There has been a drastic increase in the amount of youths using the Internet within the last few decades (15 years), and although this aids in widening and strengthening the social networks of peers, there is also an increased risk of Internet addiction (Smahel, Brown, & Blinka, 2012). This largely growing disorder, known as Internet addiction, has been characterised as being of sexual preoccupations(cybersex), immoderate gaming or online gambling and socialisation through the use of text messaging or emailing. It has been associated with symptoms of social phobia, loneliness, depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) (Weinstein et al., 2015). This essay will explore the relationship between loneliness, social anxiety and
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Currently, there are 13 instruments designed to measure problematic Internet use with several consisting of the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders) substance abuse and dependency criteria, Other ways are of using questionnaires, scales and tests such as the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire and the Chen Internet Addiction Scale to name the few and the remaining measures being of the Davis cognitive-behavioural model of problematic Internet use (Moreno, Jelenchick, Cox, Young, & Christakis, 2011). Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to isolation and typically includes feelings of anxiousness, lack of communication or connection with fellow beings and an expression of sadness due to not having friends or company. Even though isolation and loneliness at times go hand in hand, both can be experienced independently meaning that an individual that is isolated is not necessarily going to feel lonely (Mathews, Danese, Wertz, Odgers, Ambler, Moffitt, & Arseneault, 2016). Associated with the fear of being negatively perceived during social encounters, social anxiety by definition is the fear of interaction which can bring on feelings of self-consciousness, the feeling of being watched or judged …show more content…
Van Zalk (2016) states that individuals who would prefer to chat online rather than face-to-face interaction are connected to symptoms of Internet addiction with excessive chatting being a contributor to the disorder. Van Zalk proposes that people who spend much of their time communicating online are susceptible to missing their online endeavours when away from the Internet thus resulting in symptoms such as anxiety and discomfort. Children are much more vulnerable to the negative effects of Internet use as boundaries to them are often blurred and this results in them viewing digital access, Internet use and online gaming as a natural way of utilizing their time, and it is this that makes younger individuals more at risk of developing Internet addiction than any other group of individuals (Rikkers, Lawrence, Hafekost, & Zubrick, 2016; Conrad, Verhoff, & Greene, 2014). Rikkers et al (2016) explores the ways in which parents are also susceptible to problematic Internet use as they do not see the harmful effects of their children using the Internet on a daily basis and usually see Internet use as a way of further educating their children. Apart from the negatives of PIU, Van Zalk (2016) goes on to elaborate on the positive by claiming that
Currently, there are 13 instruments designed to measure problematic Internet use with several consisting of the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders) substance abuse and dependency criteria, Other ways are of using questionnaires, scales and tests such as the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire and the Chen Internet Addiction Scale to name the few and the remaining measures being of the Davis cognitive-behavioural model of problematic Internet use (Moreno, Jelenchick, Cox, Young, & Christakis, 2011). Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to isolation and typically includes feelings of anxiousness, lack of communication or connection with fellow beings and an expression of sadness due to not having friends or company. Even though isolation and loneliness at times go hand in hand, both can be experienced independently meaning that an individual that is isolated is not necessarily going to feel lonely (Mathews, Danese, Wertz, Odgers, Ambler, Moffitt, & Arseneault, 2016). Associated with the fear of being negatively perceived during social encounters, social anxiety by definition is the fear of interaction which can bring on feelings of self-consciousness, the feeling of being watched or judged …show more content…
Van Zalk (2016) states that individuals who would prefer to chat online rather than face-to-face interaction are connected to symptoms of Internet addiction with excessive chatting being a contributor to the disorder. Van Zalk proposes that people who spend much of their time communicating online are susceptible to missing their online endeavours when away from the Internet thus resulting in symptoms such as anxiety and discomfort. Children are much more vulnerable to the negative effects of Internet use as boundaries to them are often blurred and this results in them viewing digital access, Internet use and online gaming as a natural way of utilizing their time, and it is this that makes younger individuals more at risk of developing Internet addiction than any other group of individuals (Rikkers, Lawrence, Hafekost, & Zubrick, 2016; Conrad, Verhoff, & Greene, 2014). Rikkers et al (2016) explores the ways in which parents are also susceptible to problematic Internet use as they do not see the harmful effects of their children using the Internet on a daily basis and usually see Internet use as a way of further educating their children. Apart from the negatives of PIU, Van Zalk (2016) goes on to elaborate on the positive by claiming that