- day turns to night…or vice versa.
- you see the remnants of your meals scattered around you and your computer, but you don’t remember eating… or, worse, you never got around to eating.
- your family knocks, begs, yells, cajoles, pleads for your attention and you never made yourself unplug… or, worse, no one comes around anymore.
- your personal life choices are centered around how much time they take away from your screen time.
- the sense that you’re missing out is excruciating when you’re not surfing, checking, and posting.
- you’re willing to risk your career, relationships, and goals to get back to the net.
Addiction always gets in the way of everything authentic, valuable, and purposeful. And yes, you can be addicted to the internet.
No, the psychological community has not yet formally defined the condition, “internet addiction.” Nor has it listed it in the big book of psychological problems. But there are legions of men, women, and teens seeking help right now. And many more should.
How about you? Do you need help?
Do you look at the clock in the corner of your laptop, phone, tablet, or even your desktop at work, and wonder how in the world you lost hours at a time?
Maybe you’re not sure you really have a problem at all.
Ask yourself honestly if you could really quit if you wanted to.
Could you unplug for days at a time? Does the thought of disconnecting get your heart racing and your fingers itching to click, type, or swipe?
Maybe, right now, you just want to put thoughts of unplugging aside to web surf in peace.
Before you do, stay on this page a little while longer.
Why Internet Addiction is a Thief
On some level, you know how much you’re missing. But now, thoughtfully, consciously consider some key ways internet addiction might be stealing your life:
Internet addiction is Stealing your Brain Health
During the last decade, researchers have spent a good deal of time investigating how general internet dependence has become truly addictive for some people. The changes in the brain for chronic internet surfers or gamers have been documented and studied well, leading to some alarming findings:
- Brain changes for internet users are similar to those addicted to alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis.
- Chronic internet users report feeling a euphoria online incomparable to any experience outside of internet use.
- Studies using MRI scanners uncovered brain abnormalities in internet addicts which hindered decision making, attention span, and real-world interaction.
Internet Addiction is Stealing your Physical Health
While Internet addiction is being debated in the US, around the world centers are operating now to serve people who have damaged their health due to internet overuse. Some of the problems they experience may be familiar to you too:
- Sedentary lifestyle issues: blood clots or thrombosis, obesity, declining personal hygiene
- Head and vision problems: migraine headaches, dry eyes, vision issues
- Compromised joints: carpal tunnel disease, back pain, neck and shoulder problems
- Sleep disturbance: later bedtimes, less rest, decrease in sleeping hours
Addiction is Stealing your Mental, Emotional, and Relational Health
- Daily life, tasks, and obligations become challenging: Late nights and misused days led to stress, mistakes, and poor concentration
- Anger, defensiveness, and irritability become the norm: Your mood and behavior become increasingly dark and alienating as obtaining more uninterrupted internet time become your sole focus.
- Shame and isolation. Your self-esteem, self-talk, and outside connections falter as you try unsuccessfully to unplug.
- Nothing else matters. The internet rules. It is the one safe place and one reliable feel-good escape. You rely on it to save you from stressors and discomfort of all kinds.
The internet must not be allowed to steal what you need and who you love.
It’s true. Most of us spend increasing amounts of time online. Our jobs and social lives often demand it. But when we lose control of what matters, when we can’t even determine what matters, all for the sake of all our seductive screens, it isn’t wise to simply hope for the best.
The internet isn’t going anywhere. Fine. But if you are addicted, it’s time to get healthy. Today.
Reach out, find a therapist, and invest time in a community of people who will help you take back your life.
