adolescents is a global problem. Having gone in search of means of self-expression, they are finally entangled in the World Wide Web. No one understands the teenager - he begins to blog. It seems to him that he is a "white crow" - he gets acquainted in social networks with people like him. The teenager is shy and cannot prove to be a leader - he plays games all day, in which he feels significant and self-confident. Internet addiction in adolescents takes on a morbid form.
Youth and adults
It would seem that people who have crossed the age of majority are already well-established personalities who have many different hobbies, work, specialized studies, romantic relationships. What can attract them online? Same as kids and teens! But online stores are being added to games and social networks.
It is very sad when an adult and, it would seem, a conscious person is fenced off from reality by a computer, not noticing anything around.
Computer games
Mostly, Internet addiction in people arises from excessive enthusiasm for games on the Internet. Playing computer games, a person is in an alternate reality. He has a different life there, a different sphere of interests. And, most importantly, he has like-minded people there - a team.
The life of a modern person is quite monotonous and predictable. Not enough strong emotions, adrenaline. Some people solve this problem by doing extreme sports or traveling. But more and more people prefer virtual to real extreme. Guys 12-18 are especially dependent on games on the Internet.
The most popular war games with violence. Bloody battles unfold in them, many of which have the maximum realism of what is happening. They develop nothing but cruelty in a child. In addition, they negatively affect the psyche and nervous system of children. It’s categorically impossible to allow a child to play such games or to allow an adult to watch them play! Parents of children and adolescents need to be careful and watch what games their child plays for hours. Are the notorious shooting games worth it to make the child nervous, cruel and unbalanced?
Social networks
What an exact word - "network"! They got a huge number of people. The age of fans of social networks is unlimited. In addition to adolescents, youth and adults, pensioners also fell into the “network”. Communication on social networks, many prefer real communication.
Initially, social networks were created so that people could communicate with their loved ones who are far away, to restore ties with former classmates. And now? The vast majority of “friends” are completely strangers. For what? For quantity! For others to see that this person is successful, sociable and popular, although this is not at all.
People, creating accounts on social networks, strive to show their life more vibrant and interesting than they actually are. Hence the passion for selfies. By posting their photographs on the Internet, people carefully process them to look better than they actually are. Therefore, having met on the Internet, and after meeting in reality, people are disappointed in each other, because in photographs they are much more attractive.
Many are attracted to social networks due to the fact that they can create a new image for themselves, live a different life, more interesting and vibrant. There, in virtual reality, you can seem more beautiful, smarter and more successful.
Excessive and erratic communication on social networks usually leads to Internet addiction of youth. This is skillfully used by a variety of scammers, trying to influence teenagers and youth.
Traveling aimlessly through the pages of other acquaintances and strangers, people lose a huge amount of time that they could usefully spend on live communication or self-development.
Online stores
You can be dependent on real shopping, but dependence on online shopping is a slightly different phenomenon.
Advertising online stores comes across on the Internet quite often. Stores offer goods at fabulously low prices. Comparing prices in ordinary stores and in online stores, a person makes a choice in favor of the latter. Internet shops attract buyers with countless discounts and sales. The tricks of online sellers work out: people are happy to massively buy the goods.
Of course, a serious drawback of online stores is that the buyer is not able to evaluate the thing differently from this photo, which is often subjected to photoshop. But this fact stops a few.
On the one hand, there is nothing wrong with buying goods on the Internet without overpaying. While the purchase of goods is controlled by reason. But, captivated by tempting discounts, people begin to buy everything in a row, acquiring even those things that they definitely will not need. Hour after hour, not departing from the monitor and acquiring unnecessary things is already an addiction.
To get rid of it, you should visit the sites of online stores only when necessary.
Signs of addiction
To recognize Internet addiction, you need to pay attention to human behavior. If he spends every free minute at the computer, and on weekends it is almost impossible to distract him from the luminous screen, then it's time to sound the alarm.
If a person, being at work or on the road, dreams only of how he sits to the computer, then he is already dependent on him.
If during a disconnection of the Internet a person is nervous and does not show interest in anything, then he needs the help of relatives and specialists.
How to help
To help a loved one, you first need to pay more attention to him and not leave him alone with the gadget. You should show him the charm of the real world by organizing a trip, even a small one. It would be a good idea to introduce him to the sport.
A person who is addicted to the Internet needs to be more in places where there is no Internet. Walking, real meetings with friends, going to the cinema, theater or museum will help to distract from the addiction.
Prevention
Since adolescents are more likely to be addicted to Internet addiction, they should ensure their employment. A variety of circles, tutors, a music school will help to occupy the child’s leisure. It is especially great if a teenager is engaged in a business that is in his interest. Employment and hobbies are the best prevention of Internet addiction. The teenager will strive for results, for his own development. And then the problem of Internet addiction will not appear in the family.
Treatment
Treatment for addiction to gadgets and the Internet is similar to treatment for any other addiction (alcohol or drug abuse). But in view of the fact that people with an unstable psyche are mainly prone to such addiction, there is a danger that, having cured of one addiction, they will soon acquire another. Working with a psychologist will help in the treatment of Internet addiction. Indeed, people who are prone to all kinds of addictions have low self-esteem and an inability to control their own emotions. The main thing is care, attention of loved ones and timely assistance.