The real
problem with this addiction, however, is its
sociological effects. A number of people say
that the Internet is like traveling. They
say each trip is like a new journey and they
never know where they are going to be taken
to. The problem is that they spend so much
time on the internet that they withdraw from
regular society. They escape reality into
a realm with no real boundaries or existence.
While lost in the cyber world
for long periods of time, they are neglecting
other important activities like; time with
the family, socializing, work and health concerns.
Internet addiction has been cited as a contributing
factor in the disintegration of marriages
and families, and the collapse of promising
careers.
The
anonymity of the Internet not only made people
socially withdrawn, it also made it easier to
indulge the addiction, and encouraged "deviant,
deceptive and even criminal online acts, such
as the development of aggressive online personas
or the viewing and downloading of illegal images".
The
internet provides an outlet where individuals
can interact with other individuals behind
the screen, without knowing the other individual’s
appearance. Such an interaction consequently
makes the addicts lose real life communication
skills, and even become socially withdrawn.
On the Internet, emotions can be expressed
with symbols (e.g.?) and specific words designated
to convey a feeling (e.g. LOL). Hence, it
takes away the need for using visual communication
skills of the face, body, and hands. Without
exercising these skills, they can weaken and
may end up becoming expressionless, using
only text to convey their emotions to others
when meeting face-to-face. In addition, as
an internet addict spends more and more time
online, they can become used to only communicating
with typed words, and finding it difficult
to talk to people in real life. As with Dinty
W. Moore’s encounter with an internet
addict:
“His
fingers are constantly tapping. When there
is nothing to type-for instance, while waiting
as the computer answers his previous request-he
strokes the outside edges of the keyboard
or taps the table. His eyes are locked on
the screen and it occurs to me that Rob has
barely made eye contact with me all day, even
over our cheap lunch. He seems both eager
to tell me his story and embarrassed by it.
Rob then says he spends a lot more time on
computers than with people and that it is
more comfortable for him on the computer”
(An excerpt from “The Emperor’s
Virtual Clothes: The Naked Truth about Internet
Culture” by Moore, Dinty W.)
