Internet dapat menyediakan akses ke beberapa tool yang berharga, cerita yang menarik, permainan yang menarik dan konten yang informatif tetapi, ketika digunakan secara berlebihan, internet memiliki kemampuan untuk mengganggu pekerjaan, kehidupan, hubungan, dan rutinitas sehari-hari. Gangguan kecanduan internet adalah kondisi yang berpotensi berbahaya yang mempengaruhi individu yang menghabiskan banyak waktu bersosialisasi secara online dengan teman, bermain game, berjudi atau hanya menjelajahi web meskipun konsekuensi negatif yang dihasilkan dari menghabiskan begitu banyak waktu online.

Belajar tentang penyebab dan gejala kecanduan internet dapat membantu anda mendeteksi masalah sejak dini dan mencari bantuan. Kecanduan komputer tidak harus menyebabkan konsekuensi jangka panjang dalam hidup anda atau dalam kehidupan orang yang dicintai — bantuan tersedia dalam bentuk konseling, terapi, dan kelompok dukungan sosial yang akan membantu anda mengatasi perilaku impulsif dan membantu anda atau orang yang anda kasihi agar bisa mengurangi waktu online.

Apakah Kecanduan Internet?

Kecanduan Internet

Selalu berpikir tentang menggunakan internet adalah tanda kecanduan.

Kecanduan internet adalah epidemi yang berkembang yang dicirikan oleh keinginan yang kompulsif untuk berinteraksi secara online melalui permainan internet, perjudian, cybersex, jejaring sosial, atau menjelajahi web secara kompulsif. Menurut Dr. Kimberly Young, psikolog pertama yang mendokumentasikan kecanduan internet, gangguan ini mirip dengan gangguan kontrol impuls. Memenuhi lima dari gejala berikut dapat menyebabkan diagnosis gangguan kecanduan internet:

Merasa disibukkan dengan internet. (berfikir tentang aktivitas online anda yang lalu atau mengantisipasi yang akan anda lakukan pada saat nanti online)
Merasa ingin menggunakan internet untuk peningkatan jumlah waktu untuk mencapai kepuasan dengan mengakses web. (Mirip dengan toleransi yang dibahas dalam masalah penyalahgunaan obat)
Kurangnya kontrol untuk menghentikkan menggunakan internet atau untuk mengurangi penggunaan.
Merasa gelisah, mudah tersinggung, depresi atau murung ketika tidak menggunakan internet.
Tetap online lebih lama dari yang anda rencanakan.
Merusak pekerjaan, hubungan, pendidikan, atau peluang penting lainnya karena Internet.
Berbohong kepada teman, anggota keluarga atau orang lain dalam upaya untuk menyembunyikan jumlah waktu sebenarnya yang anda habiskan online atau aktivitas online anda yang sebenarnya.
Menggunakan internet sebagai cara melarikan diri dari kenyataan, melarikan diri dari masalah atau menghilangkan suasana hati yang galau.

Jenis Gangguan Kecanduan Internet

Kecanduan internet bisa dalam berbagai bentuk. Sebagian besar waktu, kecanduan internet ditandai / akan terlihat dalam aktivitas seseorang saat mereka sedang online seperti belanja, bersosialisasi atau bermain game. Gangguan kecanduan internet meliputi:

Net Compulsions - ini termasuk kompulsif dalam perjudian, game, belanja, perdagangan saham atau penggunaan obsesif lain dari internet yang mengganggu pekerjaan atau rumah anda, hubungan atau keuangan.
Kecanduan Cybersex - penggunaan internet yang kompulsif untuk mengambil bagian di ruang obrolan orang dewasa, situs bermain peran fantasi, atau menonton pornografi internet.
Kecanduan Cyber-Relationship - mengambil bagian dalam jaringan sosial, chatting dan virtual messaging online sampai pada titik di mana hubungan online ini berarti lebih dari hubungan kehidupan nyata dengan teman atau anggota keluarga.
Kecanduan Komputer - obsesif untuk bermain di komputer, belum tentu online. Ini mungkin termasuk bermain game seperti Solitaire atau memprogram komputer secara obsesif.
Compulsive Web Surfing - obsesif menjelajahi web atau database ke titik di mana anda mengambil waktu dari teman-teman anda, anggota keluarga atau tugas siang hari reguler di tempat kerja atau di rumah.

Sebagian besar gangguan kecanduan internet adalah hasil dari cybersex, perjudian online atau game, dan hubungan maya.

