Internet Addiction Left My Brother Homeless - Research Paper Example

Enter MUSIC April 8, Rhetorical Analysis: Internet addiction left my brother homeless In the article under observation, Ross (2009) addressed the issue of internet addiction. The purpose of the writer is to inform the readers about the severity of internet addiction. Internet addiction is a total shift of life form from active to inactive. It makes kids stick to the internet for more than 14 hours and make people socially retard. The emotional appeal of this article is elevated by the writer’s confession of taking internet addiction as an important issue because of his homeless brother. The article involves deep understanding, observation and analysis over the topic. The writer examines the importance of reSTARTS rehabilitation center for Internet addicts. The tone of the article is quite persuasive involving figures, examples, researches and everyday life examples which makes one start thinking in the favor over the topic under discussion. Internet is something which human beings cannot escape from in today’s time. People are more interested and active over the internet as a virtual being than a real life human being. the attention span to anyone who communicates is lessened because of internet addiction. Kids have become inactive and obese because of this issue. Problem solving, problem sharing and conflict resolution in real world has wiped out and changed into emotional expression through internet. 1.1 Research Statement: Internet addiction is as serious as drug addiction making people shift from social to antisocial. 2. Rhetorical Analysis of the Article The rational appeal of the article is also of great importance. As the writer observes and writes about his brother’s way of life. The writer has an objective tone towards his brother’s everyday life. Andrew wakes up when he desires, lives in “roomy tent”, “using three mattresses”, shops for “microwaveable food”, has similar “homeless pals” and is “obese bearded man” (Ross, 2009). Oregon State University computer lab is the place where he spends 10 hours with nothing but just staring at the computer’s screen and playing games. The other thing between this which grasps his attention for a little while is food. Life for Andrew starts with the internet and ends with that. The only time he would think of going back to his “home” which is a “roomy tent” is when the lab closes down. The writer used emotional psychoanalysis to the question that why his brother could make nothing out of his life whereas he became a journalist was answered with simple observation of his brother’s routine life. Internet addiction “consumed” the identity of his brother. The initial potential of the writer’s brother was immense. He had good knowledge of computers and programming but instead of polishing his abilities he used internet to read static information and “goof around” the internet playing games, observing new websites etc. this made his brother a high school dropout and eventually homeless. The article is supported by logical research done over the topic by psychologist David Greenfield who is the founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction (Ross, 2009). Ross further strengthens his argument by referring to Greenfield’s survey taking 18,000 Web users under consideration. The survey of 1999 resulted in 5.9 percent of people as internet addict. Seattle psychotherapist namely Cash reveals that therapists often find depression or anxiety as a major reason for overindulgence in the internet. Internet addiction’s severity can be understood by the fact that China and Korea have declared internet addiction as the greatest amongst all of the health threats. The emotional appeal of the article made me consider my own observation. Anything which is done to extreme is dangerous. Internet addiction can be a severe threat to physical shift in life. It has made people socially retard. People used to dine out to have good conversations, make memories and “spend” time with one another. These days, if you observe a restaurant, people are sitting with idle faces and the moment their cell phone updates them about “new mail”, “Whatsapp message”, “a Facebook update”, “tweet” or even a “sticker sent via Viber” their faces lit up. The question is that is human being is no more social beings but only virtual appearance in the world. Ross (2009) goes down the memory lane inspecting monopoly or checkers having the same amount of addiction. He reveals the fact that even he got addicted to the video games and used the controller until his thumb got sore. The internet addiction people have nowadays is much graver than mere thumb sore. There have been 10 documented cases in people dying of clots being developed in the body due to extreme of anesthetic lifestyle caused by internet addiction. The addictions man has developed over ages like food, shopping, sex and even gambling required him to “make an effort” to satisfy his needs. But nowadays it is a mere click away available on the internet, 24/7, 365 days a year and with home delivery. Internet addiction has led other addictions even more prominent. The ethical appeal of the article is strengthened by Cash summarizing it in one sentence, “It’s available, acceptable, affordable, and accessible" (Ross, 2009). Ross (2009) further reinforces that internet addiction is of severe nature by relating it to alcohol and drugs. He states that connectors to the limbic system are activated releasing dopamine in the body as soon as you find a game or something interesting over the internet. Like drug addicts the internet addicts cannot be treated overnight. Cutting them from the drugs at once leads to suicidal or a murder activity similar is the case with internet addicts. Therefore, Jerald Block, psychiatrist at Oregon Health Sciences University lists three methods for making addicts leave internet namely antidepressants, treatment for hyperactivity disorder, and extensive retreat from the computer. Ross (2009) makes grounds for reSTARTS as a good option for people to break from the virtual world into the actual one. According to him the rehabilitation center makes people build, clean, cook, feed and observe the real world in order to break from the matrix of virtual one. The writer’s brother was treated for depression and anxiety earlier in his life with no success. Andrew could not complete his studies due to interrupted concentration. Ross (2009) shows his concern towards his brother by relating to other homeless and internet addicts who have been a victim to teenagers or paranoid people. The writer wants his brother to understand the importance of joining a rehab center but understand that his brother is never going to agree over the idea therefore he calls him “a lost cause”. Writer communicates his idea of terminating internet addiction by joining reSTART. According to him the organization makes it possible for people to stay away from computer. The graduates are taught to use internet for couple of hours and then leave it. To the writer its similar to a drug addict getting permission to have drugs for some time. He also discusses about hardware available which shuts off the display when once the user exceeds using the internet for long interval over a stretched period of time. The amount of information revealed to the writer over internet addiction makes him ponder over himself to find out whether he was an internet addict or not. According to him, he also preferred going to gaming zone than doing homework and playing online games. In the article, Ross (2009) refers to internet addiction quiz generated by reSTART organization. The article is written in such a convincing manner that the facts, figures, emotional involvement, social examples, expert testimonials and logical reasoning made me click over the quiz and take it. The writer states that internet addiction will be included in the upcoming edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The article ends with the writer going online after he left the rehab center namely reSTART. 3. Conclusion We live in a world where internet is readily available and is important to perform everyday activities (Peggy, 2012, pp.12-13). There is no escape from the internet because it is used for making assignments by students, doing researches by graduates, setting up businesses and running activities for official use(Peggy, 2012, pp.12-13). Internet addiction is just like other evils of the society, they are there and available but using it or not is a choice which human being has to make. It is a time that everyone should realize the importance of communicating the advantages and disadvantages of internet. Taboos like sex, drug and gambling addition are getting boost with the internet as well. Termination of technology is not the solution to the problem. The solution is to realize that internet is there and every individual in the society knows how to use it. Overindulgence in anything is an alarming sign whether it is sex or internet. Constant effort by every individual of the society can help in making the use of internet beneficial. Parents and teachers should teach children the importance of social life and expression in real world from an early age. The shift of families from inactive to active can serve the purpose. Also, exhibition of gatherings as talking with one another and not just using internet can help serve the purpose. Works Cited: Peggy, Parks. Online Addiction. ReferencePoint Press, Incorporated. 2012. Print. Ross, Winston. “Internet Addiction Left My Brother Homeless”. NewsWeek. 2009. Web. 8 April. 2014. .­ Read More