Internet Addiction: Negative Impacts on Relationships and Solutions

This report investigates the pervasive issue of internet addiction and its detrimental effects on human relationships, particularly focusing on the erosion of the common good. The assignment begins by highlighting the ease of access to the internet and how it leads to excessive usage, resulting in a decline in real-world interactions and a rise in cybercrime. It explores the addictive nature of social media and online dating, and the subsequent impact on relationships. The report then delves into the concept of the common good, emphasizing how internet addiction undermines human dignity. The core of the assignment proposes various solutions to address the challenge, including self-control, increased concentration, mindful use of applications, reduced time spent on social media, and avoidance of time-consuming and harmful websites. The report also references several studies to support its claims and provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue. It emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to internet usage to protect personal relationships and promote a healthier digital environment.

Internet addiction: negative impacts on relationships
The internet has made one’s life easier in a lot of different ways. One can find out anything and
everything that their heart desires in the click of a button, all they need is some proper data
connection in the form of dial-up, landline, Wifi or even cell phone connection. This easy
accessibility should have reduced the interest people have with the internet but on the contrary it
only increased many fold. People will now days mindlessly browse the net for anything and
everything under the sun and more often than not these things are something that they could have
done without. But instead they lost precious moments of their time, something they will never
get back for some mindless video that they will not remember two days from now. The constant
need to check one’s mobile or tab or even their computer for regular updates of their social
media sites is just a part of this internet addiction that needs to be checked in time or it will take
a turn for even worse than it is now (Bener, et al ,2018). And this kind of situation is not limited
to any one type of country, be it developed or developing, if there is an option to get internet
access then people will do it. One point needs to be made clear that there is no fixed age that has
been seen that this kind of addiction is rampant in. It is seen in the children and grown-ups alike,
all they need is a cell phone and some data plan (Jain, et al,2018). This issue is now something
that has turned out to be problem that is rampant all around the globe. Many a times it is seen
that the person who is addicted to the internet is deluding themselves into thinking that they are
in love (Gentile, et al, 2018). There are many online dating sites where people can meet other
people. But this sort of apps is mostly not safe. The amount of cyber crime cases that occur in
these sites is scary. Chatting with a person who is on the other side of the world if not physically
but in the sense of knowing whether a person is genuine or not is not something some can bet on.
There have been many instances where people have been not on entrapped but also fraud has
been committed against them.
The solution to this problem can be given in many ways. There are ways in which one can
control this. It indicates that there is a solution to the aforesaid problem that happens due to the
addiction of internet. It is always good to get information from the internet but the addiction is
harmful in many ways. The possible solutions are given below.

Self-control: this is a distraction from social media and other websites that is initiated by the user
himself or herself. The user should keep him or her away from browsing the internet in some
hours of the day. In that period of the day, they can do something that does not involve the use of
internet. The amount of time is set by the user in which he or she can do all the works that are
related to the use of internet. To reduce the use of internet, the user can make wishlist or blacklist
in the browser and access it anytime for doing important works only. This will reduce the use of
internet. They should also avoid sites that are harmful for their mental condition. Specially, the
teenagers should not get access to these sites. This is another factor that has increased the rate of
cyber crime to an extent that needs to be taken special care of. Schools even have seminars on
the same for kids are the most vulnerable beings when to comes to being targeted by sexual
predators. Another side of this is people adulterating and this having a bad effect on their
relationship (Arpaci, et al, 2018).
Concentration: this is very important for today’s generation. Sometimes it is seen that to shift
between different tasks they use internet in the time gap. This can be solved if the concentration
in certain task is increased. The concentration in reading, writing and planning and management
work should be increased.
Thinking and giving attention to a single application: It is very important to increase focus on
the task that the user is doing in a particular time. The time spent in social media should be
reduced and utilize that time in other applications. There are many applications that give already
stored information and work offline. These offline applications should be used to reduce the use
of internet.
Reducing time for social media: Social media was a way of being in contact with one’s long lost
friend or even find new people to be friends with who share the same kind of interest
(Simcharoen, et al., 2018). But it is seen that there are times when one is browsing over their
social media accounts and seeing their friends happy one feels sad. Everyone goes through good,
bad and ugly days but only the extremely good and very happy memories get posted over the
virtual world of social media. All the faults are fixed and laughter gets called forward to enhance
their beauty and not just be an expression of their happiness. This can be reduced by fixing a
time for social media. One can spend up to three or four hours in a day in social media. There
should be certain restriction in uploading certain kind of pictures on social media. Filters in

pictures are used nowadays to make the picture better in every way before uploading. This
should be stopped. Apart from that, the use of abusive words and cyber sex is seen very much on
social media. This should be kept on check. Self control is the best practice in this case.
Not involving in time-consuming sites: There is increased rate of internet browsing for sites that
are anti-social in nature (Carras, et al, 2018). Then there are times when people in love indulge in
cyber sex. This is another factor that has increased the rate of cyber crime to an extent that needs
to be taken special care of. Schools even have seminars on the same for kids are the most
vulnerable beings when to comes to being targeted by sexual predators. Another side of this is
people adulterating and this having a bad effect on their relationship (Arpaci, et al, 2018). So, it
is very important to avoid these types of sites to save time and relationship. To avoid this type of
sites, one can spend surfing through educational sites. These sites give adequate information
about everything without the use of abusive words or pictures. There have been records of many
divorces happening because one of the two parties had opted to have a very effortless
relationship online with a stranger. Another serious issue is that many times these online
relationships are tapped in for pornography sites thus wreaking havoc on whoever is on the
concerned site (Carras, et al, 2018). It is sometimes that students with open access tend to waste
their time on mindless surfing and not concentrate of their studies.

Reference
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