Internet Addiction

Tarih: 15.11.2023

Internet Addiction

The internet, which has become widespread since the early 1990s, has made significant contributions to the social, cultural, technological, and scientific advancements of societies. At the same time, it facilitates the easy completion of many tasks in daily life and makes our lives easier in areas such as personal development and education. However, this rapid spread has also brought some negatives and carries various risks. Because the internet allows information to spread unchecked and can expose children to online risks, especially. These risks can be classified as follows:

[Image: Risks of inappropriate internet use]

In addition to all these risks and problems in this area, the constant use of the internet by unconscious individuals leads them to encounter problems with various names such as internet addiction, online (digital) gaming addiction, social media addiction, smartphone addiction, and technology addiction. This condition, referred to as internet addiction, can be defined as the inability of an individual to control their internet usage, leading to problems in work, family, and social life due to excessive use.

[Image: Problems resulting from inappropriate internet use]

Improper use of the internet and long hours spent at the computer or mobile device create many problems. As seen in figure 2, it creates physical, mental, and social problems. It emerges just like substance addiction.

However, studies conducted so far, although with different criteria, show that the prevalence of problematic internet use disorder varies between 0.3% and 38%.

Generally, it is observed 2-3 times more in males than in females, and problematic internet use is more common among young populations.

A typical person with internet usage problems spends between 40-80 hours per week at the computer and may not leave the computer for up to 20 hours at a stretch. Those whose sleep cycles are disrupted may start consuming stimulants excessively, such as coffee and soft drinks, and may develop obesity, hand problems, back pain, and posture problems due to decreased physical activity.

Appearance features for problematic internet use resemble each other, as expressed above. First of all, cognitive status related to the internet attracts attention. Symptoms such as obsessive thoughts about the internet, decreased impulse control, inability to reduce or stop internet use, constantly thinking about the internet when offline, impatiently waiting for the next internet connection, and considering the internet as the only friend are noticeable.

Other features that can be seen in individuals with problematic internet use include spending a lot of money on the internet, spending less time on other activities in their lives, isolating themselves from their social circle, lying to their family and friends about the duration of internet usage, changes in sleep patterns/insomnia, problems in academic/work or interpersonal relationships, neglect of the social circle, family, work, or personal responsibilities, feeling restless when trying to stay away from the internet, spending longer on the internet than planned, general decrease in physical activities and subsequent weight gain, susceptibility to some physical illnesses due to a weakened immune system, neck and back pain due to prolonged inactivity.

Although some of the signs considered as indicators of problematic internet use are not just internet use but symptoms resulting from computer use. One important point is that there are different appearances of problematic internet use among certain age groups and genders. Although there are no evidence-based treatment strategies for internet addiction, both medication and psychotherapy methods are recommended.

Both content problems and situations resulting from long-term use emphasize the necessity of protecting children and young people. Because internet usage is most common among them. It is known that the rate of internet use among young people in our country is over 80%. All these bring up the concepts of "appropriate and safe internet use and digital parenting".

Digital parenting can be defined as being aware of the opportunities, opportunities, needs, and dangers of the digital world by following the digital world and raising awareness about protecting their child from these dangers and using the opportunities. Parents should operate the control mechanism to protect their children from digital risks. However, this control mechanism should not prevent the child from using online opportunities.

Parents should also be responsible for teaching their child ethical rules not only in real life but also in digital environments. Therefore, parents themselves should have digital ethics. As the last feature that digital parents should have, innovation, and following innovations have been mentioned.

Appropriate Internet and Safe Use:

Children being exploited in online environments has brought up the issue of safe internet use. In this context, legal regulations and various activities are carried out in our country to ensure the safe use of the Internet.

Various websites such as Safe Web (www.guvenliweb.org.tr), Safe Child (www.guvenlicocuk.org.tr), Safe Internet (www.guvenlinet.org.tr/tr), Internet Help Center (www.internetyardim.org.tr), and Internet Information Reporting Center (www.ihbarweb.org.tr) operating under the Information Technologies and Communication Authority provide necessary support for the safe use of the Internet.

• Parents should provide their children with a good leisure activity from an early age. Attention should be paid to ensuring that the boundaries of the virtual environment do not exceed the natural environment.

• Children should be encouraged to meet with their friends, especially through natural ways, and new opportunities should be provided to them in this regard. While virtual libraries are used, real libraries should not be put aside, and reading habits should not be lost.

• Parents should not consider computer games as a necessary tool for their children not to misbehave at home, not to disturb them, and to entertain them. They should occasionally play computer games with their children. They should determine the game times and ensure that their children adhere to these periods. Instead of strict restrictions and penalties for reducing their children's time spent on the internet and visits to internet cafes, they should choose mutual dialogue and persuasion with them.

• If children are seen visiting pornographic or gambling websites, they should not be scolded, but a mutual conversation should be held, emphasizing that what they did was wrong and would harm them.