Effects of Technology: How Has The Internet Made Society Better

Scholars still question the positive and negative effects of the Internet to the society until today. The Internet had always been a great help to the present generation. The population assumes it is the most notable invention man ever created. With the innovation, people all over the world can share relevant information and opinions with others with ease. Adolescents today claimed they could not live without the Internet. A study conducted by Al-Hariri and Al-Hattami claimed that out of the 231 students they surveyed, their most-used devices are laptops (50%) and phones (42%).

So Has the Internet Made Society Better or No?

Medical practitioners are concerned about the matter regarding their excessive use of the system known as the Internet Addiction Disorder. Internet Addiction is one of the multiple effects of misusing the Internet. The question involves whether or not it is beneficial to the society, which becomes the root of debates between scholars presently. History According to the Encyclopedia of questions and answers, “the system was invented during the Cold War when it was feared that an attack might disrupt connections with any central point.” Computers were once connected to each other with one link, according to TechnoHTML5, History of the Internet. If one is damaged, the other computers cannot share information.

During the 1960s, the United States Department of Defense established the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) as a military project to help armed forces share their information with each other. With the ARPANET, people can communicate with others even if a computer is disturbed. Soon, people all over the world started connecting to the network. Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher at CERN, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989 after realizing the ARPANET made it challenging for people to connect “due to a range of different network protocols and a range of workstation types”.

The term ‘Internet’ was coined because other countries started cultivating it, therefore making an International Network of computers. Positive Effects There is no doubt that the Internet progressively contributes to the society. The majority of the population today are connected to the network. Scholars, technologists, and social critics assumed it was altering the society’s economic and social state. As stated by Su and Lee, people are more in contact with others even if there are distances between them. Some meet new people based on their interests. They also gain more knowledge regarding their environment. The Internet dispensed all the information they needed. Several users reported that they are more involved with their community than those who rarely use it. For extroverts, using the web’s features decreases loneliness and time pressure. It also increases their self-esteem.

Extroverts join chatrooms and forums to satisfy their social need. They get to witness other people’s point of view, therefore making them more open-minded and reasonable. For medical students, however, Al-Hariri and Al-Hattami’s research concluded there is a “significant relationship between students’ use of technology and their achievements in health colleges”. Those who are unemployed may now begin a business in the comfort of their homes. “While many technologies have taken jobs away from the public,” as said by Su and Lee, “the Internet has opened up a wealth of opportunities and heralded an age where anyone can be published and anyone can be an entrepreneur.” The Internet can also facilitate the elimination of poverty according to Su and Lee. With the ‘One Child, One Laptop’ scheme in Africa, it will give access to their education; help them climb out of poverty, and aid in the development of their country.

Negative Outcomes of Using the Internet Excessively

The Internet may still hold the title of being extremely addictive even though it had helped societies both economically and socially. According to Su and Lee, “The Internet cuts out the social interactions of [their] lives.” People get preoccupied with games and social media. Based on Wallace’s report, a young baby girl died because of her parents’ willingness to care for a virtual online daughter instead. People who use the Internet too often become lazy and bored. “The Internet’s social effects might resemble those of television;” as said by Su and Lee, “television watching reduces social involvement, physical activity, and diminished health (mental and physical).” The Internet, as per Wallace, also helps increase their narcissism and social anxiety. Every 15 minutes, they check their social media to see how many likes their latest post earned. “For people with a narcissistic bent, Facebook and Twitter may become cavernous time sinks as they are constantly expanding their site with ‘selfie’ photos and comments, and actively seeking to expand their growing audience”.

Heavy Internet users were the least likely to seek medical help even though they are more prone to health problems since they rarely have the time to satisfy their needs. These effects do not only occur in adults. According to Wallace, they are “more widespread than just on university campuses where laptops and computer labs are within easy reach; it is also being seen in high school and middle school students.” Scholars and social critics were aroused by the fact that one significant effect, the Internet Addiction Disorder, is no longer alarming in the 21st century. Internet Addiction Internet Addiction appears more like a routine rather than a concern. It is an impulse control disorder, which is similar to pathological gambling without the involvement of drugs that “causes neurological complications, psychological disturbances, and social problems”. It is more common in males rather than females.

Some classified the disorder as “a symptom of another disorder […] rather than a separate entity” according to Cash, Rae, Steel and Winkler (2012). Based on Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery (n.d.), there are several warning signs of Internet addiction: (1) the person is always preoccupied with the Internet; (2) he or she needs to use the Internet with increased amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction; (3) he or she has made unsuccessful efforts to control, reduce, or impede Internet use; (4) he or she is restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use; (5) they had stayed online longer than originally intended; (6) he or she has risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet; (7) they have lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet; (8) they use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood. Medical practitioners have developed surveys, like the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), to certify that their patients have indeed had the Internet addiction disorder.

