Netflix: The New Addiction by Lissy Craton

What else can technology bring us? 

Yes, we all know that Internet is the greatest creation, a phenomenal achievement.

However, how could I forget the days I used to go to Blockbuster to rent a movie I wanted watch, I waited until the movie was available or the long lines I used to do to pay for it. Well all those moments are gone with the introduction of Netflix's unlimited streaming service, an American provider of on-demand Internet streaming media and over 26 million subscribers worldwide.

This service let us watch countless movies, documentaries, or TV shows whenever we want; even more, watch them as many times we want to. As a matter of fact, once you become member, you can have access to this service not only from a computer, but also from an Apple TV, tablet, smart phone, video game consoles such as Wii, XBox360, PlayStation 3, even more it could also be streamed on HD television. It's basically like being at the movie theater. As a result, this innovation has been created a horrendous Streaming Syndrome, where people spend endless hours watching their favorite TV shows or movies marathon. In fact, that is pretty much my case, I could spend days, watching "Sons of Anarchy", "Lost" & "Breaking Bad".

Here are some symptoms of this disease:

Insomnia brought on by watching every episode of a compelling series in a row at the expense of getting a good night's sleep.

Anti-social behavior as a result of staying in and making it a "Netflix night" rather than going out in public and seeing other human beings.

A gnawing impatience when you cannot watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it coupled with fits of rage when movies are not available for streaming and you must wait two whole days for an actual disc to arrive in a little red envelope in the mail.

On the other hand, according to CNN, on March 13, 2013 Netflix launched its first Facebook app where subscribers can choose to link their Netflix and Facebook accounts and at the same time friends and family will see the titles of every movie and television show they watch. 

In conclusion, if some of you are subscribed to Netflix you might be thinking that it's impossible to get addicted to it, but once you try it, it is very difficult to stop streaming your favorite shows, and for those of you that are not yet subscribed; better be careful.

Do you check your Netflix Queue more than four times per week?

Does your Netflix Queue have more than 200 movies? Do you plan to watch all 200 movies in the next year?

Do you watch the DVD the same day it arrives so you can send it back the next day?

Have you mailed a DVD back to Netflix from another person's house?

Netflix-Facebook,Netflix's questions,Symptoms,

Quick Guide to Internet Addiction

(Enk)

By now you know that as a student you are at a greater risk for internet addiction than the average person, but what are some signs of internet addicted and what can you do about it. Here are some general signs that you might have an internet use problem. 

Losing track of time. Have you ever been late to class, missed an assignment or skipped lunch because minutes turned in to hour while being on internet? Has the time you spend online increase and it seems that you never have enough time to check everything you want online(Saisan)?

Decline in Academic performance. Did you notice a decline in your grades, and a lost interest in school? Have you become a procrastinator and do only the bare minimum in class(Saisan)?

Losing touch with family and friend. Is your entire social life online? Do you tell your friend that you are busy just to spend more time online? Is your family concerned about your lack of friends(Saisan)?  

Felling defensive about your internet use. Do you feel irritated when someone cuts your internet session short?  Have your family or friend expressed concerns about your internet use? Do your friends joke about your internet use(Saisan)?

Escaping online. Do you use the internet to cope with stress or feel a sense of utopia while being online? Have you tried to limit your internet use in the past and failed(Saisan)?

If you answered yes to one or more questions or just feel the internet is taking over your life here are some few things that will help you take under control your internet use. First, recognize the underlining problem. Many people turn to internet because of stress, depression, or anxiety.  Figure out what is triggering your internet use and keep track of how much time you spend on different internet activates. Second, set goals of when and how much internet you should use. This will help you manage your time and control the internet use. Third, fined a healthy alternative to internet that will help cope with the underlining problem and fight internet addiction. 

Remember Internet Addiction is a serious medical condition that can be diagnosed and treated only by trained professionals. If you feel that you are addicted to internet please sec medical attention. 

-Oleg Frunza

Works Cited

Enk. KEEP CALM AND FIGHT INTERNET ADDICTION. Digital image. Keepcalm-o-matic. Reincubate, 29 Dec. 2012. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. <http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-fight-internet-addiction-3/http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-fight-internet-addiction-3/>.

Saisan, Joanna, and Melinda Smith. "Internet and Computer Addiction." Helpguide. Helpguide.org, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2013. <http://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htmhttp://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm>.

