The criteria that defines internet addiction varies, but a good average is showing symptoms of addiction for 3 months and 6 or more hours of internet use not related to school or work a day. This being said look at what internet addiction has caused some people to do or not do.
In 2007 a couple was charged with child neglect on their 11 and 22 months old children. The couple had a internet gaming addiction. The children were found under weight, malnourished, and dehydrated. They also suffered from infections and were filthy, which included having found cat urine in their hairs. The couple was unemployed, and the money that they had they spent on supporting themselves and equipment.
In 2000, a teenager who said he would "finish what Columbine started" blamed his threats on his addiction to the internet. He had sent the note to a student at Columbine and the school shut down for several days. The teenager was sentenced to jail for 4 months.
The sad thing is, there are many more cases out there, and the fact that internet addiction is growing is a little frightening because who knows what else people will do or not do.
http://www.thecyn.com/blog/internet-addiction/.10/26/2011.
Those cases are just horrible! I think internet addiction is very real and that people who are tormented by it really do need get help before it's too late! There is a movie shown on ABC Family called Cyber Bully that illustrates how cyber bullying caused by a high school that was addicted to a social networking cite hit students hard and affected those teenagers life in a very real manner.
ReplyDeleteInternet addiction is taken way to lightly today in America. I think that with a lot of new parents allowing their kids to use the internet as a way to entertain them for hours on in is wrong as well as providing them with the mobility of internet. Parents need to take the responsibility of taking their kids out to parks and recreational activities. There is no reason for young children to be allowed more than a small amount of the day allotted to internet browsing. Unless it is being used in a productive manner as mentioned by the previous comment. It is sad to see people become so addicted to such games and internet fetishes, the person changes into a different person. I am sure everyone knows at least one internet/gaming addict.
ReplyDeleteThese cases are very sad to me but I honestly cant say that I blame everything on internet addiction. I think that both of these cases can definitly be due to bad parenting as well. I think that the internet may have played a significant role in these situations but it also might be easier to blame everything on the internet. These people should never had those children in the first place. As far as the kid and the the whole columbine incident, he was probably showing signs of needing therapy long before he acted out. Teachers and parents need to start paying more attention to students because these things dont just pop up out of nowhere.
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