To begin with, it is worth noting that it is difficult to find the “accusers" of the Internet among network users, most of those who are dissatisfied with its existence are among those who do not have a computer in the house and, accordingly, are not familiar with the virtual world. So what is the Internet accused of? Most often, it is that it can cause a dangerous addiction (no less dangerous than alcohol or drugs), which is almost the first enemy of family happiness, that he has gathered a huge number of maniacs and psychos in his open spaces, communication with which can lead to trouble. And how is it really? Let’s figure it out.
Insidious razluchnik
Modern wives suffer from the fact that their husbands spend all their free time on the Internet, and husbands, in turn, become furious because their wives, forgetting about household chores, walk on the World Wide Web. Are such patterns of behavior in families a rarity today? Of course, being jealous of the Internet is stupid, but cases where such jealousy led to the collapse of family happiness are not so rare. Is it worth it to attribute such destructive power to the Internet? If everything is not going smoothly in family relationships, then the wife and husband (or both at once) avoid communication. In such a situation, the Internet is not the worst way to hide from problems. Although, it must be admitted, it is very demonstrative. So why not think about the real causes of trouble in the family, instead of blaming the World Wide Web for everything?
Where are the maniacs hiding?
Sadly, we have to admit that abnormal people are present on the network. We have already noted that the Internet is a part of our life, and in life, as you know, psychos and simply inadequate people, alas, meet. True, in the virtual world there are much fewer such “elements” than in the real one, because (and already fortunately) not all mentally deranged people have been given the opportunity to master computer literacy. Nevertheless, you can come across an inadequate user, especially if you are looking for new acquaintances on the network. But it is not difficult to deal with such troubles if you use filter programs. And common sense, of course. Internet addiction is a new word in the dictionary of psychiatrists.
Network dependency
Now let’s move on to the most important accusation against the Internet – the assertion that it causes addiction, no less than drugs or alcohol. The statement, of course, is not groundless, otherwise a new word would not have appeared in the dictionary of modern psychiatrists – Internet addiction. This is what they call the abnormal desire to constantly spend time online. In general, the very word "addiction" means a painful attachment to something that can lead to mental illness. A characteristic feature of Internet addiction is the constant need to be "online", even for no particular reason. And this painful need to be online threatens to lead to social problems: quarrels in the family, loss of work and, most dangerously, alienation from reality. Is the internet to blame for all this? After all, it is just a means of communication, like a phone or TV. Are there few people who like to chat on the phone? Do not many people spend hours in front of the TV? No one calls them crazy, and even more so does not accuse phones or televisions of being able to drive a person crazy. So the Internet should not be blamed for anything like this, because the cause of painful addictions lies, first of all, in the person himself, and not in the object to which he experiences them.
Attention: dangerous symptoms! However, Internet addiction is a very real problem. But the problem is only for a certain number of people. There are far fewer of these than many users assume. Some people have to be online all day long, which does not mean that these people are morbidly attracted to the network. Another thing is to stay on the Internet after hours. But everything is not so scary here either: the Internet makes a strong impression only at the first meeting, so many novice users are addicted to it, like children with a newly presented toy. The first charm passes rather quickly, and the user begins to treat the virtual world more calmly, for the most part – as a source of information, a place of work, an opportunity to communicate with distant relatives or friends. In general, if connected, it’s not just that! Experts, in turn, note that Internet addiction is observed only in 2-3% of all users.
And finally, we note the main signs of a painful addiction to the Internet:
- constant desire to be online;
- increase in time spent on the Internet;
- irritability, bad mood, depression and anxiety when it is impossible to go online;
- constant concentration on the problems of the World Wide Web to the detriment of work, family, live communication;
- denial of dependence on the Internet;
- the inability to limit or control the time spent online.