Boot Camps to Help Treat Teens and Internet Addiction

After reading about another team members finding on different therapies that are being used for internet addicts, I decided to do a little more research on what other treatments there are for teens globally.  Horses are primarily used as the main treatment in therapy, but I also came across another therapy that seems to be successful, although not as much fun as being around horses.  This other type of treatment is very similar to military boot camp, only the people attending this boot camp are young teens and are not preparing to go into the military.

 In South Korea, where there are the most teen internet addicts in the world, a new treatment has been devised to help with severe internet addiction. This treatment is sending your teen to boot camp.  Jump Up Internet Rescue School is very similar to military boot camps, where the attendees have to go through rigorous obstacle courses where drill sergeants are yelling orders; however, group counseling sessions and therapeutic workshops are mixed in to help ease the time while staying at camp.  The idea of the boot camp is to have the teens focus on building emotions with people of the real word instead of the virtual world (Fackler).  By working together and living on site, the teens are forced to do normal daily activities without being able to go on the computer.  I think that this could be successful for teens that are severely addicted to the internet because they are outside exercising, being held accountable to help with chores and also building team work skills and emotions which lack when most of their time is spent online.

-Lauren Gorowski

Source: Fackler, Martin. "South Korean Boot Camp Weans Teens from Internet Addiction." New York Times 18 Nov. 2007: 17. Print.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20071117&id=Lz4aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9B8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5535,662649

Internet Addiction in the Workplace: Just Go Cold Turkey?

It has been discussed earlier in the class presentation as well as on this blog that Internet addiction is a growing concern for businesses worldwide. Companies have been trying to find a balance between monitoring their employees actions and restricting access without making their employees feel controlled. Since any form or monitoring or restriction adds significant costs to a companies operations, this is a less than desirable course of action. With the increased use of the Internet along with mobile access platforms, productivity while at work is suffering. Is this really a responsibility of a companies management; or is this an individual responsibility, being accountable for ones individual actions? Is Internet Addiction just a habit you can quit?

A recent study conducted by the University of Bonn in Germany found that of 132 participants displaying traits associated with Internet Addiction, all had a similar genetic trait that is also found in those who are addicted to nicotine. Though this does not imply that the addictions are the same, it does however give scientists more information to develop treatments for Internet Addiction. It would be surprising if breaking an addiction to the Internet is as easy as simply going cold turkey.

Overall, I believe that in order for businesses to truly combat Internet Addiction there needs to be a blend of monitoring, restricting, and most of all there needs to be a sense of individual accountability and responsibility in the employees. If they have a personal stake in their performance at work, then they are less likely to neglect their duties. This would require performance reviews, which are already done by many companies, but perhaps there needs to be an Internet usage report included, either rewarding or punishing employees based on the usage report.  It is a concerning subject and until more is known about this addiction, the methods of controlling and treating it will be less than effective.

Source:
Investor's Business, Daily. "Internet addiction no figment." Investors Business Daily 31 Aug. 2012: A02. Business Source Complete. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.

Internet Use Disorder and Your Brain

As mentioned during our presentation, IUD affects some of the same areas of the brain that other serious addictions also affect. This gathered my attention so I decided to dig a little deeper to find out what areas exactly are being affected and how serious are the affects.

In a recent study doctors compared people who where diagnosed with IUD to people that weren't. What they found was more abnormal white matter in the people with IUD. White matter is found all over the Brain. It is mostly made of nerves and transmitters, the white matter is a pathway for feelings of self control, emotions, and a persons decision making skills. The abnormal areas in the persons with IUD mean that the feelings just mentioned were being tampered with or harmed. But what I find most interesting is that the abnormal white matter is also found in addicts dealing with meth, heroin, and cocaine. After finding out that IUD Brian damage is so close to the affects of other "serious" addictions, it makes me wonder if we are really taking IUD as serious as we need to be.

-Austin Oys

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57357895-10391704/internet-addiction-changes-brain-similar-to-cocaine-study/

Internet Makes You Sick and Dumb

In an extensive study conducted in Taiwan over 49,609 randomly selected students from 156 Universities were asked in an online survey about their internet use habits. This study was conducted by Ying-Fang Chen, M.A. and Samuel S. Peng, Ph.D with the scope of understanding the relationship between internet use and academic performance.

