My apologies for a late post Dave, but all day today and yesterday evening, the internet was down in Frederick Park. I must admit I was irritated with the whole thing considering I had to get some work done and not having internet prevented that. My experience today is completely relevant to an article I came across on MSN.com about the treatment of *internet addicts* in China. The article was very interesting and aroused much thought about how we as a society are very dependent on the internet.
The Chinese government has started a campaign to stop virtual addiction or what they called a "grave social danger". According to statistics, nearly 14% of teens in China are susceptible to virtual addiction. The article was focused around what is being done to treat internet addiction. Teenagers are taken to a military hospital for treatment, are banned access to the virtual world, and are monitored by medical staff 24/7. For more info...
What's interesting about this article is the fact that everyone in general depends on the internet for everything; information, news, research, romance, etc. And everyone has access to it; people of all ages and nowadays with such a reliance on computer technology children are being trained to use the internet at such a young age. In the article, another point made was how detrimental the internet can be if started at a young age. Some problems mentioned were it prevented social interaction and was a distraction to much daily activities. I do agree the internet is addicting. I don't know how many times a day I check my myspace page. I also depend on it to handle my finances, shop, and communicate at no-cost with my family. There are endless possibilities to the uses of the internet. In many of my classes, many students bring their laptops to class to take notes, search for relevant materials on the internet for class discussion, and other things. This can be beneficial, but I can also see how it deters much of their attention away from class; checking emails, 'myspacing', researching for other classes, etc.
But I can see how this kind of "addiction" can be harmful. Sometimes when I'm writing papers, I tend to browse the web when taking my break. Rather than taking a walk or reading a book, I choose to spend free time on the internet. I do some online shopping, visit news sites, listen to music, and other things. What would the world be like without the internet? Computers alone have revolutionized worldwide communication and access to information, but have we gone too far? We depend on the internet for so many things, but in the process of trying to make life easier I think we've equally made it more complicated. The internet is a powerful tool in reaching mass numbers of people, but what happens to those who do not have access to the internet? Any thoughts?.....
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3 comments:
I agree with you in that the Internet can be addicting. My parents didn't get Internet connection to 2000 and it was like stepping into the Wizard of Oz when I first logged on. I just wish someone would have told me about spyware and adware at the time :(
Anyways, I can't begin to count how many times I am at a computer just to kill time. I check my myspace a plethora of times, as well as facebook and AIM. I too, when taking a break from a paper, don't go outside but rather check webistes, such as ESPN, to see if there's any new news.
I think Internet addiction comes down to the individual. If you know what your doing and why your checking things, that's ok. But, if your on your computer all the time, everday, not moving or showering (like an old roommate of mine from UCSB), something is wrong.
I never realized how additcted I was to the internet until this summer. Before I started at CSUMB I rarely used the internet because we had dial up at home. Now, I don't go a day with out being on the internet.
I spent a few days without internet access and found myself thinking "oh I need to check my mail" I have almost lost my ability to entertain myself outside of the intertnet. I think so many of us suffer from this at times.
This is funny that people are actually being treated for this now. By no means does it surprise me but it just shows how much people today depend on our computers and internet and find out and do everything. We have such and instant mentality needs to know basis. It seems like everything is being done by online sites like bank statements, bill payments, gathering information and research, homework assignments, leisure web surfing we can go on and on. It has become so useful yet I feel it has taken away from the hands on experience of everything and the interaction between people. I think it can be sometimes depressing.Yet I am just as guilty I know I am on the internet all the time especially since being in college.
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