Admit it. You check Facebook at least once a day, your Twitter, Tumblr, email. You cannot live without the internet. When you're not in school, it's your connection to your friends. And it's not necessarily a bad thing, when used in moderation.
However, if abused, we become addicted just as if we were abusing a drug. The author, John Cline, uses the phrase "internet addiction" to describe this compulsive internet use. People will stay up all night playing games, blogging or chatting with friends on Facebook. It's something to worry about, especially for us as not only normally teenagers, but as high school students equipped with computers used for school.
Would you consider yourself addicted to the internet? How much time is too much time spent on the computer? What are some of the serious health issues regarding "internet addiction"? In relation to the chapters we just studied, how would you go about devising an experiment to test the relationship between computer use and sleep deprivation; could you use a survey technique, naturalistic observation, or a case study? Check out Cline's article titled "Sleep and the Internet Addict"
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ReplyDeleteAlthough I would hate to admit that I could be addicted to the internet, I can certainly see some of the patterns in my behavior that would point to overuse. I sometimes catch myself on Facebook or Twitter or watching movies or TV shows on the internet when I still have homework to do and tell myself that I'll finish my homework and go to bed after just one more hour, and before I know it it's 2 am. I can certainly see why this "addiction" could lead to health problems regarding weight gain, as the article stated, because laying around on your computer can certainly motivate you to eat more and exercise less. If I were to devise an experiment to study the correlation between computer use and sleep deprivation, I could probably use a survey to ask people how many hours per day they spend on the internet and how many hours of sleep they get per night. I could also use naturalistic observation by recording the number of hours a person spends on the computer per day as well as the number of hours of sleep they get per night; this technique might provide more accurate results, as it would eliminate the possibility of participants lying about either how much time they spend online or how much sleep they get. I probably would not use a case study, because there are a multitude of confounding variables that could affect a particular individual's sleep patterns.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't consider myself an Internet addict but I do know some people who feel the need to be connected everywhere they go. I do believe it is an addiction. There is no way that 7 hours on the computer is healthy. Even though sometimes it is necessary because of schoolwork, there are some serious health issues that are attached to this addiction such as carpal tunnel syndrome, loss of eyesight, and even weight gain.
ReplyDeleteFor an experiment, I would most likely conduct a survey, asking how many hours do they spend on a computer daily and have they noticed any health issues or pain lately, and how many hours of sleep do they get a night. I would then use the results to conclude whether computer use has an effect on sleep.
First, I would just like to say that the picture in that article made me burst out laughing.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I like to spend a little time here and there on facebook, checking my email, or playing a round of bubble spinner, I can confidently say that I am not addicted to the internet. I'm always very conscientious about the time I spend online and make sure that it never effects my work or sleep. I think that when you need to start working is when you suddenly have "no time" to sleep, eat, or work. In the article it said that people use caffeine drinks in order to stay awake and online. THAT is certainly a sign of a problem, however I do know people that can't do anything unless they update their facebook, bbm or twitter status; I find it ridiculous to keep everyone you possibly know updated on your life, when in reality no one really cares that you're "eating pizza with Stefanie."
This addiction can be just as detrimental to physical and emotional health as addictions to food, drugs and alcohol. Internet addictions can cause fatigue, carpal tunnel syndrome, and even torn ligaments in the hand.
In order to study internet addictions I would use both a survey and naturalistic observation. My survey would ask approximately how many hours a person spends on the internet per day, and if they have noticed a change in their habits due to their increased connection to the online world. My naturalistic observation would observe the effects technology has on a person. Both methods would have a conclusion that addressed technology's detrimental effect on a person's work ability, amount of sleep and social life.
I must agree with Stef that the picture did distracted me from the article in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, like those who posted before me, I can say that I am not addicted to the interent, but when I first recieved my laptop freshman year, I was addicted. I would spend hours video-chatting with friends, checking my facebook every five seconds, and even researching new music. I knew that I was getting only 4 hours of sleep by this, and soon enough insomnia started o kick in. (This is probably why I detest my laptop now.) Aside from me stating insomnia I think that this can affect communications skills, as well as the ability to pay attention.
In order to test the affects of internet use and sleep deprivation, I think that naturalistic observation would be the best way to gather data. In a survey, many people would not be honest due to the ignorance they have on the correlation between these two matters.
