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Compulsive use of the Internet

With the increasing availability, speed, and myriad potential uses of the Internet, some people are now experiencing problems of over-use, and even addiction.  For students, most often it is excessive gaming and chatting that can be the concern.

Can the Internet actually be Addicting?

There is a great deal of controversy over whether you can actually become psychologically addicted to the Internet.  At the very least, many people find themselves using the Internet compulsively for no good reason and for more time 

than they know is reasonable and healthy. 

Compulsive Internet use may never affect you personally.  But a certain percentage of students now-a-days are definitely experiencing unnecessary problems in their life due to overuse of computers, in particular overuse of the Internet.  And with a little thought and control, everyone can use computers (and all technology for that matter) more appropriately.  Watching too much TV, for example, though not necessarily addictive, can be bad for your eyes, your back (and your social life!) 

What are the potential problems?

- Sleep deprivation, or change in sleep patterns.

- A decrease in physical activity.

- Avoidance of schoolwork & other obligations.

- Neglecting family, or experiencing problems with them due to Internet use.

- A decrease in socialization, and/or loss of friends

(and/or on-line friends becoming more important than real-life relationships).

- Repetitive stress injuries, back problems & eye strain. 

Symptoms:

- You feel guilty about the time you spend on the computer, ignoring others around you.
- When you're not on the computer you think about it frequently, and how you will get access to it.
- You look for ways to get online at school (or work) and family events.
- You feel anxious, irretable, or depressed when you're not on the internet.
- You are dishonest to family and friends about how much time you are spending on-line.
- You try to limit your time on the computer and usually fail.

"The trouble with normal is it always gets worse..."

Consider this, before moving on. Just because we think there is not a problem doesn't mean there is not one. Often societies mask, soften, or ignore issues through a combination of mass denial, and acquiescence. A great IT example of this is how in the mid 2000s most people saw downloading of copywrtiten music as wrong. The recording industry has meantime found other ways to make money, but that doesn't mean that downloading creative material without the owner's permission is right. It is not. It is no differnet than taking or stealing anything that is not one's own. But society now genrerally ignores the issue, not just because the record companies are learning to live with it, but also because there's not much that can be done to stop it. But, again, it doesn't make it right.

So when we sit around the table and toss up values of 4, 5, or 6 hours on the internet each night and wonder whether this is Ok or not, try to step back a bit and consider life as it ideally should be, not life as we so happen to be living it in the early Twenty First Century. From this perspective it should become a bit easier to see that spending the majority of your non-work or non-school life sitting hunched over a screen and keyboard, experiencing life in a detached way at best, is not the way it should be. We shouldn't just accept any normal that, when thoughtfully examined, can be recognized as a normal that should not be.

How do you solve these problems?

Step 1 - Recognize the Problem

If you find you are experiencing one or more of the above problems, you should be able to eliminate it/them through simple adjustments to your behavior.  Most often this is easy, once you recognize the problem in the first place.  

• For example, “Hmmm, the week my Internet access was down, I started to get better sleep and feel great in the mornings; maybe staying up until midnight playing Internet Games isn’t such a good idea, so I’ll just play them earlier.”  
  

• Or, “Quite often I don’t get my homework done when I get carried away chatting on the Internet, and so my grades have ended up being Cs instead of the Bs that I should be getting. So how about I limit my chatting to one hour each night.  I’ll e-mail my friends to let them know the hour I’ll be on-line.”  
  

High Internet use could just be a phase you’re going through due to, for example, normal enthusiasm with a new game.  And so with only a little adjustment, any problems you’re experiencing can quickly go away.  But…

Step 2 – Make a Plan

Sometimes in spite recognizing problems, you find you just can’t make changes.  This is where “over use” verges on addiction. “Continued use despite negative consequences” is a standard hallmark of any addiction.  So what to do then?  Similar to dealing with other addictions, try the following:

• On a calendar keep track of exactly how much time you are spending gaming/chatting etc., then:
• A little bit at a time reduce your use (for example 3 hours a night down to 2 and a half hours, then down to 2 hours, and so on).
• In doing so, set reasonable goals for yourself. (For example, there may no need to totally eliminate gaming/chatting etc.  And you probably won’t be able to quit “cold turkey” anyway.  Aim for measured, steady progress.)
• Get a friend or family member to help you, with reminders.
• Find alternative activities – join a club/sport, read a book, go to a movie etc. (see step 3)

Or... if this seems silly to you, or if it's just not the kind of thing that works for you, decide to do other things to help the situation.

• Try to get into the habit of doing your homework first, and then start Facebooking or whatever.
• While doing your homework put your status as "doing homework". And stay off-line until you're finished.
• Put on parental controls, so that for certain things, or after certain amounts of time you will have to put in an administrator's password to continue. You can always type in the password, but at least you will have to pause and make a conscious decision.
• Change your browser's home page from being Facebook, or whatever most draws you in.
• Set an iCal etc. reminder at a certain time of night that it's time to start getting ready for a good night's sleep.
• Or even better, set your alarm for the time you want to go to sleep rather than the time to wake up; the sound of the alarm just might snap you into making the good decision that you want to make - for best results put the alarm clock on the other side of the room so you actually have to get up and away from the computer to turn it off.
• There are good applications out there to have you limit yourself, for example "Self Control", in which you set time limits for websites that you want to keep yourself from for a certain amount of time.

But one way or another, make a real plan of action, or set some real goals, or start doing something concrete that might help.

Solution Step 3 – Solve the “What now?”

One of the biggest reasons people overuse the computer and the Internet is that they don’t know what else to do with their time.  This may be especially true in winter here in Prague, when it’s a little harder than normal to get yourself outside, given neither warm air and long days, nor snow.  But with a little thought and willpower, you’ll find that there are actually lots of things to do.  Prague may not have the best weather by times, but it’s got tons of things going on, whether clubs, sports, and activities, or performances, shopping, and exploring.  Plus there’s so much going on at school and related to school.  And don’t forget about your family.  Furthermore there’s reading and even watching (good) TV to get you away from the computer.  Everyone’s situation is different, but there’s undeniably a lot teen-agers in your shoes can do.  

The biggest point to make here is that Yes, if you’re overusing the computer/Internet, when you pull yourself away from it there will be by definition an emptiness, since you had worked your routine to include it.  So don’t be startled by that fact, and don’t let it suck you back in “`cause there’s nothing else to do”; there is, you just have to figure out what.

In summary: Recognize, Plan, Replace (and don’t forget the use of Willpower)

One final point to consider: Variety

It is argued that overuse of the Internet is not an addiction because it’s not the Internet itself that is the problem.  And it’s true that often people use the Internet not because they’re addicted to it, rather they use it as a way to escape the everyday problems of life (be it with school, friends, family or whatever.)  And that’s fine to a point; everyone needs time to relax & “get away from it all”.  But too much escape may only make those everyday problems worse. 

And really, too much of anything is not good.  Variety is the spice of life.  It’s true.  Abide by the advice “Moderation in everything” - even the Internet - and you’ll find that your life will be richer.