Kembali Ke Kehidupan Anda

Mengenali Perbedaan Antara Penggunaan Internet yang Sehat & Tidak Sehat

Tidak semua pengguna yang menjelajahi web akan kecanduan internet dan, penggunaan internet yang berlebihan tidak selalu dikaitkan dengan kecanduan. Ada banyak cara bahwa internet dapat digunakan dengan cara yang sehat dan dalam beberapa kasus, bahkan penggunaan internet yang berlebihan aman. Internet memberi kita sumber hiburan, informasi, dan alat yang konstan dan selalu berubah yang dapat diakses melalui komputer, ponsel pintar, tablet, laptop, dan perangkat genggam lainnya.

Bagaimana kita bisa mengenali penggunaan internet yang sehat vs. penggunaan internet yang tidak sehat? Bagaimana penggunaan internet yang terlalu over? Apakah itu sama untuk semua orang? Semua pertanyaan seputar penggunaan internet dan tingkat penggunaan yang dianggap sehat muncul dalam pikiran ketika memikirkan kecanduan internet. Jawabannya adalah:

Setiap orang berbeda dan karena itu tingkat penggunaan internet yang sehat akan berbeda dari satu orang ke yang berikutnya. Sebagian orang mengandalkan internet untuk bekerja dan menggunakannya secara berlebihan tetapi ini tidak berarti bahwa mereka kecanduan. Orang lain mungkin terhubung dengan kerabat jauh atau teman secara online karena mereka tidak dapat terhubung secara pribadi dan ini juga tidak berarti bahwa mereka kecanduan.
Penggunaan internet yang tidak sehat dicirikan oleh keputusan seseorang untuk berinteraksi secara online, bukan secara langsung, keputusan untuk menghabiskan waktu online daripada menangani tugas atau tugas kerja, atau keputusan untuk menghabiskan waktu secara online daripada menangani tugas-tugas penting dalam kehidupan.
Penggunaan internet yang tidak sehat akan sering menimbulkan konsekuensi negatif bagi pengguna dalam hal hubungan atau pertemanan yang rusak, kecemasan yang meningkat dalam situasi sosial dunia nyata, kehilangan pekerjaan karena produktivitas yang berkurang atau kesulitan keuangan karena belanja online yang berlebihan.

Symptoms of Internet Addiction

The symptoms of internet addiction may not be visibly present or a person may only show a few of the signs of internet addiction. There is not a set amount of time spent online each day that can be used to describe the presence of an addiction to the internet. This amount of time will be different for each individual. Some of the symptoms of internet addiction include:

Internet Addiction

Internet addiction is becoming more common as the Internet has become such a big part of daily life.

Spending more time online than you even realize. Do you often find that you wind up online longer than had anticipated? If you find that your planned time online goes from being a few minutes to actually spending hours online, you might have a problem.
Isolating yourself from friends or family members to spend time online. Do you spend more time socializing online than you do in real life? You might have an addiction to the internet if you are isolating yourself from friends or family members in order to spend time online.
Becoming defensive about your time spent online. If you feel like you have to be defensive about the time that you spend online or you feel like you have to lie to your friends or family members about what you are doing online than you might have a problem.
Difficulty completing tasks at work or at home because you spend too much time surfing the web. If you have trouble focusing on your priorities or you find that your time online has made you slack on your tasks at work or at home you you may be suffering from an internet addiction.
Euphoric feelings when involved with internet activities. Do you use the internet to reduce stress, gain sexual gratification or excitement? If you use the internet to boost your mood or to feel better you may have a problem.

Family is Forever.Get Help for Your Loved One.

What are the Causes of Internet Addiction?

People become addicted to the internet for a number of different reasons. Most of the time, the urge to compulsive use the internet is the result of a desire to manage unpleasant feeling such as depression, anxiety, stress or loneliness. Some feel socially inept in the real world and turn to social media interaction as a means of feeling close to people, while others may lose themselves online in an effort to temporarily feel better. Unfortunately, the internet, when used compulsively, can lead to many consequences. Some causes of internet addiction include:

Self-medication for a mental health disorder. Many people use the internet to mask anxiety, depression, or other mental illness.
Information addicts. Some people have an intense hunger for knowledge and the internet provides immediate access to tons of information that can be very attractive for information addicts.
Anxiety or social disorders. Some people have anxiety when they are face to face with people or suffer from other social disorders that make it difficult for them to interact in real life but easier to interact online.
Loneliness. Many people, especially those who do not have a companion, interact online to fulfill a void that causes them to feel lonely.
Shifting from a real world addiction. Many people who suffer from a real world addiction to shopping or gambling will shift their addictions to an online version such as internet gambling or excessive shopping online.

