Internet Addiction by Kimberly S. Young & Cristiano Nabuco de Abreu

Author:Kimberly S. Young & Cristiano Nabuco de Abreu
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780470892268
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2010-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

CONCLUSION

We live in changing times. Our world is becoming smaller and we should feel more connected to those around us, but at times the very digital media technologies that purport to connect us to others often have an alienating, isolating, and addicting effect.

These digital communication and entertainment technologies (Internet, e-mail, cell phones, PDAs, iPods, gaming devices) are fun and can be helpful in our lives, but they all have addictive and abusable properties that can alter our mood and consciousness, distract us, and provide an exit from living in the present. These devices have the capacity to numb us and time-shift, thereby moving our attention from the present to somewhere else.

There is ever-present availability and unending access to overloaded information and communication; there are no boundaries, and there is no place to hide and recharge our internal psychological batteries. Being able to track and be tracked through every movement one makes via text or tweet takes a lot of time, energy, and attention and still leaves us with what might be classified as a two-dimensional social interaction. The implication when users are online, texting, tweeting, or using any other digital-based communication format, is that they are not where they are, but rather somewhere else; that they are not in the present and that their attention and energy are divided. This has the uncanny effect of making one feel that the user is physically there but not really present.

The rationale of multitasking is not valid in that we find that multiple tasks indeed divide our attention as well. There is no increase in efficiency, as it simply takes longer to accomplish all the activities when we are multitasking. This partial attention everywhere is a bit unnerving and leaves interactions with the electronically tethered somewhat less than satisfying.

The idea of disconnecting in order to connect to others seems ludicrous, as real-time social interaction and connection cannot be digitized or time-shifted without some negative impact. With moderation, there is a place for cell phones, PDAs, and portable Internet access portals. We know the Internet and digital media devices alter mood and consciousness and are therefore powerful devices, and therefore should be respected and limited. Technology is useful, but is not without its impact on our health and well-being.

We are not designed to be in a constant state of nervous system arousal and with all our portable devices all operating on a variable ratio reinforcement pattern. We feel as if we cannot turn them off and we begin to feel we cannot live without them. The question really becomes: Can we live well with them? Living our lives in virtual environments through gaming or in virtual worlds like Second Life leaves many questions. How can we live a second life when we really aren't living our first life? It seems we are running away from something, perhaps from ourselves. We are trying to numb ourselves or deal with boredom, or we feel disconnected from ourselves and our lives. So we stay connected, but also disconnected, distracting ourselves in a seemingly endless fashion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.