Internet addiction: Origins, symptoms and possible solutions
The advent of the internet and the wide-ranging use that people have gradually made over the years have made it an omnipresent companion in the lives of most of us.
Even technology adapts and follows this trend: not only ever more portable computers, but now also smartphones and tablets guarantee access to the web wherever we are (or almost).
Psychology and the study of psychological disorders always go hand in hand with the socio-cultural evolution of the human being; so old pathologies give way to new ones, which require in-depth study and careful study if you want to be able to help people overcome the difficulties they pose in everyday life.
With the advent of the web, new discomforts of considerable interest for psychopathology have emerged: internet addiction, which contains in itself different forms and sub-categories (dependence on social networks, sex or internet gaming, for example), is today one of the most studied subjects.
What do we mean by internet addiction?
It is certainly very difficult to assess whether and when excessive use of the web turns into a real problem. Many young and older people now spend a significant amount of hours on the computer without developing addiction. What becomes a sign of the possible presence of a "problem" concerns the way in which the use of the internet reduces the relational and interactive quality of the individual in his everyday life.
In a nutshell, when the excessive use of computers and the Internet compromises normal everyday activities - work, school, social outgoings - and above all affective relationships and the ability to establish close and lasting links in real life, then we are probably struggling with a situation that has become uncomfortable.
When do you become an employee?
This is also a difficult question to give a generic answer.
However, one can identify situations in which one is more predisposed to developing internet addiction.
Anxiety, depression, stress are definitely predictive factors: when you go through a time of difficulty, the computer and its unlimited resources can greatly reduce the state of hardship experienced, anxiety or the sense of loneliness, offering opportunities for recreation and lightening of the mind (a fast soothing that deviates from the problem experienced at that time). In this way there is the risk of establishing a vicious circuit whereby every time one is in a conflictual situation, one prefers to go back to distraction, creating a dependency, not a solution to the problem - which instead remains and, on the contrary, is so nourished.
Other predictive elements may be: the pre-existence of another dependency condition - for example, alcohol, drugs or compulsive gambling; relational difficulties; phobias or social isolation.
What are the symptoms?
Generally speaking, when an Internet addiction develops, there are symptoms that cause both psychological and physical discomfort (weight loss, sleep, headaches, eyesight problems, are some examples).
As already mentioned, when you become dependent on the web you lose your contacts with reality, so you have difficulties working (you find it difficult to perform the assigned tasks), you lose interest and contacts with relatives, friends and companions who "populate" real life.
You often lose the knowledge of time, you spend hours on your computer without realizing it, you forget to carry out important activities, in the most serious cases you also eat or take care of yourself.
Everything about the Internet becomes the only source of energy and satisfaction, while slowly losing interest in the surrounding world.
How can we get out of dependence?
Like all addictions, in order to get out of the vicious circuit that the dependence on the Internet creates, it is necessary to strengthen one's own internal structures (in this case they often concern self-esteem) and to replace the old strategies that create the dependence, with new and more functional ones.
It is important, for example, to regulate the time spent on the Internet, to limit its use and confine it to specific times of the day, or to devote oneself to it only after having carried out the necessary tasks. It is useful to start engaging in alternative activities that can provide healthy solutions to feelings of boredom and loneliness (sports or hobbies of various kinds).
Furthermore, resorting to the help of a therapy or support groups, especially in the most serious cases, is essential to support and help the person to get out of dependence on the Internet in a stable and lasting way over time.