Internet Addiction is Not an Illness

Internet usage has increased drastically over the past two decades and it’s not stopping to grow even now, when almost everyone have it at home and use it daily. Recently I have noticed that some people call excessive internet usage an “illness”, which requires a treatment. Internet addiction is not in any way an Illness, it’s a habit.

You must have heard parents complain about how their children are mentally unstable because of their addiction to the internet. Most of them blame the internet referring to it as a plague, which consumes child’s brain, but very few find their own fault in it. Internet is an addiction, which can be easily contained if done so early on. Parents who allow their children to be on computer for hours daily at an early age should not get surprised that by the times these children grow up they become internet addicts.

You might have also heard about so called “treatments” for internet addicted children. During these treatments children are treated as if they had a mental condition, which can result in them believing that they actually have one. Also these treatments are not free and sometimes can be quite expensive and take time. These treatments basically do what parents could have done themselves if they viewed internet addiction as a habit and not illness. And it is limiting internet time and encouraging children to do more physical activities outside other than letting them stay inside and do whatever they want. Who else but parents can teach their children about the negatives of internet addiction?

As for example there is an article about a four year old who had the serious case of game/internet addiction. Of course parents blame it all on the internet and technologies, but in fact her parents allowed her to use iPad since she was a baby and by the time she grew up to the age of three she couldn't live without her gadget. Now her parents pay 16000 euro a month for a ‘digital detox programme’. It is very sad to hear that this girl is undergoing a mental treatment, because of her parents’ mistakes. Also the article provided a poll, which showed that “more than half of parents let their babies use a smartphone or tablet, with one in seven allowing it for four or more hours a day.”

Myself I can certainly say that like most of teenagers in our time that I’m addicted to internet. It is very hard to pass a day without going online, checking mail, looking up articles. I feel like it is my responsibility to control my internet usage, so I try to limit myself by doing other things, such as meeting up with my friends or just reading.

In conclusion I would say that Internet addiction is not an illness. It’s a habit, a very bad habit, which can damage your physical and social conditions. If you have one no matter how old you are, it is your own choice to get rid of it.

source: [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2312429/Four-year-old-girl-Britains-youngest-iPad-ADDICT-Shocking-rise-children-hooked-using-smartphones-tablets.html]