Artifact 10

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/miss-g-a-case-of-internet-addiction/?emc=eta1

In the article Miss G: A Case if Internet Addiction, I was shocked. It was surprising to know that Dr. Young actually made this internet addiction quiz in 1998, before people were really using the internet that often. Of course, some people probably were online nonstop, but the number of addicts today has skyrocketed. When the author of this article talks about Gabriela sleeping with her laptop, staying online until 4 a.m., and thinking about the internet when she isn’t online, I immediately thought, “Wow, she is addicted.” That is why I was confused that later in the article when she explains that her behavior usually isn’t considered addictive. I have never heard of anyone sleeping with their laptop every night. The reason that some people feel the need to stay online so often is because of psychological issues and issues at home that they cannot seem to escape from. This is why Angela from the movie Catfish decided to create someone new. Usually addicts will begin by ignoring normal household chores, specifically laundry, just to stay on the internet later. They will loose track of time and next thing they know, it’s 4 a.m. Gabriela’s online cycle seemed to be very predictable. She sees a status of song lyrics, googles them, checks out the music, looks at pictures, and then posts them to Facebook again. No wonder she stays awake so long on the internet. I was surprised that she is very religious, and doesn’t use the computer on Sunday, the Sabbath day, but she spends most of her time thinking about the internet. I think internet addiction is a real thing that can break some people apart including relationships. If two people are on a date, yet one is obsessed with their phone because they are chatting with people on Facebook or texting often, the other person will not be happy that they are being ignored. At this point, I think most people would be considered “addicted” mainly because of how often we use the internet. While I check my school email, home email, and Facebook daily (on average) I could live without it. On weekends I usually do not use the internet that often because I have other things to do. Some people, like Gabriela and Angela, use the internet as an escape because they can have a different personality and be someone that they can’t be in person. I am considering about writing my 4th essay on internet addiction because I would like to know more about it. How many people in the world today are considered addicts? How many more are there now compared to 1998 when the internet addiction quiz first came out? It doesn’t really seem that this is a big problem to be addicted, but that is probably because I am not therefore I would be fine without internet for a day. I feel bad for people that can’t get away from technology at all because I look forwards to days when I can sit and just turn my phone off.