Term Paper on "Mental and Physical Health Effects of Internet Use Among Young Adults"

Term Paper 16 pages (4339 words) Sources: 15 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

addictive use of the internet is not necessarily a new phenomenon, however practitioners are unware of the actual negative implications of physical and mental addiction that comes with internet use. Takeshi Sato's extensive research into internet addiction among Japanese youth has elucidated many problems both physical and mental that comes with such prolonged addiction. He argues that internet addiction among youth (IAD) is underestimated because there have been little formal definitional work on what IAD actually is. A comparison of internet addiction with traditional methods of addiction diagnosis helps map out the relative complexity of IAD. The DSM-IV model shows that prior research defined internet addiction as an "impulse control disorder that does not entail an intoxicant" (NOTATION). Using models based on gambling addiction, Sato formulated criteria dissecting internet addiction through the DMS-IV model, which has significantly shaped how we can view internet addiction.

In his landmark research "Caught in the Net," Young set about to create a definitive test using the DSM-IV, which resulted in the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). This test along with patient feedback has painted an alarming picture in regards to IAD especially among youth. Using the IAT test among youth worldwide, internet addiction especially within college has risen over 200% in the past five years. In Korea, 39.6% of college teenagers were found to have mild to severe IAD, with detrimental effects to both their physical and psychological health.

With regard to the characteristics of internet addiction among youth, Greenberg reported that there are specific gender patterns associated with addictive tendencies. Analysis of individual behaviors within substantive studies show that men have much higher levels of addiction to ciggerates, alcohol, video games and internet use. His research further translates a strong connection between low self-esteem and internet addiction, and found that self-esteem was the strongest predicator of internet addiction and the amount of time spent on the internet per week. Among Korean youth, depression and suicidal ideation were highest among the IAD group.

Part of the conflicting data regarding the physical and psychological implications of internet addiction is the discrepancy from data involving youth and adults. Adult internet addiction seems to have much more severe consequences on mental health than recent research conducted on youth. Greensburg argues that this distinction is caused by the demographic differences between adults and youth. Adults who have IAD are typically pathological externalized in other forms such as severe addiction to gambling, depression or other addictions found through DSM-IV methods. Whereas internet addiction among youth has become a systematic part of teenage culture, and thus is much more socially accepted and viably integrated. However, Michael A. Weinstein notes within his research that such addiction has caused youth internet users to "lose the savvy and skills and patience to conduct social relations in the corporeal world," furthermore, he argues that the internet intensifies the negative effects of television addiction up to four times. Overall, many researchers have found evidence to suggest that detoriating values and social functioning among youth may be part of the foundational effects of internet addiction.

The problem of internet addiction within contemporary youth has been the thematic study of Amanda Lenhart and Mary Madden of the Pew Institute for the past five years. Lenhart's study concludes that American teens live in "a world enveloped by communications technologies: the internet and cell phones have become a central force that fuels the rhythm of daily life" (NOTATION). This disturbing trend has had many consequences on the physical and psychological implications on youth. The numbers regarding teenage addiction are truly astounding. The number of teens who are using the internet has grown over 24% in the past four years, to 87% of all teens between the age of 12 and 17. Compared to data collected for years ago, Lenhart finds the trend of broader and more intensified internet use among teens to be extremely disturbing.

Lenhart argues that such trends are attributed to youth playing out their extensive social and creativity channels through internet use. The proliferation of online games, chatting websites, news, shopping and friendship websites have led teens to create "pseudo" identities over the internet that more and more closely resemble their real life persona. The danger of such a trend is obvious, a progressive increase in anti-social and prevailingly introverted changes within teens have created social ineptitude with the contemporary generation. With greater variety in technologies that teens use to support their communication, digital transference have replaced physical contact. Lenhart believes that the most prominent health damage is psychological. Teens no longer define themselves through physical environments, but rather use virtual environments as their grounds for social communication and interaction.

Mary Wieland, a sociologist with the University of Pittsburgh suggests that computer addiction may lead to severe depression, gambling, substance abuse and marital infidelity and ultimately divorce among adults. Her research shows that internet addiction causes the limitations of human interaction to broaden beyond the physical environment that they occupy, which implies a regression of boundaries and personal relationships over the long-term. For youth the implicit assumption is that heavy internet use results in negligence of social networks outside of the virtual arena. Developing strong psychological dependencies with the internet, rather than physical relationships.

So far the focus of this literary study has been on the definitional interpretation of IAD and how it has grown to affect youth, however specific research on the actual physical and mental affects of IAD within teens have been less substantive. Several reasons can be attributed to this. Although current research have focused on the impact of IAD on the health of youth, conflicting data has led to an impasse within the scientific community. From a psychological approach, research conducted by Young and Sato suggest that there are both positive and negative consequences of IAD addiction in youth. The integration of technology within teenage culture have implied that internet addiction often does not detract from most forms of social engagement and ability to communicate. Within many subjects internet addiction has not led to a decrease in self-esteem, but moreover a greater sense of social connectivity because of a broader virtual domain and network. In direct contradiction however, Sato shows that internet addiction causes severe reticence among youth, especially those who spend more than five hours per day on the internet. Self-esteem decreases because the lack of physical socialiability takes away emotional security and the foundation of support. Isolation occurs, as a result, and teenagers are induced to either seek comfort through even greater prolonged internet use or to delve introspectively through suicidal and severely depressive thought. In support of his research, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese youth who have the most severe IAD have expressed strong suicidal and depressive tendencies. With 70% of Korean IAD youth having seriously considered suicide. However, some argue that this is an extreme case, because social isolation only occurs within rare cases of internet addiction. Research within American teens suggest that les than 10% of teens feel severe isolation as a result of internet addiction. It is because, the internet has become the facilitator of actual physical relationships through the creation of virtual identities that match their physical persona.

Although emotional withdrawal has been identified as the principle mental disfunction associated with internet addiction, such emotional distress tends to be a predicator of deeper psychological problems associated with internet addiction. Katherine Chak's recent research shows that individuals drawn to internet addiction tend to already exhibit behavioral tendencies towards shyness. The less "faith a person has, the firmer belief the person holds in the irresistible powers of others and the higher trust the person places on chance in dermining his or her own course of life" (NOTATION). Social withdrawal among youth IAD can have severe affects on their future success in both personal and career success.

Research into physical health afflictions as a direct result of IAD among youth are less than encouraging. IAD as diagnosed through the DSM-IV method displays similar characters and physical symptoms as other addictions. Wieland explains that traditional physical implications of IAD are "cyber shakes," which occur when addiction withdrawal becomes internalized. For youth this is an especially strong concern because physical addiction at an early age results in intensified behavior. At the first sign of such physical addiction symptoms such as "cyber shakes" youth tend to prolong their internet use significantly and thus neglect themselves physically. Severe cases of starvation and mal-nutrition have been observed for those who display physical symptoms of addiction. Dry eyes and carpal tunnel syndrome are also observable physical problems associated with such addiction. However, Wieland has found that the disturbing trend is the lack of attention that results from consistent internet use and IAD among youth. Internet addiction has been shown to cause a detachment from the physical environment in which youth occupy, and as a result, they develop a strong lack of attention and focus especially attributed to their daily reality. This is indicative of poor judgement and results in "lower grades in school, job… READ MORE

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