With the development of information technology, whichin themselves are an undeniable boon, a person is faced with a new problem. It turned out that the Internet, created in order to help and serve as a tool in work or study, can itself enslave and tighten a person up to cruel dependence on the worldwide network. Many underestimate the scale of this problem and completely in vain, because even psychologists and doctors have long sounded the alarm. Internet addiction is already practically on the list of mental illnesses, and its severe form is subject to treatment along with alcoholism and drug addiction.
How to recognize the dependence
So, how do you understand that the Internet addiction is alreadyhas taken possession of you or your household, is there any cause for concern? There are some signs on which it is possible to determine whether the power over the person of a cunning Internet web is really strong. First, you wander through the expanses of the Internet to any other kind of rest and pastime. Often the time spent at the computer flies so quickly that when you wake up, you realize with astonishment: instead of the planned 15 minutes, it took two whole hours. After connecting to the worldwide network in the house, it became merciless to copy the outstanding cases in time, your performance was significantly reduced. If the Internet is not available, you do not know what to do with yourself, there is depression or irritability. Internet addiction is also manifested in the fact that the worldwide network takes away not only a lot of time, but also money that goes to purchase more and more powerful computer equipment and pay for online purchases. You take to heart loss of rating on various sites, painfully worry about low photo rating or removal from friends on social networks. Constantly pursues obsessive desire to check mail, look at your favorite forum or Facebook page. If you find yourself experiencing the above symptoms, it's time to start fighting for independence from the Internet. A person who is in the last stage of dependence, is no longer able to exist in real life, outside his cozy virtual world. He ceases to work, to watch for himself, forgets to even eat. Live communication completely disappears, friends and relatives go into the background. A few years ago, America was shocked by the case when a woman, carried away by computer game, forgot about her own child - a 3-year-old girl died of hunger and thirst.
Types and forms of computer dependence
Researchers of this problem distinguish severaltypes of such dependence, each of which is caused by certain psychological prerequisites. The first and most common form is constant virtual communication, not limited by time frames. Man hangs endlessly in numerous social networks, makes hundreds of friends. There is a substitution of real communication and friendship with their virtual counterparts. Such Internet addiction, according to psychologists, develops in those who have problems with socialization in this life. The risk group is teenagers, people with low self-esteem. The second common dependence is the game. More and more popular are gaining multiplayer online games, often not allowing a gamer to go away even for half an hour. Battles, chases, fairy characters are dragged headlong into the virtual world, allowing you to forget about the problems and turmoil. Coming from boring and hard work or studying, a person rushes to the computer to get into the world of easy and pleasant victories and adventures, and gets into a heavy Internet addiction game. The risk group is infantile, people with a weak character who do not know how or do not want to overcome the problems that real life puts before them. The third type of addiction is sexual. It is expressed in the desire to get sexual pleasure, without departing from the screen of the monitor. This Internet addiction is manifested in the constant viewing of porn films and the desire to engage in virtual sex. The reason for this is most often the sexual dissatisfaction of your partner or the lack thereof. The consequence is a ruined family and a complete inability to make a relationship in real life. Another form of dependence on the worldwide network is information Internet addiction. The people exposed to it wander for hours on the vast expanses of the network, moving from one site to another without any need for it. Overloaded, overfed with information, the brain eventually loses its capacity for deep thinking and critical analysis. You can also highlight the online dependence on online games for money, in particular, addiction to a virtual casino. Not everyone has the opportunity to visit the real casino, but almost everyone can easily surrender to the game on numerous sites, yielding to tempting advertising.
Prevention and treatment
Currently, there are clinics thatready to accept patients who complain about Internet addiction, however, according to doctors, only a few are treated. The rest either do not recognize the dependence, or they try to get out of it independently. In some countries, treatment is very radical. Chinese experts, for example, use electric shock. In Russia, everything is not so terrible: as a rule, the matter is limited to psychological counseling and physical exercises. To ensure that Internet addiction does not take over you, arrange a regular rest from the worldwide network. Turn off the computer for the weekend, read the book, have a picnic outside the city. Limit the time on the Internet with a timer, you can also ask someone from your family to control you. Do not sit down in front of the monitor, when unfinished business looms ahead. Take the rule to go online only after the scheduled work is completed. It is important to discover psychological problems, because of which the Internet addiction has appeared, and deal with them. Start the fight today.