Is Someone You Know Addicted to the Internet?
The Internet is an amazing phenomenon. It enables us to easily expand our knowledge, communicate with others, and provide benefits to society. But a tool that is so valuable can also become a trap for many. In my practice, I have seen “computer widows,” women whose husbands have become so absorbed with the Internet that they neglect their off-line life. (And I'm sure there are computer widowers, too.) And we now see many people glued to their smartphones, oblivious to those around them.
Why is it so Easy to Become Addicted to the Internet?
Last week I described the zoo orangutans as providing themselves with stimulation by plotting how to escape from their cages, and I pointed out our similarities to them. We, too, need adequate stimulation. Too little, and we are bored. Too much, and we are traumatized. We are most comfortable with just the right amount, just like Goldilocks.
We Can Control Our Level of Stimulation
One feature of Internet use is that the viewer can control his or her input of stimuli. Not too little and not too much. We click on an article that seems interesting. If it does not fulfill that promise and doesn't provide adequate stimulation, we can immediately click on something else.
We also want the stimulation that we are receiving to be pleasant. If we inadvertently click on something unpleasant, we can immediately click away.
Dopamine Plays a Role
When you are receiving just the right amount of stimulation, you feel good. This feeling increases the dopamine level in your brain, which impels you to repeat the activity. And because with repetition, an activity's novelty wanes, it is necessary to increase the frequency and/or intensity of this activity in order to regain an adequate stimulus level.
Although those who are addicted to the internet may not become as driven as the rats who will press a bar several thousand times an hour to receive bursts of dopamine, neglecting to eat or rest until rescued; internet addicts may neglect to attend to the important people in their lives.
Who is Vulnerable to Becoming an Internet Addict?
Those who find it a useful escape from the various emotional problems that they have. My complimentary Tool provides an alternate, and healthier, form of relief, with periods of calm and peacefulness. And in Step 3, one can create a new mental pathway that will be dedicated to clarifying, and working to solve, the emotional problem that led to the addiction in the first place.
GET THE COMPLIMENTARY Tool
