Our lives have changed a lot in recent years due to advancements in technology. Human life has become much easier and colorful. But it too has its negatives. In recent times, it feels the negatives of the Digital world are surpassing the positives gradually.
Internet Addiction is not much more different from drugs and alcohol addiction. 70% of Internet Addicts have struggled with other forms of addiction.
Effects of Internet Addiction: Moodiness, Headaches, Damaged Relationships, Insomnia, Major Health issues like improper vision and increased risk of heart attacks. It disturbs the entire biological clock of our body.
According to some study, 40% of the population suffers from one or the other kind of Internet Addiction like:
- Gaming Addiction
- Pornography Addiction
- Social media Addiction.
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION
Apps like Instagram and Tinder top the chart when it comes to social media addiction. Entertainment platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime are the ones that get addicted in no time. This addiction not only wastes a lot of time but also spreads fake news. These platforms are designed and developed in such a way that they act like a dopamine-releasing machine. In our daily life, we have been so busy that we fail to recognize that we subconsciously use social media more than required.
How dangerous is Social Media Addiction?
These days people use social media to show off their luxuries and happy moments. People who use a lot of social media tend to compare themselves with others and overthink, resulting in depression and anxiety issues. This makes them vulnerable to mental health issues. Some people fail to come out of this addiction due to FOMO( Fear Of Missing Out). This severely affects students. It gets totally hard for students who are addicted to social media to focus on their academics. Apart from that, these affect health to a greater extent than expected.
How to cure it?
The first step to overcome this addiction is to have an urge within you to quit excessive usage. People go for a 30 day Digital Detox to overcome this addiction. I prefer to start slowly, try to quit social media for one day, then gradually increase the duration for which you stay away from social media by involving yourself in refreshing activities like cycling, swimming, going to the gym, spending time with family, and friends, etc. It is not possible to cure Social Media Addiction in a single day. But with time, it’s definitely possible.
Sometimes we need to disconnect to reconnect with people.
GAMING ADDICTION
According to a survey, the majority of children and teenagers spend more than 50% of their free time by playing digital games. This addiction is not easier to get over though, because of the adrenaline rush which players get while playing games.
How harmful is Gaming Addiction?
Playing games for long stretches of hours increases health risks in children and teenagers. Every day we come across news of children losing their lives because of these games. Even this addiction effects student’s academic performance. Children prefer playing digital games compared to physical games.
Children’s eyesight gets severely affected due to strain. World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Gaming Addiction as Mental Health Disorder.
How to overcome Gaming Addiction?
Children and teenagers who want to overcome this addiction think that if they delete the game from their device, they will overcome this addiction. For a short period of time, they think they are not addicted but ultimately results in playing that game for a longer duration than expected. The best way to overcome this addiction is to set time limits to play daily. Gradually decrease the duration of playing games and at last, you will overcome this addiction.
PORNOGRAPHY ADDICTION
According to a report, more than 58% of people are addicted to porn. This addiction is due to a lack of sex knowledge in children and teenagers. When they are growing up, hormonal changes and physical changes take place in them. By curiosity, they try to learn about this and due to lack of proper guidance, get addicted to watching porn.
How dangerous is Porn Addiction?
This addiction misguides children and teenagers a lot about sex. Though porn has been banned in some places, still people try to watch it through illegal means. Some children might consider porn as real and do wrong things which adversely affects them and society. There have been many cases where the lack of sex knowledge of students is misused by people for money. This addiction affects mental health to a greater extent. This affects relationships.
How to fight it?
In order to overcome this addiction, the first and the most important step is to provide proper sex knowledge to children and teenagers. When they are given proper information, they become aware of reality and chances of getting vulnerable to scams automatically gets reduced.
There is no problem in this world that doesn’t have a solution be it man-made or not. Digital World has helped us a lot. But its negatives should not be ignored as it may turn disastrous in the future if proper precautions are not taken.
Thousands of people get addicted to different things daily, be it alcohol, drugs, or digital addiction. At the same time, thousands of people fight and win against these addictive problems. It’s up to you to choose which path to go.
“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
