Internet Addiction and Its Negative Impacts on Australian Communities

This essay, presented as an OP-ED piece, examines the detrimental effects of internet addiction on the health and well-being of Australian communities. It highlights the negative impacts on social health, including moral decadence and the spread of harmful content, as well as the issue of time wastage and its impact on productivity and personal relationships. The author emphasizes the importance of human dignity and the common good, arguing that excessive internet use can lead to distorted behaviors and poor time management. The essay concludes with the author's perspective as a professional, outlining potential steps to raise awareness, advocate for policy changes, and address the challenges of internet addiction to protect the community.

Running head: OP-ED 1
Internet Addiction and its Negative Impacts on Communities
Name
Institution

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Internet Addiction and its Negative Impacts on Communities
Introduction
Human dignity is important. Decisions should also be made for the common good of
everyone in the society. The innovation and advancements in the field of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) has greatly-transformed the society. The benefits of ICT have
become quite impactful thanks to the invention of the internet. Today, in Australia, nearly all
households have access to the internet. However, despite the significant contributions, internet
has brought negative impacts in the society. In this editorial piece, I would like to explain how
damaging the internet has been to the Australian communities’ health.
Negative Effects of Internet Addiction on Social Health
The first way through which the internet addiction has negatively-impacted on the
Australians dignity is that it has caused moral decadence. Although internet is a useful platform
that can be rich in education content, it has been faulted for the dissemination of harmful
messages especially to the young generations. In the internet, there are so many websites and
blogs each of which is focusing on a particular niche (Kuss & Lopez-Fernandez, 2016). Apart
from the good platforms that focus on beneficial content on education, health care, governance,
agriculture, and family life, there are other sites which are just destructive. Such sites contain
information on pornography, sex exploitation, violence, vulgar language, indecent dressing,
domestic violence, prostitution, and crime. Exposure to such sites can not only be addictive, but
also distort human mind (Shek, Yu & Sun, 2016). They can make people to misbehave and
become immoral in their utterances, thought, and actions. For example, addiction to porn hubs
can make people to be sexually-active and addicted regardless of their age. Also, exposure to

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fighting can make children to be violent, aggressive, and abusive. From these examples, it is
evident that internet addiction can be harmful to the conducts of the people. It can make people
to develop bad social and psychological health that can harm their dignity.
Negative Effects of Internet Addiction on Time Management
The other way through which internet addiction negatively-impact on the Australian
communities is that it contribute to time wastage. A dignified human should be a good time
manager. Internet addiction is harmful because it has had disastrous effects on many people
especially the youthful and younger generations. The young generations are at a threat because
they have become so obsessed with the internet. This happens because they spend a lot of time
visiting and surfing through the social network websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
Instagram, WhatsApp, WeChat, Skype, Telegam, SnapChat, and many more. Although these
websites provide a platform for interactions, networking, education, and entertainment, the
dangerous part of it is that they waste a lot of time. Time wastage has become a major issue of
concern to the internet users (Griffiths, Kuss, Billieux & Pontes, 2016). Spending huge amounts
of time online is bad because it deprives individuals of opportunity to engage in other useful and
productive activities such as school, family interactions, and job. It can be so difficult for
someone who keeps on updating information, uploading pictures, writing comments, and
filtering other people’s posts and comments to concentrate in any constructive activity. The
damages that the internet addiction causes on time management make it destructive for human
dignity.
What I can do as a Professional

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As a professional, I hold the view that something must be done. I should also be a part of
the solution. To do this, I have to take a number of steps. First, I should participate in the
creation of awareness on the dangers of internet addiction. I should educate people especially the
young generations on the significance of internet and how well it can be utilized without having
to waste time and damage their behaviors (Starcevic & Aboujaoude, 2017). In the future, I will
lobby the government and other policy-makers to introduce and enforce new policies that that
can regulate the content of the information in the internet. I will also try to join politics and
become one of the topmost decision-makers in the country. Through this I will ensure that there
are strong legislations that can ensure the safety of online content.

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References
Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., Billieux, J., & Pontes, H. M. (2016). The evolution of Internet
addiction: A global perspective. Addictive Behaviors, 53, 193-195.
Kuss, D. J., & Lopez-Fernandez, O. (2016). Internet addiction and problematic Internet use: A
systematic review of clinical research. World journal of psychiatry, 6(1), 143.
Shek, D. T., Yu, L., & Sun, R. C. (2016). Internet addiction. Neuroscience in the 21st century, 1-
44.
Starcevic, V., & Aboujaoude, E. (2017). Internet addiction: Reappraisal of an increasingly
inadequate concept. CNS spectrums, 22(1), 7-13.