Doctors in developed countries are sounding the alarm. Young people spend more and more time on the computer, preferring the virtual world to the real one. Western psychiatrists have even come up with a special term, “Internet addiction,” but most Russian doctors have never heard of this dangerous disease.
The term “Internet addiction” was first proposed by the American doctor Goldberg about seven years ago. He understood Internet addiction as an irresistible urge to use the Internet, characterized by “a detrimental effect on everyday, educational, social, work, family, and financial spheres of activity.” In terms of the degree of escape from reality, Internet addiction is very similar to a similar craving for drugs, alcohol, and gambling.
According to research by American scientists, 6-8% of Internet users already have this pathology, because many use it not only for work or study, but also conduct extensive correspondence, use sites intended for entertainment, and have sex on the Internet. As a result, normal dialogue with other people is replaced by surrogate communication on the network.
According to experts, there are four signs of Internet addiction:
– obsessive need to check email,
– a constant desire to go online again,
– complaints from loved ones that a person spends too much time at the computer,
– their complaints about the growing costs of the Internet.
It is interesting that even the stages of Internet addiction are similar to the stages of “addiction” to drugs. Doctors of specialized clinics have already seen this from the example of their patients, most of whom are young people who are being treated for Internet addiction at the insistence of their parents. Do you know how Internet addicts go through withdrawal? Like drug addicts! It is a terrible sight. And after treatment, patients definitely need rehabilitation and resocialization.
FRAZA.com.ua, citing Novye Izvestia, claims that there is an innate predisposition to network addiction. Of course, a child does not torment a computer in the womb. However, such character traits as secrecy, isolation, physical weakness, have both a social and genetic nature. As a rule, a cyber-dependent person is a vulnerable introvert, suffering from phobias, lacking self-confidence and therefore looking for safe communication. The main attractive feature of friendship with a computer is that it allows you to instantly escape from reality, from emotional problems, even from serious life difficulties (abundance of work, difficulties in studying, sudden unemployment, family troubles). All addicts are distinguished by a split personality. You could say that everyone has a virtual double. And everyone suffers losses in the real world.
At the first stage, this is a more or less easily reversible disorder. There is a passion for the “new toy” to the detriment of studies and household chores. Gradually, the person distances himself from relatives and friends, leaving the “world wide web” as a priority. As a rule, the user hides from relatives (or office employees) how much time he spends on sites.
At the second stage, the symptoms snowball. If a person is forcibly separated from the network, he will experience a feeling similar to the torment of a drug addict who was not given his next dose. The user's attention is impaired, his ability to work decreases, he develops obsessive thoughts, insomnia, up to a complete refusal to sleep, the craving for such “stimulants” as coffee, cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, drugs increases sharply, and sometimes even those who have never tried drugs in their lives get “on the needle”. Therefore, it can be considered that in some cases drug addiction is a consequence of passion for online communication. Headaches, pressure surges, pain in the eyes, aching bones are added to mental disorders.
The third stage is social maladjustment. The user, no longer enjoying communication via the Internet, still constantly “hangs” on sites. The state of depression leads to serious conflicts at work and in the family. Strong, strong-willed individuals can still try to switch their attention to something else, for example, fall in love, find another job. The weaker ones have no choice but to seek help from specialists.
The main thing in treating Internet addiction is to prove to a person that live communication is more attractive than virtual. Pulling a person out of the Internet and introducing him to other interests is a completely solvable task. But if you do not correct the underlying causes of his behavior, it may well turn out that the exorcised demon will be replaced by seven new, more insidious ones. A person who has broken out of the Internet may, for example, take to drinking, become addicted to drugs, or join a totalitarian sect.
In the US, by the way, Internet addiction is considered an official diagnosis and is treated by psychologists and psychiatrists. In Russia, similar programs to help Internet addicts are still being developed.
