Understanding Internet Addiction
Lighthouse Gloabl knows what it is like to be trolled by predatory trolls. We have witnessed and experienced this abuse firsthand, that we expected or thought we would. Until 2 years ago I had never heard of trolling, and now to have witnessed the hate and maliciousness of their toxicity, I am grateful that I have had people around me to help me to deal with it. Paul S. Waugh has helped us all in Lighthouse to ‘take it to them’, meaning we have not allowed them to intimidate us but have shown them that we will not sit back and allow people to destroy our character. Nearly two years on, we are still here and through all this, we have all grown in strength.
Dr Nuccitelli, Cyber-psychology researcher and online safety educator, was involved in a discussion regarding the consequences of internet addiction. Everywhere I go these days, I see people engrossed on either their phones or on their computers, mostly playing games or scrolling mindlessly on social media. Internet addiction is not recognised as much as alcohol addiction, but it is an addiction, and one that needs to be addressed. We rely far too much on technology these days, children are even doing their homework and submitting it online. If that wasn’t bad enough, then there are the unchecked hours of searching, googling, scrolling, playing games and messaging. For the majority of people, we can spend up to 10 hours a day in front of a computer screen for work, then add another 3 to 5 hours on other things.
I know in myself I used to get caught up in surfing YouTube, watching videos, and without even realising, an hour or two could have gone by. If it was at night, without realising, it could be 1 or 2 am in the morning, robbing myself of sleep and adequate rest, renewal and recovery time for my body, mind and soul, which resulted in not being able to concentrate on my daily tasks because of being so tired.
How can you know the difference between an addiction and a dependency? It comes down to the severity of the chronicity of the addiction, meaning, how long has the problem been going on? And how long do you actually spend each day on the internet? How do your moods or moments of ‘happiness’ depends on being online? In this video short, Dr Nuccitelli speaks about the difference between addiction and dependency and the consequences of consistent online addictions.
Here are a few of the signs to look out for in yourself and also of those in your family, especially children. Do you (or they):
- Suffer negative consequences from your online abuse?
- Neglect those around you?
- No longer engage in activities that were once enjoyed?
- Spend most waking hours online?
- Express anger or agitation if you are asked to step away from your device of choice?
- Lie about your internet use?
- Conceal the extent of your internet use?
There are many negative effects of online addiction, here are a few:
- Weight gain and general physical unhealthiness, like vitamin D deficiency from being indoors
- Insomnia
- Visual impairment (and possible hearing loss or impairment if earphones are included in the online activity)
Internet addiction in an adult can be serious, but in a child, it can be worse. For consistent online use could result in exposing them potentially with predatory trolls, who may verbally abuse and threaten them online or even groom them for more dangerous offline interaction. That is why Lighthouse International has set up Parents Against Trolls, for parents, and other family members, who have concerns about their child’s wellbeing online, they can get in touch where we are ready to help answer their questions.
Here is the interview in full of Dr Nuccitelli speaking about Internet Addiction:
If you have any questions relating to this article, or about the videos that you would like to discuss and would like support with, please feel free to contact us, and one of the members of the team will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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