The Age of Digital Addiction

By Jessie Kong Seng Ding (47093)

The digital era provides a platform for people connect with each other around the world. People also use the internet for multi-purposes. Young (2004) declared that the Internet is a neutral device. It is originally designed to conduct research among agencies of academic and military. However, the explosive growth of the Internet had a huge impact on people’s interpersonal and communication behaviour (Sato, 2006). In this 21st century, we are all consumers of the digital age , and maybe most of us are experiencing the digital age addiction.

Ramasubbu (2017) briefly explained the five types of digital age addiction that one can experience, it can be more than one type at the same time. First, it is device addiction towards a particular online game. Secondly, overloaded information where one always feel the urge to seek instant information online. Thirdly, net compulsions through online gambling and excessive online purchasing, followed  by cybersexual addiction like pornography. Lastly, it is cyber-relationship addiction through establishing an online relationship. 

Addiction is traditionally associated with a strong urge, often accompanied by lossing control, want to do it first and use it continuously. Young (2004) advised Internet users to set limits so that they can control over their behaviors. Internet addiction gives consequences. For instances, students who are addicted to the Internet and cannot stop keep playing with their digital devices are more likely to have poor academic’s performance.  The same goes to employees as they will suffer in the lack of sleeping time and bad performance if they are addicted to the Internet and digital device.

Digital addiction also affects student’s academic performance, psychological well-being and daily interaction with family members and peers (Sato, 2006). Pew Research Center (2003) reported the usage of internet in the United States is about 59% of adults at the end of 2002, which has grown up compared to the year 2000 (less than 50%). The rise of the internet use leads to the changes of people daily life. Many people rely on the Internet so much. They cannot live without Internet. The term used to describe this increasing trend “digital addiction”. Young claimed that digital addiction is a common clinical phenomenon.

 

We carried out a survey to study this clinical phenomenon. There are 25 respondents that took part in this survey. Most of them are undergraduate students.  A majority (56%) of them spend more than two hours on the internet. 36% of respondents go online for entertainment purpose, 28% of the respondents stated that they use their digital devices or the Internet for information search and get the latest news and information updates, only 14 of them mentioned that it depends on the situation which drives them to go online. Garari (2017) pointed out how the introduction of smartphones enables us to access the Internet without the limitation of time and space and drives us to seek for quick answers. Any mobile devices have the ability to make us feel "connected" with people are not around us that particular time. Hence, it gives us the illusion that we must always accomplish something anytime, where we are always busy doing work every time and without us realizing, we are depending on digital devices.

Based on the survey, there are 84% of respondents who have activated their social network accounts more than three years. The most three used social networks accounts are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Next, 17 out of 25 respondents have never logged out their social accounts from digital devices as  they are more concern about convenience rather than they privacy safety. Even though more than half of the respondents feel that they are in control of their online consumption, it is undeniable that everyone has experienced a certain measure of social media addiction. In a study by Ramasubbu (2017), it is reported that 80% of the social media posts revolves around the user. In the same study, it is explained that this phenomenon is due to "self-referencing" where everyone feels competitive in social situations and the need to constantly reflect on our strengths. Everyone loves to talk about themselves. 

In this research, only four respondents feel that they are addicted to the Internet while majority of them (84%) claimed they are dependent towards digital devices. They explained their reasons through the feeling of frustration when they live without Internet. They always feel the need to update himself or herself with latest news and information and claim that "invisible forces" drive them to connect with the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Biologically, this form of "happy" feeling that you get while going on social media sites is attributed to the presence of dopamine. Dopamine is triggered by reward cues, unpredictability and release of little but continuous information. Whenever we go on online social networking, our brain releases dopamine to give us a sense of pleasure, that is why sometimes it is challenging to resist going on social networking sites (Ramasubbu, 2017). 

"Time moves slower without the Internet."- Female respondent , 22

"I know I am addicted to the Internet because my time is wasted."- Female respondent, 22

In conclusion, most of us are addicted to the Internet and digital devices. The digital age addiction is no longer a new term for us. We have to be aware and conscious in order to control ourselves so that we will not manipulated by the internet or digital addiction. Be a wise digital or Internet user, do not blindly follow the trend until we lose ourselves in the digital era.

References

Pew Internet Research Centre. (2003). Internet use by region in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2003/08/27/internet-use-by-region-in-the-u-s/

Garari,K. (2017,15 March). Deccan Chronicle. Mobile-dependent life. Retrieved from http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/150317/mobile-dependent-life.html

Ramasubbu, S. (2017,13 March). The Huffington Post. Biological & psychological reasons for social media addiction. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/biological-psychological-reasons-for-social-media_us_58c279a7e4b0c3276fb78388

Sato, T. (2006). Internet addiction among students: Prevalence and psychological problems in Japan. JIMAY, 49(7), 279-283.

Young., S., K. (2004). Internet addiction: A new clinical phenomenon and its consequences. American Behavioral Scientist. 48(4), 402-403.

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