Surprisingly I do not think I am addicted to the internet, until I log on. I can be away from my computer for two weeks straight and not care, but as soon as I go on facebook I become an addict. Personally I think if someone spends over three hours a day on facebook or other social networking sites it’s too much time. However, there are people who spend more time on the internet because of their jobs or school work that requires them to be online. But people who spend most of their free time on the internet may have an addiction. With any addiction there are health issues such as eye problems, headaches, back problems from hunching over the computer, hand/wrist pain etc. To conduct an experiment to test this I would probably use a survey and give it out randomly to people of all different ages.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I would not consider myself addicted to the internet because I hardly ever go on it and when I do go on my computer I become utterly confused of all the new technology. Teacher's may realize this about myself through my lack of understanding and replying to their emails and homework posts! I would say that more than two hours on your computer is to much time on it. You should be using your time wisely which is of course not going on Facebook and stalking the latest "hotties." Time not spend on your computer could mean more time to do your homework, get some fresh air or even better ... get some more sleep! Today more and more students are becoming sleep deprived due to their "internet addictions" and this is a serious health issue. By limiting your time on your computer and getting to bed by a decent hour you can help ensure that your body will be well functioning for the next day. If i had to put together a study on this information I would likely conduct a survey using questions such as, "how many hours do you spend on your computer?", "Do you have a twitter, Facebook or tumblr account?", etc. My survey would, in similarity to Taylor's, be given out randomly to people of all ages to ensure that I receive information about all the different age groups and computer usage.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I would not consider myself an internet addict, however I do go online quite a bit. The reason I don't consider myself an internet addict is because majority of the time I'm doing homework or using the internet school related. Now, everything is so digital, especially with the new iha website and submitting assignments online, there's no choice but to be on the internet. I think if someone spends 2 hours doing something unproductive on the internet like sitting on facebook, it becomes too much time but if someone is doing work or homework there really isn't "too much" time on the internet. Like my classmates already stated health risks involved with internet addiction are sleep deprivation, headaches, hand/wrist pain, etc. In order to conduct research I, too, would probably conduct a survey asking how many hours they spend on the computer and how much sleep they get. I would use random assignment to avoid only one age group or gender to answer the question.
ReplyDeleteIn attempt to broaden the spectrum a bit, I would have to say that I am most definitely addicted to technology. It can be unclear trying to determine whether or not the addiction is also applies in regard to the internet. I personally only spend the minimum (or at least what I consider minimum)amount of time on the internet. After long days consumed with school and volleyball I find that my internet usage had significantly dropped since the summer. I whole heartily believe that the internet is a time consumer. We can spend countless hours performing trivial tasks on not only the internet, but on the computer as a whole as well.
ReplyDelete"Everything in moderation," seems to come to mind when figuring how much of something is 'too much' . I believe that Internet usage can begin to be considered 'too much' when you find yourself unable to function in a reasonable manner for short periods of time without it. The Internet was developed as a tool to society, but has evolved into a pathway for a variety of opportunities, both good and bad. When a person's use of the Internet has reached a point where they are lost and feel no sense of purpose without it, I would definitely say 'enough is enough.'
In regards to Internet addiction there are so many mental, emotional, social, and physiological effects that it will vary from person to person. For the most part, an addiction of any kind has many negative aspects. In almost all cases of addiction there is constantly a great strain placed on the person suffering the addiction's relationships in all environments in their life. The human body would not be able to function properly due to the lack of sleep, stress, and possible depression and anxiety that the addiction and cause. Most people who turn to their computers for long spans of time, (excluding those who do so for work) are attempting to consume themselves in an activity that forces them to ignore their 'real-life' situations, but only temporarily. Many people who suffer from an addiction to the Internet often have poorly developed social skills due to their lack of interaction with other people and their feelings of social competency when using the internet as the main way of talking to others.
I would most likely use a survey to study the relationship between internet use and sleep deprivation.
Like Taylor said, I went without internet for nearly the entire summer and I totally fine, I didn't even have the urge to on when I did have internet. But sometimes once I log on, I find it difficult to log out. I do spend too much time on the internet, but I don't consider myself addicted because I can live without it. I think too much time on the computer is anything over 4 hours. Of course if you have a job where it requires you to be on the computer all day, then it's different. Like most people have already said health risks involved are loss of sleep, headaches, depression, anxiety, poor eyesight, and pain in the wrists/hands. I would use a naturalistic observation to see the relationship between internet addiction and sleep deprivation.
