The internet is an addiction when you absorb all of your free time with it. These are two TED Talks that explain about what could cause someone to be addicted to the internet and what can help you recover from it.
Teenager Sarayu Chityala’s “Rebuilding Self-Esteem After Addiction to Social Media” is about how she moved to Markham when she was six and became addicted to social media in hopes that she would be popular. She tried to friend and follow kids on Facebook but was not having any luck. Chityala would wear a lot of makeup, do her hair, and make her parents buy her expensive things so that she can brag on Facebook about them. She realized that by spending too much time on social media, she was missing out on real-life experiences and creating a fake version of herself to impress others.
It was not until Chityala went to India that she was forced not to use her phone because of the lack of wi-fi. She discovered that not using her phone was the best time she had and how much time she would normally be on her phone. Chityala surveyed students at her school and found out that 97% of girls and 72% of boys admitted to using social media as a tool for wanting to be popular. After returning to Markham, she became an active leader in school clubs and won first place at a dance competition which she did not think it would be possible if she was still active on social media.
Psychologist Dr. Kimberly Young’s “What You Need to Know About Internet Addiction” is about how much time people spend on the internet. She explains that internet addiction can expand from gambling to virtual reality. She knows of people whose marriages have ended from meeting people on AOL chatrooms. Young also talks about how in virtual reality games, it feels like a reward system in which in games like “Second City,” you can make yourself look like anyone you want and do things like meeting people, go shopping, take college courses, etc. You feel so absorbed in this technology-based world that you distance yourself from the real world. Young challenges people to spend time with their friends and less time checking their phones. She believes that schools should teach students about internet addiction, the resulting dangers that come, and using technology wisely.
Smarmore Castle Private Clinic in County Louth, near Dublin was founded in 1988 as a residential rehabilitation hospital treating people suffering from drug and alcohol purposes. Smarmore Castle believes in helping patients lead a life of abstinence through 12 Step programs, detox and medical treatment, psychotherapy, and complementary therapies. For more information, please call 041-214-5111. For those who live out of the country, the international number is 00353-41-214-5111.
