New technolongy such as internet, impacts the mental health of its users nagatiely - Essay Example

The adverse impact of excessive use of the internet on mental health is a problem that is prevalent in various age groups, from adolescents to adults. The main areas to which internet users were found to be addicted were: “cybersex, cyber-relationships, online stock trading or gambling, information surfing and computer games” (Young et al: 475). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the negative effects of addictive internet use on mental health. The causes, symptoms, outcomes and treatment strategies for compulsive internet use will be identified.

The internet and other digital technologies are recent additions to a series of technological development and improvements. Though their advantages are numerous, some unintended negative effects emerge from them. For example, time and energy saving devices promote a deleterious sedentary lifestyle (Greenfield: 3). Thus, adverse outcomes have occurred with countless advancements in technological development, because unexpected detrimental effects can arise from their overuse. Moreover, Internet’s negative impacts can result from its all-encompassing potential for including the harmful domains along with the beneficial.

A theory of internet addiction is: the ACE model developed by Young (1999), which attributes the development of internet compulsions to the significant roles played by accessibility, control and escape or excitement. Pathological online behavior is explained as: the accessiblity of information and interactive domains; the control which is personal and limited to oneself thus giving a sense of privacy to the electronic interactions; the psychological escape from the problems of real life, mental tension and emotional stress.

Theories such as the above ACE model facilitate understanding of the disorder and help in formulating the appropriate therapeutic techniques. The internet’s power and appeal can become habit forming, states Greenfield (pp.2, 3). The author’s