Summary - Research Paper Example

My Kid Is an Internet Addict In 1995 Dr, Goldberg introduced to the world Internet addiction disorder which has been the of numerous researchoften targeting adolescents. The article focuses on China’s youth as it has the largest population of internet users, namely around 140 million. 15% of these users are under the age of 18 with 2 million being addicts as reported by the 2006 report from Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (Zhiyong 2007). Many reporters, such as Chen Weiwei and Xiao Yunian of China Youth daily, claim that the constant negative portrayal of internet usage among the teenagers creates growing prejudice and hysteria and victimizes the younger generation.

This is largely due to the fact that adults and experts alike have dominated the portrayal of this message labeling teenagers and their behavior as either good or bad without paying any attention to their point of view. With growing technology and increasing economy, internet usage is becoming an integral and common part of any society with both adults and teenagers going online. Two surveys conducted in 1997and 2001 by the U.S. and Canada respectively, concluded that adults actually spend more time on the internet than teenagers.

This was confirmed by China Internet Network Information Center who conducted their own survey and revealed that 66.3% of internet users were between the ages of 20-35 where as teenagers only made up 17.2% (Zhiyong 2007). However society feels that it is easier to blame the teenagers and their internet addiction for the prevailing problems of drugs, sex etc. Instead of hearing their voices and acknowledging that the problem of addiction exists in both adults and teenagers, experts mold the public opinion against the youth often leading to their low self esteem and confidence.

Dick Hebdige summed this up very nicely when he stated "In our society, youth is present only when its presence is a problem, or is regarded as a problem” (Zhiyong 2007). It is easy to label the teenagers as bad and ignore why they get hooked on the internet in the first place. Internet offers adolescents an escape from their every day stressful lives and allows them to interact freely with others, play games, and read information online complete with privacy and increased comfort. This freedom from pressure and even parents for a little while is misunderstood as being lazy and displaying improper behavior by the adults.

This often leads adults to feel that the teenagers are undermining their authority. For, internet isn’t something reserved for the adults alone. Teenagers are also able to surf and gain knowledge and control regardless of looks, status, and wealth. It is certainly true that teenagers get addicted to online gaming, chatting etc. This leads to mental and behavioral problems. But it is not something limited to them, because this addiction of the teenagers only reflects the more prevalent problem present in adults.

For example, an American survey revealed that 69% of adults and 79% of teenagers are attracted to cyber sex and are unable to deal with this problem (Zhiyong 2007). However, regardless of this little difference in numbers, teenagers are singled out and being blames for the anxiety and problems. Employing rigid restrictions like the Chinese government installing soft wares in internet cafes to limit teenage usage, isn’t the solution. The problem is much deeper and needs to be properly understood.

As Plato said that the soul has three parts, rational, spiritual and desire which all need to be guided. Rationalization is somewhat being achieved through the internet, but the spiritual factor is missing which is needed to properly direct the rational desires in both adults and teenagers. A lot is left to be realized and understood.Works Cited Zhiyong, Wang. “My Kid Is An Internet Addict.” China.org.cn 28 Aug., 2007.