ReplyDeleteEveryday i set a 30 minute internet limit for myself when i get home from school, of course this is very easy to ignore once you get online. I do think internet has become too important in todays culture, but i do not feel i am addicted to it. I know that when something really has to be done i have the ability to not go online. For others this concept may be hard to grasp because they live their lives through a screen. when the internet starts to interfere with your everyday life then you know you have a problem. I think anything over 3 hours a day is way too long to be spending online, people need to interact with other humans and not just electronically. Some affects of the computer are that kids today are lacking social skills because they rarely interact with others. In order to find out if computer use and sleep deprivation had a relationship i would organize a case study. In this study i would watch a self proclaimed computer addict carefully. I would track how long he spends on the computer with the amount of sleep he gets at night and analyze the results to see if there is any correlation between the two. If he spends alot of hours on the computer and only gets 2 hours of sleep a day then that would be a clear sign of a problem. But if he spends great lengths of time on the computer and still manages to get 6 hrs of sleep then i would have to conduct my research further.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd say that I'm addicted to the internet, though I can't think of a day recently that I've gone without it. I typically try to use it only for school or work purposes, then try to limit the time spent on other websites to about an hour or so. I was actually really surprised when the article mentioned the health issues that can stem from using the internet too much, such as weight gain and depression, because I can easily see how someone can get to that point of addiction in today's society.
ReplyDeleteI think that if I were to try an experiment dealing with internet addiction, my first research method would be to conduct a survey. In the survey, I'd ask questions such as "how many hours do you spend on the internet?" and "what is your current weight?", as well as providing a few websites in a list and asking that the person taking the survey check off a list of the various websites they use and for them to provide an approximate number of hours they go on them for.
In all honesty, I would have to admit that I'm addicted to the internet. I find it really difficult not to get distracted by various social networks while I'm completing school work. I feel like that's definitely one of the downsides to having a laptop used for school: students can get distracted much more easily. Although I am not personally affected by health issues resulting from overuse of the internet, I believe that some people are. I can most definitely see how internet addiction leads to sleep deprivation, lack of physical activity, and depression.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to conduct an experiment to test the relationship between computer use and sleep deprivation, I would use the methods of a survey and a case study. In the survey, I would include simple questions such as "How many hours of sleep do you get a night?" and "Approximately how many hours a day do you spend on the computer?". I would use the case study to choose a student and observe their internet use and sleep patterns.
So I really don't think I'm addicted to the internet, but not because I have great self control or anything, but because we only recently fixed the wifi in my house and during the summer I spend 3 months without internet. If I do have access to the internet, or more specifically to facebook, I give a quick update and make sure there are no awkward pictures of me eating unattractively on facebook (serious concerns really).
ReplyDeleteI could however see how this is a health issue. I think Channel One did a segment a while back on kids in Asia who were addicted to video game arcades or something to that effect and they actually went to rehab for it.
If I were to conduct an experiment I'd have to go with the simple survey, it would be most effective for reaching the most amount of people. As Meghan puts it the questions would be how many hours do you sleep each night, how many hours do use play on the internet. I'd carefully choose to include that Blackberries and Smartphones have internet, so it's not just the computer to be concerned with. I could ask about their weight, but I think the first part of the experiment should really be focused on the amount of time spent on the internet and the connection to sleep deprivation. I just think the survey would be the best way to handle it, but I'm sure all of the methods could be performed.
I definitely that I love going on the computer. Would I say I am addicted, probably not. I think being addicted the internet is a strong word. I do check my facebook multiple times a day, and I often do tweet, but there are days when I can pull myself away from all the technology, and not miss it. I do spend a lot of time on the computer, I would say about 6 hours a day, but it is because since we go to a school that requires the use of a laptop, a lot of my work is on the computer. I think to much time spent on the computer is when one is on the computer when the could easily be meeting another person face to face. There are a lot of health issues from going on the internet too much, and that does not surprise me at all. Today, many people are becoming more anti-social because of going on the computer too much. Many children today have lost the concept of meeting a person face to face, and when they do meet a person, they don't know how to react. Also as the article states, it can cause a person not to sleep to much, which in turn can cause a number of health issues.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that naturalistic observation would be a good experiment to check if a person is addicted to the internet. This can be checked by observing a group of IHA students from different grades do their homework. We could look for how long does it take each one to do an assignment, were they distracted, and if they were using their computer. If they were using their computer, how many programs did they have on at once?
