Essay Example on Online Addiction: Gaming Disorder Affecting Social Relationships

Introduction: The Pervasive Influence of Online Activities

Many people spend much of their leisure time being online, ranging from young children to adults. For instance, in contemporary society, moms spend their leisure time on social media, Dad's surfing the Web, sister texting friends, and brother playing a multiplayer shooting game like Fortnite. They are addicted to spending much of their time on screens. 'Gaming disorder' is affecting social relationships where the gamers lack control over gaming. Not only the teens but also adults are affected by the increasing predominance of electronic devices. Many of the teens spend much time with their screens than the face to face meetings. Teens sleep less and prioritize screen time than any other activity. They spend less time on home works compared to 1990s students. Spending much time online leads to self-harm behaviors, clinical-level depression, and suicide attempts by teens.

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The Impact of Internet Addiction on Social Relationships

Kids aged eight to 18 years spend seven days a week, an average of 10hours, and 45 minutes in a day online. With much time spent by the youth in internet activities, the results are pathetic. They end up getting lower grades in school as they take less time to study. It increases the risk of depression to them and sleeps for a short time. The internet addiction by the youth interferes with their daily activities, their health, and their relationships. Most internet users are more focused on the number of followers and likes in social media than human interaction. However, the researchers do not fully understand the cause and relationship effect between the use of the internet and maladaptive behavior (Webroot Inc., 2017).

Too much screen time is dangerous to kids. According to Clark (2020), spending much time online by children can increase the chances of children becoming obese. The time spent in screen time doesn't allow the kids to move, and this is accompanied by munching on foods with high-calorie content. The kids may experience morbidly obese if the problem continues for a long time. Clark proceeded to explain that kids find it hard to get in bed and sleep when they are playing video games, watching TV programs, and obsessing about the internet. They face problems in falling asleep, which is unhealthy for the children (Clark, 2020).

Detrimental Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Children

A study showed that spending much time on the internet can cause risks of high blood pressure on teenagers. The research showed the link between excessive time on the internet and social isolation, obesity depression, internet addiction, and anxiety. Out of the 134 teens that spent excessive time on the internet, 26 were diagnosed with high blood pressure. Teens that spent a minimum of 14hours online in a week had elevated blood pressure (Sos Safety Magazine, 2020). Internet addicts find themselves having lower esteem when they take much time on social media. They compare themselves to the vacation pictures, pictures of family friends being at happy times, and smiling faces. The experiences make the internet addicts wish to have the same happy lives, and they end up having low self-esteem.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, spending much of time on the internet has many adverse effects on society than the positive effects. The time we spend online can be productive, but we should not allow it to consume our relationships, work, and daily activities. There is a need for more research on the ways of curbing the negative effects of internet use and improve its positive impact. Teenagers are the most affected by the dangers of excessive internet use. However, they should turn off their computers and phones and spend quality and enough time on face to face real conversations and interacting with people. Also, parents should take part in curbing internet addiction to their children. They can do this by seeking help concerning the behavior and setting rules and regulations to the children that will minimize time used on the internet.

References

Clark, T. (2020). Internet Addiction -How much is too much time on the Internet? Retrieved from The Center for Parenting Education. https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/kids-and-technology/how much-time-internet-kids/

Sos Safety Magazine. (2020). The EFFECTS On Teens Spending Too Much Time On the Internet. Retrieved from Sos Safety Magazine. https://sossafetymagazine.com/internet safety/the effects-on-teens-spending-too-much-time-on-the-internet/

Webroot Inc. (2017). Internet Addiction: How Much is Too Much Time Online? Webroot Smarter Cybersecurity. https://www.webroot.com/za/en/resources/tips-articles/internet-addiction-too-much-time-online