Internet Addiction Disorder Among The Youth Aged 18 To 25

Name Instructor Course Date Internet Addiction Disorder among the Youth Aged 18 to 25 The Internet has grown to become one of the most important discoveries in the history of humans. It is hard to imagine the world now without the internet. For all its benefits such as being a useful resource hub, it has come with its fair share of problems such as security and health issues especially for the youth aged 18 to 25. The problems for the youth have been magnified by the growth in the number of social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkeIn that they can subscribe to. Today, it is very common to find a youth spending a whole day on the internet, chatting with people from different parts of the globe, some of them strangers. Internet addicted youth find it hard to be without the internet and they may “…use the Internet for extended periods, isolating themselves from other forms of social contact, and focus almost entirely on the Internet rather than broader life events” (Sato 279). This paper will examine the causes of internet addition disorder. The youth today find it hard to separate themselves from the internet. Almost every aspect of their lives is dominated by the internet. When they want to do their assignments, they obtain the information they need from the internet and sometimes submit these assignments via the same medium. If they want to read news, they find it easy to obtain the information they need on the internet. If they want to communicate with others, they can do so in a more interesting manner via the internet especially through video calls such as Skype. In the end, the internet has dominated in almost everything they do. For most people who cannot control how they use the internet, they have become addicted in what has come to be known as internet addiction disorder. Internet addiction disorder is therefore defined as the “…excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges, or behaviors regarding Internet use that lead to impairment or distress (Weinstein et al. 99). Specifically, “…the Internet appears to have almost completely replaced other forms of pastime, such as interactive playing outdoors, in the neighborhood or/and at home” (Ayudin et al. 119). The youth have become accustomed to living virtual lives together with their real ones. Depression is one of the major causes of internet addiction among the youth. Consequently, depressed youths believe that being online all the time is the escape mechanism that they need. The internet offers them a platform where they can easily get lost while remaining faceless. On most occasions, being online offers them the much needed relief and fills them with a sense of excitement that they would want to relieve all the time. To relieve their depression, they opt to get online and play games. When they become addicted, they can do nothing but to “…get immersed within virtual worlds and gradually neglect their studies” (Jiang 16). The internet serves as an escapee mechanism for many youths in many spheres of life, youths dealing with problems at home and in their relationship lives turn to the internet for solace and comfort. In the end, they can never have enough of the internet and they “….often lose track of time spent online and have diffic...