Effects of Internet Addiction

In many ways, internet addiction can be compared to an addiction to drugs or alcohol in that, internet addiction causes a desire to use the internet more and more in order to produce a satisfactory effect. This is similar to the way an alcoholic may need to drink more alcohol in order to feel the benefits of the substance or the way that a drug addict may use more drugs in an effort to produce the same “high.” Internet addicts become dependent on the use of cyberspace in order to feel normal.

Internet addicts struggle to control their behaviors and often experience great despair over their consistent failure to escape their addictive behaviors. A loss of self-esteem and a burning desire to escape can lead the addict further into their addiction sending them into a whirlwind of social anguish, relationship failure and emotional pain. In the end, the internet addiction will cause a sense of powerlessness for the addict. Help for Internet Addiction

There are many steps that you can take to reduce impulsive behaviors and get your internet usage under control. Many of the ways that you can get help for internet addiction can actually be taken on by you individually without the need for treatment. Take these steps to get your internet usage under control:

Get help for any mental health problems that may be contributing to your compulsive use of the internet. If you suffer from depression, stress, anxiety or other mental health problems that are contributing to your desire to self-medication by using the internet, get help!
Develop coping skills. If you use the internet as a way to cope with stress or to deal with other emotions, you’ll need to develop coping skills in order to reduce your urges to use the internet. Instead of resorting to the internet as a method of coping with stress or anger or other emotions, develop skills that will help you to cope with these emotions without the internet.
Get support. You’ll need an extensive support network to help you through the difficult times when you are most vulnerable and susceptible to using the internet. Your support network may consist of friends, family members, co-workers, community groups, and social support groups as well as your counselor or therapist.
Log your time. One way that you can reduce the amount of time that you spend online is to actually keep a log of the time that you do spend online. Keep track of the time of day that you log onto the internet, how long you spend and any emotions that were present prior to your use of the internet or during your internet use. You can even log your activity online so that you can review your log to determine emotions that may have triggered a particular activity or impulsive behavior.
Set a timer. You can reduce the amount of time that you spend online by setting a timer before you go online and making a commitment to yourself to get off of your computer when the timer goes off. You should also make a commitment to turn your computer off at a particular time each day to allow for interaction with family or to handle other tasks.
Substitute internet usage with healthy activities. Instead of going online, take a walk, read a book, call a friend or find another way to fill the time with a healthy activity.

Methods of Internet Addiction Treatment

Many different options for treatment exist to assist those who cannot cope with or overcome their internet addiction on their own. If self-help for internet addiction doesn’t work for you, consider these internet addiction treatment options:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy – providing methods of changing compulsive thoughts that result in poor behavior into positive thoughts and reactions, cognitive-behavioral therapy can help to change the perceptions that you have regarding your internet use. This method of therapy is effective at reducing anxiety, eliminating stress or alleviating depression.
Support Groups – while there may not be as many support groups for those suffering from internet addiction as there are for those suffering from substance abuse or a gambling addiction, there are often alternatives. For instance, if you tend to spend your time online gambling, you can take part in Gamblers Anonymous, or if you tend to spend your time watching pornography, Sex Addicts Anonymous may be an alternative social support option.

Helping an Individual who is Addicted to the Internet

Internet Addiction

Talk to your child about any emotional triggers that lead to excessive internet use.

If you think you know someone who is addicted to the internet, there are steps you can take to help that individual overcome their addiction. Follow these times to help someone who is addicted to the internet:

Manage your own time online to show your loved one the right ways.
Help the individual to find friends and social support
Help them get involved in other activities that aren’t online
Encourage counseling and therapy
Help them manage their time online by keeping a log of internet usage

Preventing Internet Addiction in Children and Teens

In today’s society where the use of the internet is present in schools, at home and on the go, children and teens are subjected to a whole new potential for internet addiction that was not necessarily present for adults until recently. Preventing internet addiction in children and teens can be more difficult that you may think. As a parent, there is a fine line between the level of internet usage that is acceptable and what is not for a child or teen. Follow these tips to prevent internet addiction in children and teens:

Limit internet usage to include minimal use for social interaction.
Internet use should focus on the need to use the internet for school assignments and research.
Limit internet gaming
Monitor internet use and set boundaries
Keep internet usage restricted to specific areas of the home
Talk to your child about anxiety, depression, school, and other potential triggers that may be causing additional internet use
Seek help form a doctor, friend or professional if your child seems to be spending too much time online

Mengatasi Internet Addiction Disorder

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