Internet and Anti-Socialism

Excessive addiction to the Internet among youths may lead to anti-social problems like cyber-bullying, internet addiction, and sexting. This essay critically examines the negative effects of the Internet on youth behavior and suggests ways to prevent anti-social tendencies.

Running head: INTERNET AND ANTI-SOCIALISM
Internet and Anti-Socialism
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERNET AND ANTI-SOCIALISM
Anti-Socialism is one of the growing issues of the society in the present times. An
anti-social is usually referred to an individual who likes to be left alone, and does not much
care about the company of friends or family (Barret et AL. 2015). This seems to be the case
with today’s generation of youth who are becoming more and more anti-social. The main
reason for this is the Internet. While it is true, that the Internet indeed plays a useful role in
the lives of the youth, it also addicts the youth to certain websites and videos which might not
be suitable for them. Excessive surfing through such websites leads to addiction, anti-social
tendencies and sometimes resorts to violence and various criminal activities. This essay
intends to argue and critically examine how the excessive addiction to the Internet among the
youths may lead to anti-social problems like cyber-bullying, internet addiction and sexting.
The Internet, just like playing several positive roles in the life of the youths of today,
has several negative effects. The biggest negative effect that it has on the life of the
individual is the increasing amount of anti-social behaviour among the youths. The main
reason for this is the fact that while the youths use the Internet, they become addicted to it.
The leads to them wanting to spend all their time in front of the Internet, instead of
interacting with their friends and family members. One of the wats by which the Internet
causes anti-Socialism among the youth is by cyber-bulling (Nixon, 2014). Cyber-bulling is a
serious form of crime committed through the social media sites. This mainly happens because
the youth befriend people om social media who takes advantage of the situation and asks
them to do something inappropriate (Nixon, 2014). When they deny, these people bully them
into doing such things. Hence, this affects them psychologically and mentally, and ultimately
some of them commit suicide, unable to bear the pressure. One of the most common
examples of cyber-bullying is the Blue Whale, where the youth victims were bullied and
blackmailed into committing suicide. There have been many cases of suicide by cyber-
bulling. Another example of suicide by cyber-bullying is the case of the 12-year-old girl who

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had committed suicide due to repeated issues of cyber-bullying. Although this is a crime,
there are some who claim that cyber-bullying is in a way good for the youths as it helps to
make them mentally, preparing them for the outside world. Still, it cannot be denied that
cyber-bullying is bad for the youths as it causes psychological breakdowns and other
problems among the youth (Nixon, 2014). This is because the youths who get bullied to do
things cannot disclose their problems to their parents either of the fear of getting scolded or
because of the threats made to the family. This starts to affect them, and they ultimately resort
to drug addiction, ultimately suffering from psychological breakdowns. Sometimes, they lose
all hope and resort to suicide having no other options available to them. One such example
was the case of Erin Gallagher of Florida, who committed suicide. The reason behind this
was that she was getting bullied because of her weight on Ask.fm (Sullivan 2013). It was
followed by the suicide of her elder sister Shannon Gallagher because she felt lonely without
her younger sister. Hence, it is advised that the youth should be careful about who they
befriend on Facebook or other social media. They should also have a control on the time they
are using the Internet, as this will prevent them from becoming anti-social.
The second way in which the Internet is causing the youth to become anti-social is
through the effective use of social media sites and online technologies. Often it is seen that
the youth are spending a lot of time on the social media sites (Rajeev et.al, 2016). They do
not care for any other kind of activities rather than chatting with their friends online. Apart
from the use of Facebook, other social media sites such as Instagram, Myspace, LinkedIn and
WhatsApp also cause the youth to spend their time on these sites. It has been found in a
particular study that almost 22% of youth in today’s age like to spend their time on the
Internet and on the social media sites. The main reason for this according to them is the fact
they get to meet people from all over the world, which is for them is more interesting and
time saving instead of going out and meeting people (Rajeev et Al, 2016). In another study, it

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has been found that almost 81% of the population in the country has social media accounts,
including youths (Anderson et Al, 2018). The reason they claim is that they get to interact
with the celebrities and other famous people on the social media sites, which otherwise for
them would not be possible. This excessive use of the Internet and the social media sites not
only makes them addicted and anti-social in their but also leads to problems in their eye-
sights and other health issues.
In this regard, some experts claim that the social media sites are helpful to the youth
because it is one of the easiest ways for them to communicate with their friends and relatives
who live in other countries (Moqbel et Al, 2016). In addition, they also receive important
news from all over the world. However, at the same time, it also makes the youth anti-social
to the point they like to be left alone and do not enjoy the company of others. They also
become less interested in the social activities and interacting with their friends and family
members leading to the relationship issues (Rajeev et Al.2016). Hence, the youth are advised
to limit the time they use the Internet and participate more in the society. They are also
advised to interact with their friends and family members, which would make them less anti-
social in nature.
The third issue, considered to be very serious and important is the emerging trend of
sexting amongst the youth. Some consider to be as serious as the issue of cyber-bullying,
which needs to be checked. This trend is commonly seen among the youths and the
adolescents, who use various apps on their phones and websites on the internet to chat with
strangers. It has been found that generally males and females between the age group of 13-19
years send nude and semi-nude images of themselves through such apps and sites. This is
dangerous for them as such apps and websites usually conceal the real names of the people
they are messaging. These people could use the images for nefarious purposes. It has been
found in many cases that the youths resort to such measures for getting money of their own,

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as such apps and sites offer them money and future employment chances (American College
of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2016). The other reason why youths and adolescents
resort to such activities is because of the fact they get the money to continue through their
school and college education. However, sometimes they get trapped in situations form which
it is difficult for them to come out. Hence, they have no other option to take up such acts as
their full-time profession. In addition to this, the problem of sexting among the youths is that
they get involved in it without fully realizing the positive and the negative sides of it.
Sometimes, they get to hear their friends have involved themselves in such activities. Hence,
they get curious which makes them involve in sexting. Sexting is the main reason behind the
increase of child pornography, where the youths cannot find a way out, one they get too much
involved with it. This can also be related to the case of cyber-bullying and suicide of the
youths (Doring 2014). Hence, it is advised that the parents keep a check on the social media
activities of their children so that they can be stopped form using such sites.
There are experts who claim that contrary to the popular beliefs, sexting is actually
good for health. This is because it allows the people using such apps and websites to know
about their sexual health outcomes (American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,
2016). Moreover, it allows them to understand their sexual orientations. Despite all this, such
activities are considered to be harmful and dangerous for the youth as it leads opt multiple
and unprotected sex, leading to AIDS and other problems among these youths (American
College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2016).
Thus, from the above discussions, it can be stated that the youths are indeed becoming
anti-social due to the excessive use, cyber-bullying, sexting and other ways. It can be without
a doubt that the Internet is a very important part of life for the youths in today’s age.
However, they need to use it in such a manner so that they do not become anti-social. Parents

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can play an important role in helping to limit the time they use the internet. If Internet can be
used for a limited time, the anti-social behaviour among the youths can be reduced.
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