 The respondents to this survey were divided in two categories heavy users and non heavy users. Students that spend less than 33.97 hours a week online were classified as non heavy users and those that spent more than 33.97 hours a week online were classified as heavy users. Survey found that students on average spend 17 hours online a week and out of that time: 4.15 hours are spent making new friends, 3.59 hours are spent on academic work, 3.21 hours on non academic related internet searches, and 2.57 hours playing games. 

The survey also found that psychosocial differences between heavy and non heavy users were statistically significant. According to this study heavy internet users are more likely to be depressed, physically ill, and lonely. One explanation for these results could be the fact that the more time you spend online the less time you have to spend in the real world. 

When it comes to academic performance the difference between non heavy internet users and heavy internet users is also statistically significant. Data shows that heavy internet users have lower grades than non heavy internet users. In addition heavy internet users reported difficulties, learning, studying, completing assignments and getting enough sleep. As before one possible explanation is the fact that the more time you spend online the less time you have to spend on academic life.

 In conclusion heavy internet use will not only impact your academic life but also your physiological and psychological well being.

-Oleg Frunza

Works Cited

Ying-Fang, Chen, and Samuel S. Peng. "University Students' Internet Use And Its Relationships With Academic Performance, Interpersonal Relationships, Psychosocial Adjustment, And Self-Evaluation." Cyberpsychology & Behavior 11.4 (2008): 467-469. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.

Do you know that some online gamers have died of Internet addiction? by Lissy Craton

Internet addiction is not just about playing games. Internet addiction is not just about using Internet. Internet addiction is a fatal addiction in certain cases. That is the case, where many internet cafes around the world are full of people of all ages spending  hours playing online games.

The worst consequence of Internet addiction is death. However, internet addiction can disrupt your life in other ways. For example:

2010:

South Korea was reminded of the tragic consequences of gaming addiction when a couple was found guilty of starving their real-life baby to death while they raised a healthy virtual child in an internet cafe. The father, Kim Jae-beom 41, was sentenced to two years in prison in May after admitting to neglecting their three-month-old daughter Sa-rang – "love" in Korean – while he and his wife spent up to 12 hours a day at a PC bang playing a 3D fantasy game called Prius Online his 25 year-old, Kim Yum-jeong was expecting their second child by the time she was given a suspended 2-year sentence. 

2011:

Wang Gang, 31  who had dropped out of college and cut himself off from his family, had been addicted to Dungeon Fighter, a South Korean multiplayer game which is hugely popular among China's burgeoning online community.

Online multi-user games started in the late 1970's with the restricted concept of competition between two players. It evolved over the years, as technological advancement resulted in better hardware and software systems. Hence what started as a text based adventures has today become Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG).

MMORPG has factors that motivate gamers to continuously interact with other gamers in order to achieve goals and be engage with their virtual lives 

I infer that creating and living through an avatar reward gamers for what they haven't accomplished in their lives. Unfortunately, gamers don't consider the consequences behind this scenario. In addition, is shocking to see how new and more progressive technology have negatively changed society.

Baby's death, Addiction, MMORPG, Games

Outside Time or Internet Time? What Teens are Choosing Today

Do you remember back in the day when you would drive through a neighborhood and every kid on the street was playing outside?  Times have changed drastically since then.  Nowadays, if you were to drive through that same neighborhood, you may be lucky to find a few kids playing outside.  The internet is somewhat to blame for that.  After teens and young adults come home from school, most of them go straight to playing video games, checking Facebook or other social networks, or surfing the internet.   With internet addiction being fairly new, some parents don’t know the signs of internet addiction.  There are steps parents can take to help break their teen’s addiction.  

According to the helpguide.org under the internet and computer addiction article, parents need to be a cautious as to how they approach dealing with a teen’s addiction to the internet.  One of the biggest setbacks of the addiction is that the teen’s skills including emotions and social skills are not up to par because they spend so much time online and don’t have that human interaction.  One way helpguid.org suggests to help reduce internet addiction is to encourage other interests and social activities.  Community sports teams, and Scouts can greatly improve these skills that teens miss from being on the internet all the time.  It helps teens and young adults stay active both mentally and physically because they have to work as a team to get an end result.  These activities also help build a person’s confidence and human interaction skills that cannot be taught on the internet.  Granted there also may be some underlying issues as to why a teen stays on the internet for a long time, but being in a group setting may help with resolving those issues.  Also, the teen or young adult may look up to a coach or leader than can impact their life.  These life lessons are very hard to learn on the internet, but something has to be done to help reduce the amount of teens addicted to the internet.

-Lauren Gorowski

Source: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm