UNCC100 Semester 2 Essay: Negative Impacts of Internet Addiction

This essay delves into the pervasive issue of internet addiction, presenting it as a significant mental disorder with far-reaching consequences. It begins by highlighting the exponential growth of internet access and its potential downsides, particularly internet addiction. The essay explores various contributing factors to this addiction, including excessive internet use, depression, low self-esteem, and even genetic predispositions and environmental influences. It categorizes internet addiction into different forms like cyber-sex and cyber-relationship addictions, emphasizing how they can lead to social withdrawal and communication difficulties. Furthermore, the essay links internet addiction to physical health problems like vision issues and obesity, and it examines the negative impact on communication skills, job performance, and academic achievements. The author advocates for community support for those struggling with internet addiction and acknowledges the need to recognize the negative impacts alongside the positives of internet usage.

INTERNET ADDICTION 1
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[Student’s name]
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INTERNET ADDICTION 2
We are in the 21st century where information technology has evolved and things which used to be just
imaginations are now happening. In 2015, the international telecommunication union estimated that by
the end of the year, more than half of the world’s population will have internet access. We are now in
2019; will I be wrong if I say three-quarters of the world's population now has internet access? This is
something I should be proud of but that is not the case because of the internet addiction. I can say
internet addiction is a mental disorder where someone feels like he cannot survive without access to the
internet. The addiction is brought up by various reasons such as excessive use of the internet and
depression when someone does not feel worthy of interacting with other people physically (Dong, et
al.2013, p.283). Low self-esteem is also a contributing factor to internet addiction but this makes it
worse because internet addiction can result in cyberbullying. Imagine having internet addiction and face
cyberbullying.
Internet addiction can be caused by genetics where internet addiction runs in the family may be due to
anxiety and depression cases in the family. Environmental factors cannot be omitted. These factors
include scorching sun and heavy rainfall which forces people to stay indoors and the only chance of
interacting with friends is through the internet. Internet addiction comes in various forms such as cyber-
sex addiction where someone spends a lot of time surfing through pornographic pages. The other form
is cyber relationship addiction where generally the affected person spends a lot of time interacting with
people through social media (Ko, et al.2012, p.6). The thought of someone who cannot initiate a
conversation with another person in a public place but the same person is so talkative when using social
media pages just makes my smile fade because the internet should be there to make our lives better.
I am not blind to the fact that the internet has improved our lives as some people earn their living by
using the internet. Financial transactions have been transformed courtesy of the internet and
communication has been made easier. My focus is on the negative impact of internet addiction on our
communities and I am sure there are millions of people who agree with me. Internet addiction and eye
problems are like identical twins because they have a strong connection. I am not saying that all vision
problems are caused by internet addiction but internet addiction can cause a vision problem (Kuss, and
Griffiths, 2012, p.283). That is not the only health problem that is caused by internet addiction as I have
several cases of people becoming obese due to excessive internet use. This is normally due to limited
physical exercise as someone is always indoors surfing through different pages.
Internet addiction imposes antisocial behavior into someone and this can cause social withdrawal. This
is because a person is unable to interact with other people in the real world due to an inability to
communicate. The addicted may have a different internet persona which is in conflict with the real
persona of the affected person and this means someone will have a poor social life (Romano,et al.2013,
p.162). Practice makes perfect and communication is not exempted in this case. Without communicating
with family and friends face to face, communication will be affected and there are job interviews that
need to be attended and proper communication is what will earn you your dream job. Imagine the pain
someone can go through knowing deep down he is qualified for the job but he cannot get it due to poor
communication caused by internet addiction.

INTERNET ADDICTION 3
Internet addiction will also lead to cases of irresponsibility as someone may fail to finish the assigned
tasks just to use the internet. Internet addiction can also make someone forgot about his or her
responsibilities and this will affect his or her job performance and can lead to dismissal (Wortmann, and
Flüchter, 2015, p.223). In the case of a student who is addicted to the internet, poor grades will be
registered and prevent someone from securing the much-needed scholarship to join a prestigious
institution.
People who are undergoing internet addiction should be assisted by all means possible because the
majority of the people think that the internet has only brought about positive impacts but in the real
sense, there are a lot of people suffering from the disorder. Every member of the community should be
aided without judgment as this can cause stigma and depression (Charmonman, et al.2015, p.2). Let us
not forget that everything that has positive impacts has also negative impacts that affect people of
society. As an internet user, I am proud that it exists but I will not fail to acknowledge that it has ruined
the lives of people in our communities.

INTERNET ADDICTION 4
References
Charmonman, S., Mongkhonvanit, P., Dieu, V.N. and Linden, N., 2015. Applications of internet of things
in e-learning. International Journal of the Computer, the Internet and Management, 23(3), pp.1-4.
Dong, G., Hu, Y., Lin, X. and Lu, Q., 2013. What makes Internet addicts continue playing online even
when faced by severe negative consequences? Possible explanations from an fMRI study. Biological
psychology, 94(2), pp.282-289.
Ko, C.H., Yen, J.Y., Yen, C.F., Chen, C.S. and Chen, C.C., 2012. The association between Internet
addiction and psychiatric disorder: a review of the literature. European Psychiatry, 27(1), pp.1-8.
Kuss, D.J. and Griffiths, M.D., 2012. Internet gaming addiction: A systematic review of empirical
research. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10(2), pp.278-296.
Romano, M., Osborne, L.A., Truzoli, R. and Reed, P., 2013. Differential psychological impact of internet
exposure on internet addicts. PLoS One, 8(2), p.e55162.
Wortmann, F. and Flüchter, K., 2015. Internet of things. Business & Information Systems
Engineering, 57(3), pp.221-224.