Internet Addiction Disorder affects the patient’s real-life relationships due to arguments. They desire solitary seclusion and are viewed as socially awkward. People with IAD create online personas to hide their real identity from others due to their low-esteem and fear of disapproval. According to Wallace (2014), “compulsive Internet users show different activity patterns in regions of the brain that have been implicated in reward and emotion processing. They also show decreased grey matter volume in several regions.” This may affect their brain functional connectivity. Those who have tried cutting down their use may experience anger, relief, mood swings, fear, irritability, sadness, loneliness, boredom, restlessness, procrastination, and upset stomach.

A Place for Modern Addiction

Internet Addiction can either be the cause or the effect of depression. As per Misky and Holk (2002), depression is “associated with poor scholastic performance, fear of school, eating disorders, panic attacks, increased anxiety, delinquency, and other conduct disorders.” Depression is not well recognized by parents for their teenage children due to the fact that adolescents experience mood swings more often than adults. It is best that parents should be with their children more if they suspect a significant change in their mood, interest, attitude and their physical body. The negative outcomes of using the Internet excessively are unfavorable. IAD and several other effects may miserably affect the person’s life. There are various treatment strategies to treat IAD and reduce the probabilities of obtaining it based on Cash, Rae, Steel and Winkler’s report: (1) specialists may first discover the patient’s patterns of Internet use and disrupt these patterns by suggesting new schedules; (2) the patient may attend social and active activities to encourage them to log off; (3) the patient can write their goals on paper, with regard to the amount of time they have to accomplish them; (4) specialists may aid the patient attempt to disregard certain applications they could not control; (5) specialists may create cue cards to remind the patient of the costs of IAD and the benefits of breaking it; (6) specialists may help the patient develop a personal inventory that shows all the activities that the patient used to engage in; (7) the patient may join support groups, if the patient displays a lack of confidence; (8) the patient may participate family therapy sessions with their specialists.

The 21st century may have lost significant values and practices. Their way of living depends on the technology today. This issue was always feared by the elderly, who lived during the modest eras. They assumed the Internet is always a constant risk to the millennials by explicitly sharing their private or confidential information. Children, on the other hand, receive inappropriate materials online. One solution, based on Reader’s Digest books, “1001 Computer Hints and Tips”, is installing filtering tools on devices. Children today are ought to learn by using the Internet due to its convenience.

As for the security, it is best to check if the site is free from unauthorized access. Although some may have used the Internet for dubious motives, computer experts and technologists are always there to assist those in need. The Internet was made to unite all the people in this world, providing them with all the necessary information. Internet Addiction would not exist if people learned how to limit themselves.

Social problems, such as cyber-bullying, would not exist if people learned how to respect one another. Narcissism would not exist if people learned how to be humble. Too much of anything is harmful to a person’s mental and physical health. The Internet itself is not detrimental to the society. If people used it negatively, then maybe the Internet tempted them to do so; but, if people used it positively, then maybe the Internet helped them even more. It is not the object’s responsibility but the people’s. As the saying goes, “a self-absorbed person only can see the faults of others. But, they are often color blind to their own.”

Works Cited

1. Al-Hariri, M. T., & Al-Hattami, A. A. (2017). The relationship between internet addiction and academic achievement among university students. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 9(1), 99-107.
2. Cash, H., Rae, C. D., Steel, A. H., & Winkler, A. (2012). Internet addiction: A brief summary of research and practice. Current Psychiatry Reviews, 8(4), 292-298.
3. Encyclopedia of Questions and Answers. (2011). World Book, Inc.
4. Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery. (n.d.). Internet addiction: Signs, symptoms, and treatment. https://www.addictionrecov.org/Addictions/index.aspx?AID=43
5. Misky, G. J., & Holk, S. L. (2002). Depression in adolescents. American Family Physician, 66(9), 1731-1738.
6. Reader's Digest. (2001). 1001 Computer Hints and Tips. Reader's Digest Association.
7. Su, Y., & Lee, K. M. (2010). The internet and social interaction: A meta-analysis and critique. Human Communication Research, 36(3), 299-322.
8. TechnoHTML5. (2016). History of the internet. https://technohtml5.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/history-of-the-internet/
9. Wallace, P. (2014). The psychology of the internet. Cambridge University Press.
10. World Wide Web Foundation. (n.d.). A brief history of the Web. https://webfoundation.org/about/vision/history-of-the-web/