The Bad Side of the Internet

WebMD - Internet Addiction

Just recently in late February of 2013, WebMD posted an article about how an addiction to the Internet can be considered a mental disorder and can be harder to stop than an addiction to drugs. The article says the medical professionals are saying an addiction to the Internet is often tired to depression and people can experience withdrawals similar to drug addicts. They even went as far as saying people who are addicted to the Internet show similar traits to people with Autism. The article says that in the upcoming fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will include Internet use and gaming disorder in it. A study was conducted on 60 adults that examined there use of the Internet and the their moods and emotions while using the Internet and when they had to stop. It was shocking that the results showed connections to depression and anxiety for the people who were clearly dependent on the Internet. I believe this is a great example of the bad side of the Internet. With access to so many different things ranging from social media sites, games, and the ability to look up anything and anyone people are clearly developing a problem. The fact the an addiction to the Internet can be searched in WebMD makes me worried for the future. What will be next? It is scary to think that even though I think I am being safe and staying away from common addictive things there is still a chance that I could get addicted to something that seems so harmless.