Overcoming Internet Addiction For Dummies. David N. Greenfield

convenience, and relative privacy, and it makes trading stocks and other investments simple and near instantaneous.

      The problem is that sometimes you need time to think about your investments, and you can easily make an impulsive move online. There is a tendency with all online transactions to end up in a pick-and-click pattern that feels good in the moment but may not always be the best choice. Granted, you can make bad investments offline as well — but again, when you are online, there is no threshold to cross, no one to easily call and speak with on the phone, and no one to run things by. Sometimes all that is fine, and if online stock trading is the end point of a well-researched and thought-out choice, then it can work. But as with online shopping, it is just you and your screen, so there is some potential for higher risk in an online transaction.

      Our research shows that users tend to be more uninhibited and impulsive online than with other modalities. When you are online, you are in essence isolated and more apt to make riskier decisions. The addictive component is also important to note here in that each time you buy a stock or make an online trade, you’re getting a small hit of dopamine. This occurs irrespective of whether that investment is a good one or not and therefore may be misleading in terms of your judgment. See Chapter 8 for more about online investing.

      Online sex and pornography

      No discussion of online addiction would be complete without a discussion of pornography. In terms of reasons for people seeking treatment and general complaints about Internet addiction, it is on the top of the list along with video gaming.

      In some sense, the pornography and adult entertainment industry contributed to the early development and adoption of the Internet. The porn industry spearheaded some of the first examples of using the Internet to provide online adult entertainment to users and was an early example of effective e-commerce. The ease of access, disinhibition, dissociation, privacy, and perceived anonymity of the Internet makes it a near-perfect medium for pornography, and the fact that there are no boundaries and endless choices further facilitates the potential for addictive use. Of those who use online porn, most report overusing it at times, and a sizable percentage feel addicted to it at least part of the time.

      Many other sexual behaviors are also available online that can become addictive, including visiting webcam sites, watching private video shows, engaging in video/phone sex, and websites featuring various form of real-time sex work. In addition, there are numerous hook-up and sex sites that use an online platform to connect buyers and sellers of these services, as well as prostitution. Again, many of these activities existed prior to the Internet, but the Internet is a clear amplifier and facilitator, and makes the use and abuse of these behaviors all too easy. When it comes to sex, you have a double hit in that sex is one of the primary reward drives in the brain, and along with the addictive medium of the Internet, there can be an amplification of the addictive risk potential.

      The dark web

      

The dark web is an offshoot of the Internet and can offer many things (legal and illegal) that cannot be found on the normal Internet browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. A plethora of illegal pornography, drugs, and other illicit merchandise and services are available on the dark web, but there are also monitors in place where you can be caught accessing this illegal information or merchandise. Anything and everything is available on the dark web, and it remains the true Wild West of the Internet (and you do not know whom you are dealing with). My general advice is to avoid its use, and if you have any issue with addiction to substances or online pornography, this can be a dangerous place. The dark web does not have some of the online checks and balances (as limited as they are) that normal browsers afford.

Identifying the Signs and Symptoms of Internet and Screen Addiction

      Following is a general list of things to look out for to determine whether you may be suffering from an addiction to the Internet. Sometimes just developing an awareness of what you’re doing can increase your self-consciousness enough to cause you to change your habits and patterns. This is a good place to start. Generally, small changes can be valuable, but you can make those changes only if you are really aware of what you’re doing. Chapter 10 has more information on identifying signs and symptoms, and Chapter 11 provides a number of self-assessments.

      

Every accomplishment starts with a goal, followed by an assessment of where you are, and a plan for where you want to be:

      1 Do you spend more time online on your screen devices (computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or smart TV) than you realize?

      2 Do you mindlessly pass time on a regular basis by staring at your smartphone, tablet, computer, or smart TV, even when you know there might be better or more productive things to do?

      3 Do you seem to lose track of time when on any of your screen devices?

      4 Are you spending more time with “virtual friends” as opposed to real people nearby? (Obviously, during the COVID pandemic this is a difficult question.)

      5 Has the amount of time you spend on your smartphone or the Internet been increasing?

      6 Do you secretly wish you could be a little less wired or connected to your screen devices?

      7 Do you regularly sleep with your smartphone under your pillow or next to your bed?

      8 Do you find yourself viewing and answering texts, tweets, snaps, posts, comments, likes, IMs, DMs, and emails at all hours of the day and night — even when it means interrupting other things you are doing?

      9 Do you text, email, tweet, snap, IM, DM, post, comment, or surf while driving or doing other similar activities that require your focused attention and concentration?

      10 Do you at times feel your use of technology decreases your productivity?

      11 Do you feel uncomfortable when you accidentally leave your phone or other Internet screen device in your car or at home, if you have no service, or if it is broken?

      12 Do you feel reluctant to be without your smartphone or other screen device, even for a short time?

      13 When you leave the house, do you typically have your smartphone or other screen device with you?

      14 When you eat meals, is your smartphone always part of the table setting?

      15 Do you find yourself distracted by your smartphone or other screen devices?

      If you answer yes to 50 percent (7 or 8) or more of these questions, then you may want to examine your Internet and screen use.

      

Here’s an important disclaimer: It should be noted that no medical or psychiatric diagnosis can be made solely from a written test or screening tool. These Internet and screen addiction diagnostic criteria are intended for educational and informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are concerned about your smartphone, Internet, or screen use, you may want to consult with a licensed mental health or addiction professional with expertise in Internet and technology addiction.

      

The main thing to look out for is an overall lack of awareness of how much time you are spending on your screens. The more time, the more likely your life will be out of balance. The content or app is not the most important thing here; rather, it is the amount of time you are diverting from balanced real-time