What is Internet Addiction - Podcast

Here is another recent podcast of a radio interview dealing with the warning signs and treatment involved with Internet addiction.

I Wonder Radio program

Hello Everyone,

Here is a recent radio story on Internet Addiction. I hope this is informative.

What if the Internet Went Down???

WASHINGTON (AP) — If a day without Wikipedia was a bother, think bigger. In this plugged-in world, we would barely be able to cope if the entire Internet went down in a city, state or country for a day or a week.

Sure, we'd survive. People have done it. Countries have, as Egyptdid last year during the anti-government protests. And most of civilization went along until the 1990s without the Internet. But now we're so intertwined socially, financially and industrially that suddenly going back to the 1980s would hit the world as hard as a natural disaster, experts say.

No email, Twitter or Facebook. No buying online. No stock trades. No just-in-time industrial shipping. No real-time tracking of diseases. It's gotten so that not just the entire Internet but individual websites such as Google are considered critical infrastructure, experts said.

"Nobody would die, but there would be a major hassle," said computer security expert Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure in Helsinki, Finland.

If an Internet outage lasted more than a day or two, the financial hit would be huge, with mass unemployment, said Ken Mayland, a former chief bank economist and president of ClearView Economics. Eugene Spafford, director of Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, worries about bank runs and general panic.

Psychologically, too, it could be wrenching.

"I think it's easier to get off heroin," said Lisa Welter of New York City, who weaned herself for a month last year from just the social aspects of the Internet — she still paid bills online — and felt as if she was "living in a cave."

"There would be a sense of loss: What would I do with my time?" said Kimberly Young, a psychologist who directs the Center for Internet Addiction and Recovery.

On Wednesday, certain websites, most prominently Wikipedia, went dark to protest legislation in Congress that would crack down on pirated movies and TV shows. It was a one-day stunt. But it raises questions about our connectedness.

It is possible that hackers, terrorists, accidents or even sunspots could take down the Internet and cause areas to become cut off and unreachable, said Spafford, one of the foremost experts on computer security. The U.S. and other developed nations have multiple and robust routing systems that make it unlikely large areas would be affected, but smaller countries could be vulnerable to nationwide outages, Hypponen said.

The world only has to look back one year to Egypt to see what a sudden unplugging could spawn.

The government of Hosni Mubarak tried to stop protests in January 2011 by switching off the Internet. The shutdown halted businesses, banking operations and — at the height of the demonstrations — the ability of the protest leaders to organize and communicate with one another.

During the five days that the Internet was out, anti-Mubarak activists had to rely on help from abroad to spread their news and update Web pages. The outage harmed protesters' ability to organize or to counter government propaganda that portrayed them as agents of foreign powers, said Ahmed Saleh, who was in charge of managing the Facebook page that was credited with mobilizing thousands of Egyptians to take to the streets.

With the shutdown, the protests swelled as people unable to follow minute-by-minute what was going on took to the streets.

"No Internet meant that more people went down and realized that this was for real. The protests grew, and so did the anger against the government domestically and internationally," Saleh said.

He said the lack of Internet also allowed him to "live the moment" because he was not distracted with tweeting and posting on Facebook or analyzing the situation. This, he said, strengthened real face-to-face connections between people.

Nicholas Christin, associate director of the Information Networking Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, said that while a prolonged Internet outage would be uncomfortable, it might also bring out the best in people.

"I think you would find that people are very resilient," he said. "We would go back to the libraries."

Christin said he has gone a week without the Internet as part of a vacation. The first few days were rough, he said, but then "it was fantastic."

Christin did it by choice. Others had it imposed on them because of weather disasters or financial problems. They weren't nostalgic about it.

For three days, Jill Williams lost the Internet and power because of a California windstorm last month. Her small business requires her to use email to plan events.

"Those three days I felt deprived," she recalled in an email, responding to a Twitter request for anecdotes about going Internet-less. "The Internet has totally consumed my life, both business as well as pleasure."

Wyatt McMahon of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech University was having a hard time Wednesday just dealing with the shutdown at Wikipedia, which he leans on as a first step in his searches in his field, which combines statistics and biology.

If the entire Internet were lost, "that would be beyond catastrophic. Every single day, every single hour, if not every 30 minutes, I am using the Internet for work," McMahon said. "So if anything like that were to happen, it would bring everything to a screeching halt."

New brain study on addiction to violent video games.

The age old debate over the effects of video games on the brain is back. On Monday, the Radiological Society of North America released information on a new research that shows violent video games can effect the brain. At the same time, News.com Australia reported that mental health professionals in Australia are considering video game addiction and internet addition as official mental disorders.

