Internet Addiction - Research Paper Example

Internet Addiction: Introduction: Have we really become complete slaves to internet and social media? This is what the two aforementioned articles talk about. One article is on a study on U.S students. It’s titled “U.S. students suffering from temporary internet addiction: a study” by Siew Walden. The second article is titled “Obsessed with the Internet: A Tale from China” by Christopher Stewart. Both articles exhibit how internet has taken over our lives today and how it has become an inevitable part of us. The way they go about projecting it different though. U.S Students Suffering from Temporary Internet Addiction: The article talks about how in a recent study conducted on American students, it was found that American college students are hooked on their cell phones, social networking sites and the internet. They demonstrate symptoms which are similar to drug and alcohol conditions according to recent study. The study was conducted by Researchers at the University of Maryland. In the study, some 200 students were asked to give up the media for one day. The results showed that most subjects became victims of with drawl symptoms, anxiety and cravings. Surprisingly, most of them found themselves unable to function properly without the internet or social media at their disposal. They felt disconnected from the world and felt that their productivity levels went down without the social media at their disposal. The study project’s director was Susan Moeller. She teaches journalism and is a professor at the university. She explained how student pointed out that they hated being out of touch with their friends and family. They realized that they were clearly addicted and found the dependency irritating. Students kept talking about how it was important for them to use their text messages, messengers, and emails and face book. According to some students, texting and IMing had become such an inevitable part of their lives that the felt incomplete without it. They felt secluded, lonely and alone without the social media at their disposal. Very few of them found themselves engaging in TV news and reading newspapers. However the American Psychiatric Association has a different stance at it. It does not consider the disorder as some kind of Internet Addiction. There were some extreme cases that were discovered to. In an extreme case from South Korea, a couple found their 3 month old daughter dead of mal-nutrition because they were on the computer for 12 hours at a stretch raising a virtual child. In the United States measures have been taken to treat this excessive use of the Internet, video game addiction and texting. The center’s website gives various examples of students who were running in debts or were college drop outs due to their obsession. An interesting discovery reported by the article was the fact that students in Maryland showed no signs of loyalty to news programs, or anything related. They were pretty casual about it and were of the view that there was a very thin line between news and general information. It was found that most people were worried and concerned more about their family and friends then bothering about news. They felt the need to stay connected and put with them at all times. This was one of the primary reasons behind this kind of addiction for them. Obsessed with Internet: A tale from China This article gives insight into the way internet obsession has seeped in China as well. It starts off with a child being driven to the Qihang Salvation training camp by his parents. The Qihang camp promised to cure children of internet addiction. Internet addiction has become one of the biggest most feared public health hazards in China today. According to the Camp’s research more than 80% Chinese were a victim of this ailment and Deng Sheng was also a victim of it. He had once been a top student in his class. However, ever since internet addiction took over him, his grades had severely plummeted in the last couple of years. Most of his time would be spent playing video games especially World of Warcraft. The Chinese Media was full of incidents in which young kids tried to imitate the demons in the games by killing their parents or dropping dead on them. Deng’s parents were worried that their son would get carried away and become a technological demon. Deng insisted that he didn’t want to go to the camp but his parents were adamant. They assured him that he would be fine in a month’s time. The parents pitched in $1000 for one month’s treatment and watched as their son was carried away into the basket ball court. The internet has become a major addiction world over. In China, the number of internet users in the country has increased by miles and bounds in the last 12 years. Internet has become unstoppable and has integrated itself in all institutes. Its destabilizing impact on the Chinese society is powerful. The total number of internet users according to the article, are 338 million today. This makes it the world’s most rapidly growing online hub. The government has tried to intervene and help the addiction too. YouTube, Twitter and Google are some of the most of powerful and most popular sites out there. The government has gone and blocked access to those sites. It has also deployed a special force to accomplish this. That’s the Web police force. They constantly monitor the web, check on the content, investigate and shut down online political dissent. Other measures in this regard, according to the article were hiring of a regiment named “secret Web Commentators” and development of Green Dam Youth Escort in July. The latter is censoring software that can be installed on desktops and PCs. The uncontrollable growth of the Internet has a lot to do with the economic rise of China as well. Today it has become wealthier, with its young people more at ease with the tools of technology. The signs of its impact are immense and visible all over. They include massive glowing monitors, and popularity of social networking sites in China. Parents are more anxious than ever before over this massive integration of internet in the lives of their children. The internet explosion in China is more than just a disciplinary mal-function. It is a threat that could engulf the youth of China. This explains why treating kids suffering from internet addiction has become a necessity. Conclusion: The paper explains two articles on internet addiction. One article revolves around internet addiction in United States and the other around internet addiction in China. Both articles resemble in their context but they are different in the way they are dealt. While the first article is a factual account, the second article is a story narrative. Both articles conclude that internet has made the youth of today, the slaves of digital media. It has become an inevitable part of their life and a cause of major concern. In China, rehabilitation centers have been set up to treat kids of Internet addiction. Bibliography: Siew, Walden. U.S Students suffering from temporary Internet addiction: a study. 23 April 2010. 17 Nov 2010 . Stewart, Christopher S. Obsessed with the Internet: A Tale from China. 13 Jan 2010. 17 Nov 2010 . Read More