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Is The Internet Addictive?

Is the Internet Addictive?

  • Total voters
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grip

grip

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Yes, it's addictive.
 
Addictive like crack or smoking? It's never been that bad for me and I have an addictive personality. Maybe it's all relative to the individual?

Then again I KNOW cell/smart phones are addictive and I find them completely boring.
 
Depends on what you do. I work online, I talk to friends online, I play games online, *coughporncough*, I check e-mail, I do research, I look up how to do stuff.

Now if you don't utilize the internet to its full potential, I can see why it's not addictive.
 
grip said:
Surfing the internet for long periods of time can cause withdrawal symptoms 'similar to people on a comedown from ecstasy' | Mail Online

According to this article spending time on the Internet has a profound negative impact.

I personally spend an average of a couple hours a day but it has never impacted my normal activities in a negative way.

What do you think, is the Web a problem or just another source of entertainment and education?
Click to expand...

Some kinds of internet usage are addictive, in my opinion.

Some online games.
Pornography.
Some internet forums/chatrooms.
Facebook.

I don't need a study to tell me that -- I see it all around me...including in my own home. (That would be me. On here.
 
Gipper said:
Depends on what you do. I work online, I talk to friends online, I play games online, *coughporncough*, I check e-mail, I do research, I look up how to do stuff.

Now if you don't utilize the internet to its full potential, I can see why it's not addictive.
Click to expand...

The porn I'm sure is addictive because it was before the Internet, which just makes it easier. Email, video games and chat were my first PC obsessions though I still didn't go bananas for too long.
 
Addiction or salvation. It's one of those for me. Much as I like to read, play with cats, talk to friends and TCOB, I would be very bored without the Internet to play on.

So, I think its addictive in the way caffeine is. Not hard to quit but since its harmless and enjoyable...it tends to stick around.
 
grip said:
Surfing the internet for long periods of time can cause withdrawal symptoms 'similar to people on a comedown from ecstasy' | Mail Online

According to this article spending time on the Internet has a profound negative impact.

I personally spend an average of a couple hours a day but it has never impacted my normal activities in a negative way.

What do you think, is the Web a problem or just another source of entertainment and education?
Click to expand...

It is fantastically addictive. But it isn't a problem.
 
I agree with these last two posts that it's a positive addiction in many ways. Kind of like TV used too be.
 
Very addictive. But not like drug addictive. More like, if you have it, you will use it. But if you go to the mountains for a holiday you don't have withdrawal syndrome. At least I never had. And my life at home involves the internet heavily.
 
more addictive when you are trying to forget your problems
 
MaggieD said:
An addiction, by its very nature, is a "problem". The addict rarely admits it. As usual.
Click to expand...

No, I just think it is indicative of a sea-change in our behavior as humans. We will increasingly become wedded to technology and as outlandish as it sounds today eventually merge with it. Our attachment to the internet and our phones, which give us access to more information and connections than anything else in history of our species, is part of this trend. I don't have a problem with it. I rely on my smart phone and on the internet for an incredible amount, and the desire to remain tapped in is overwhelming. It is an irreversible trend especially as younger generations grow up totally immersed in a ubiquitous connection to the internet. In ensuing decades as neural implants/connections become possible it will take on an added dimension.

I don't really mind.
 
grip said:
Surfing the internet for long periods of time can cause withdrawal symptoms 'similar to people on a comedown from ecstasy' | Mail Online

According to this article spending time on the Internet has a profound negative impact.

I personally spend an average of a couple hours a day but it has never impacted my normal activities in a negative way.

What do you think, is the Web a problem or just another source of entertainment and education?
Click to expand...

I've spent a lot of time online.. but I can also walk away without much impact/withdrawal. I've taken a year off (from here and other places) because of real life stuff going on and I missed it at first, but after a couple of weeks, I honestly didn't miss it. I had times where I did miss it - but to say that I was addicted and couldn't step away; that's inaccurate. I wouldn't make a "goodbye cruel world" post or anything like that. In retrospect, I have people here (and other places) whom I consider to be real friends and by me just walking away, I realize now how selfish I was in just disappearing. The world didn't come to an end or anything like that - but people did wonder what happened. I've done the same when someone drops off the face of the interwebz.

I think it's wholly dependent upon the person as to whether the internet is addictive. Some people are predisposed to addictions of all kinds - why should internet time be any different?
 
I know certain activities release endorphins in the brain creating a pleasant response.
Different people have different triggers, for the endorphin release.
It may not be the internet itself, but the communication it provides.
Having a lively discussion about subjects people are passionate about is a trigger for me.
Looking up, and evaluating technical specifications, not so much.
Many of us keep coming back, so we must be getting something out of it.
 
To put it simply.

I'm very annoyed when I'm at home and the internet goes down. I spend alot of time online, might I add. Not just for fun (forums, chat, etc), but alot of my schooling involves the internet; I don't mean just research but internet modules (I think it's called that) and such.

134235_v0_600x.jpg
^That image about sums it up.


It's addictive, hell yea, for some more than others though. The problem is when it gets in a way of life duties, THEN you're in trouble.
 
the internet is a resource akin to a modern library of Alexandria. additionally, it allows direct and toll free communication between everyone in the world who has access. humankind is finally interlinked, and many obstacles to collaboration have been removed. to top it off, it fits on a device the size of a calculator.

it's amusing to me that anyone could paint this as "negative." if you're not going outside enough, go outside more.
 
Helix said:
the internet is a resource akin to a modern library of Alexandria. additionally, it allows direct and toll free communication between everyone in the world who has access. humankind is finally interlinked, and many obstacles to collaboration have been removed. to top it off, it fits on a device the size of a calculator.

it's amusing to me that anyone could paint this as "negative." if you're not going outside enough, go outside more.
Click to expand...

No one's painting the internet as a negative. The fact remains that, for many people, internet usage is addictive.
 
I would imagine it's not so much the internet itself, but what you can do with the internet.

I know people who are addicted to WoW, but not the internet necessarily.
 
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