These studies are far from definitive, given the large volume of game studies over the years. But if games are classified as harmful or addictive, that could limit their reach. Parents might proactively decide to crack down on violent video games, which have become a big part of the mass market. Studies like this are a force that could shove gamers back into the closet.

The new research conducted by the RSNA took 22 young men, ages 18 to 29, and instructed 11 of the 22 males to play 10 hours of violent video games for one week and then stop playing completely the second week. Then, the other 11 men were instructed to not play any violent video games throughout the two week period.

Before, during and after the two week period, the subjects were given tests via MRI’s to monitor their brain function. The results showed that after the week of game play, there was less activity in the left inferior frontal lobe during the emotional test and less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex during the counting test. Yang Wang, a medical doctor and an assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine said, “These findings indicate that violent video game play has a long term effect on brain functioning.”

While these findings are coming to light, mental health professionals in Australia are being asked by parents to include video game addiction and internet addiction in the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The professionals might declare the  addictions as an official disorder called pathological internet misuse. If that happens, parents are hoping this will encourage further study on the matter.

The news stirs up old memories of the negative stigma often associated with video games. As video games jump into the mainstream more and more every year, studies and alleged official disorders like the ones mentioned are likely to pop up from time to time and thwart the advance of games as a universal medium. It also shows that, despite a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue of violent video games is far from dead.

A new study Pew Institute finds most teens have seen bad behavior on social media sites:survey

The majority of teenagers who use social networking websites say their peers are mostly kind to one another online, but 88% still say they've witnessed people being mean and cruel on such sites, according to a new study. Fifteen percent say they've been the target of bad behavior on social media sites.

The findings come from a report called "Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites: How American teens navigate the new world of 'digital citizenship,'" which is based on seven focus groups with teens and a survey of 799 youths 12 to 17 and their parents.

The study, conducted by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, found that social media use is widespread among teens, with 95% of 12- to 17-year-olds in the survey saying they use the Internet. Of those, 80% said they use social media sites.

When it comes to bad conduct online, 80% of teen social media users in the survey said they have defended a victim of meanness and cruelty and 79% said they have told someone to stop mean behavior on a social network site. However, 21% said they have joined in on the harassment.

"Social networking sites have created new spaces for teens to interact, and they witness a mixture of altruism and cruelty," said Amanda Lenhart, the study's lead author. "For most teens, these are exciting and rewarding spaces. But the majority have also seen a darker side."

Teens in the survey said they received advice about online safety from a variety of people. Parents were the top source, with 86% saying they have received advice from their parents about how to use the Internet safely and responsibly, and 70% said they have received advice from a teacher or other adult at school.

Teens in the survey reported that parents were also the biggest influence on shaping what they think is appropriate or inappropriate behavior when going online or using a cellphone. At the same time, 18% saidthat no one has influenced them about their attitudes toward online behavior.

Addiction to social networking causes serious mental health issues according to a new study

