Internet Addictions and Social Isolation:
Turn Off and Get Out
By Callie Schweitzer, senior, the University of Southern California
For an assignment for a term paper, Jessica Gillooly, a psychology professor at Glendale Community College in California, asked her class to choose a behavior of their own that they wanted to modify. A number of students wanted to reduce how much time they spent on the Internet because all the chatting, Facebook visits, and game playing was interfering with their studies.
“My students found out that they were on the Internet an average of eight hours a day,” says Gillooly, “and they couldn’t just shut it off and study. Many were definitely addicted.”
While everyone enjoys catching up with friends or playing games online, many spend an excessive amount of time on the Internet. Whitney Tolar, a freshman at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, says she frequently stays up late to chat on Facebook with friends from home.
“I stay up late for no reason,” she says. “Social networking sites are a huge distraction for me.”
Other students may spend too much time online due to their addictions to gambling, pornography, or gaming. The American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment ranks Internet use/computer games sixth as an impediment to academics.
When Is It Too Much?
“Too much time online really means it stops you from doing other things,” says Dr. Heywood Zeidman, a psychiatrist at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego, California. “When you’re online as opposed to going to a party or online as opposed to going out and talking to your friends, then that can be a problem.”
Dr. Srini Pillay, an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says, “It would also qualify as an addiction if you simply cannot do without it, or need to use more and more of it to get the same feeling of satisfaction.”
Gillooly says that several of her students were only able to decrease their Internet use when a friend or family member took their computer or phone away from them.
Tolar says since she got to school this year she’s developed strategies to avoid the Internet altogether. “If I'm supposed to be writing an essay, I'll write down all my ideas on paper first so I won't even have to be at my computer,” she says.
Are you addicted to the internet? CLICK HERE to take the quiz!
Telltale Signs
Jed Sundwall of Measured Voices, an Internet marketing and strategy consultancy based in San Diego, says there are some “telltale” signs that you may be too connected to your devices, like constantly checking your cell phone, Twitter, or Facebook.
If Internet use or video game playing is giving you physical problems like back or neck aches, eyestrain, or headaches, it can also be a sign of addiction, says Pillay.
A recent study by the National Sleep Foundation shows that 28% of young adults, ages 19 to 29, play video games before bed, which can make it difficult for some to get to sleep.
Sundwall says, “I don’t believe the Internet, video games, and social media are inherently negative things. A lot of people are making friends they wouldn’t have made because of this stuff.”
He recommends setting goals and creating boundaries like “No-Screen Sundays” where you avoid putting screens up between you and the world around you.
CALLIE SCHWEITZER IS A SENIOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN LOS ANGELES AND THE EDITOR IN CHIEF OF WWW.NEONTOMMY.COM, THE ONLINE PUBLICATION OF THE ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATIONS & JOURNALISM.
Find Out More
For additional information on Internet addiction, CLICK on these sites:
- Internet Addiction Test
- Texas State University-San Marcos Counseling Center's Internet Addiction Page
5 Ways to Break the Habit
- Unplug completely. Turn off all your appliances—phone, laptop, iPad, etc.—after a set time. Make that time your homework time. Or try “No Screen Sundays.” As Sundwall suggests, set a day when you shut off all electronic devices.
- Schedule Internet time. Give yourself a set time for Internet use. This way you’ll have that time to look forward to and still be able to enjoy the Internet.
- Set up a support system. Have a friend change your password on social networking sites so you can’t cheat. Vent to him or her when you feel the urge to sign on.
- Find a new hobby. Use your newfound free time to pick up an activity like running, scrapbooking, or cooking.
- Establish a reward. Give yourself an incentive for good behavior by creating benchmarks or milestones. For every night you stay offline or stick to your timeline, put $5 in a piggy bank. At the end of the week, buy yourself a treat.