Like Anisha, I too believe that addiction is a very strong word not to be used lightly. I'll admit that I love facebook, or at least the idea of facebook and that it is sooo easy to just get lost online once you sign on. I don't think my enjoyment of the internet necessarily qualifies as being addictive though. Although this might contradict my previous "lack of addiction" statement, I have realized that I may be developing a little bit of carpal tunnel syndrome which is really embarrassing since the only thing that could cause that in me is computer and cell phone (texting) usage.
ReplyDeleteIn order to conduct an experiment, I feel as though a basic survey with questions regarding internet usage would be the most efficient way to gauge how people, especially in our generation, would react to "internet addiction".
I don't think that i am "addicted" to the Internet. I do feel however, that i could benefit by deleting my facebook completely when i have school work to do. I always get my school work done, its just that maybe i would be less stressed it i didn't have facebook distracting me. I think the conclusion can be drawn that when someone is using the internet so much that they neglect their responsibilities and their health, that they have a problem. If all you want to do is go on facebook and perez hilton instead of actually going out with your friends or family or eating, then i would say you are "addicted" to the internet and should take measures to help yourself. I think you could use any type of experimentation to measure computer use relating to sleep deprivation. You could use naturalistic observation, a case study or a survey. I personally would do a cause study and note the behaviors of one person.
ReplyDeleteI am addicted to the internet. I am in love with facebook, twitter, and tumblr. I really dont know what i would do without them! I am not as addicted as I was in freshman year or middle school but Facebook is a big part of my life sadly to say. I think since talking to people via the internet or cell phone has become a big part of our lives, saying your addicted isnt really a bad thing. If you werent addicted or didnt have a facebook or twitter you wouldnt really be in touch with whats happening in the world. I definitely think though that there is an over use of it. By being addicted it can definitely harm your life. By looking at the computer screen you are hurting your eyes. Also you can lose friends because if you are so addicted to being online you dont know how to talk to them in person. Also cyber bulling is a big problem now. Which by not having friends can lead to depression and tons of other problems. You could do a survey to test out computer use and sleep. Some questions could be, how many hours of sleep do you get? How many hours do you spend on the internet? If your up late (past 11) is it because your on the computer? Are you more tired after you use the computer after bed? And some more questions. Survey wouldnt be the only way you could perform the experiment though.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that I am not addicted to the internet but I would be lying to myself. I love to be on facebook and twitter. If I am not on my computer I always have it available to me on my blackberry. However, I do not feel that I ever put the internet in front of my sleep. There are some days when I want nothing to do with the computer and want to be to myself. The internet is a very useful tool but can also be easily abused. In the article how it stated people stay up late to be on social networking sites or playing games they start to treat that like it is the real world. I believe that the addiction to the internet can not only lead to sleep deprivation but also social communication problems. People can easily sit behind their laptop or phone and facebook or email without ever needing to confront them face to face. Then when the time comes they do need to interact with people they do not know how to handle it. I would go about finding more out about this topic by conducting a survey. I believe that would be one of the quickest ways to find out some information and from that information gathered I could then go on to doing a case study or naturalistic observation.
ReplyDeleteI know I am addicted to the internet. As with any other addict, I know the first step to recovery is admitting there's a problem but after that the recovery process is different. Because as much as you can compare internet addiction and other forms of addiction, they are not the same. Internet addiction is a societal influence on our lives. It has become socially acceptable for people to spend hours upon hours on the internet. This makes it okay for people to become internet addicts, even when they don't realize it. With an internet addiction comes the risk of carpel tunnel, bad eyesight, frequent headaches and sleep disorders
ReplyDeleteTo do an experiment on the correlation between internet usage and sleep deprivation you could use a survey. Send out a survey asking average hours of sleep per night and average hours of internet usage per night. To find a correlation you would have to see that as the internet usage increases, the hours of sleep decreases.