The Millennial Generation’s, also known as the Me Generation, biggest distinguishing feature is the tech-savvy abilities of its members. Many students cannot remember a time when there was no internet, no cell phones, and most importantly, no Facebook or Twitter. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing; it seems to have gone from a privilege to a given. There are repercussions to constantly monitoring social networking sites that many students are unaware of and that pose significant health problems. One of them is FTAD, Facebook/Twitter Addiction Disorder.
Recent research in the area of addiction has shown that four in five students suffer from significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion and extreme isolation when forced to unplug from technology for an entire day. The study called “Unplugged” was jointly led by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) and the Salzburg Academy. The global experiment was done at 10 universities last year and showed students suffering withdrawal symptoms similar to those associated with drug addictions when quitting “cold turkey.”  The conclusion provided a majority of almost 1,000 college students, in places like China, Britain, and America, who were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day.
One of the American students confessed their overpowering cravings were similar to the “itching like a crackhead,” giving new meaning to the nickname for the popular phone Blackberry: Crackberry. Most of the symptoms of addiction revolve around depression, anxiety, and isolation from the lack of news of what peers are doing.
There is no doubt of the popularity of social networking sites which allow many people to fulfill their basic social needs of feeling loved, accepted and part of a group. Dr. Michael Fenichel attributes the phenomenon of Facebook addiction to “the instant texting component the ability to post pictures and videos, play pop-psychology and pop-culture games and quizzes (applications), follow (slightly less than on Twitter) the every move, decision, feeling, and random thought of everyone in countless networks, and also maintain a homepage/wall for all to see and visit, makes this the best recipe for significant behavioral addiction, as it fills a large and ‘normal’ part of our lives.”
Student Emily Surovy, a sophomore, is an avid Twitter user who says, “[Twitter] puts you on a more personal level with people you’d never talk to in real life and makes you realize that they [celebrities] are people too.”
So far there have been six criteria identified in diagnosing FTAD. At least two or three must be present at any time during a 5-6 month period in order to be diagnosed. The criteria are:
1.      Tolerance, referring to the increasing amounts of time spent of Facebook and Twitter to achieve satisfaction.
2.      After trying to “get rid of Facebook,” it causes distress or impairs social, personal, or occupational functions such as the speed of your internet browser or the amount of time you spend obsessing about who wrote what on your wall.
3.      Important social or recreational activities are greatly reduced and/or migrated to Facebook or Twitter. (Socializing with friends has moved from hanging out in a dorm to only conversing through the Facebook chat feature.)
4.      If you express your affection for your boyfriend/girlfriend through Twitter or Facebook, or use the applications on Facebook to simulate a real date such as the FB Café World.
5.      You have no idea who 8 of the 10 people in your friends list are and you have more than a 1000 friends.
6.      You invite anyone you have met to become friends on Facebook and any notifications, messages, and invites give you a lift in your mood because you feel loved or popular.
As with any addiction, it is no laughing matter and should be addressed as quickly as possible. Gradually wean yourself off of Facebook and Twitter by cancelling the text message notifications, spend a set amount of time on each a day (no more, no less), hang out with friends in person, and call instead of messaging your friends.

The Dangers of Internet Gambling among Teenagers

Internet Gambling has become an increasingly popular form of gaming.  Through online web sites, users can gamble through interactive television and mobile phones. The convenience of 24-hour access, the ease of setting up an online account and the variety of sites from traditional betting, to casino gambling, to lotteries - makes Internet gambling very appealing.

Individuals who start experiencing a problem with Internet gambling become preoccupied with gambling creating a disruption in their personal, family, and social aspects of their lives. Studies found that teen-aged Internet gamblers were more likely to have a serious gambling than other gamblers. Teen-aged Internet gamblers were also more likely to suffer from health and emotional problems such as substance abuse, circulatory disease, depression, and risky sexual behaviors.  According to the National Gambling Impact Commission, young children and teenagers are at the greatest risk to develop a problem with Internet gambling.  They estimated that 16-24 year old males comprise 4% of Internet gamblers and 11-18 year old males comprise 4-7% of Internet gamblers, a significant increase with advent of online casinos (www.ncalg.org). 

Brad, a 19-year old math major at the University of Minnesota lost his scholarship and had to resign from school because of his addiction to online gambling. “I didn’t start out thinking I would get so hooked,” he explained. “I started playing Texas Hold ‘Em after watching a poker show on TV. It was just something I did for fun. Then, I started staying up late, missing classes, spending tons of money; all my time was spent playing the game. It was more than winning and losing money. To be a good player, you’ve got to be smart and I liked the intellectual challenge and competitiveness of the game.”

Brad’s mother became concerned when she discovered Brad’s falling grades.

“I knew it was about the computer,” she said. “But no one seemed to believe me. A counselor at his school told me that it was just a phase but this was more than just a phase.” Parents and partners are usually the first to notice a loved one’s online gambling habit and the range of behaviors is similar to those for any type of gambling addiction:

• Showing increased excitement when going online to find new gambling spots;
• Rearranging schedules to permit more time for online gambling activities;
• Feeling that a change in online gambling activities will bring good luck and subsequently increasing the size of their bets;
• Chasing lost bets to try to catch up;
• Placing larger bets and betting more frequently;
• Boasting about winning and minimizing losses.
• Going online to gamble when faced with a crisis or a stressful situation.

For the addict, these symptoms also result in changes in the person’s personality and routine behaviors. Suddenly there are unexplained absences from work, home, or other responsibilities. The addict becomes secretive, conceals or attempts to conceal how his or her time is spent at the computer, and outright lies about the real nature of his or her computer activity. Often, the gambling addict experiences mood swings, showing extreme highs when they win and extreme lows when they lose. Values go by the wayside and many violate their own principles. They begin to hide money, make secret loans, or make unusual, sporadic, or unexplained withdrawals from family bank accounts. Suddenly they find themselves capable of or actually stealing money from friends and family—then lying about it—in order to bet more, pay off debts, or recoup losses.