On the causes and countermeasures of adolescent students’ obsession with online games
I. The introduction of the problem
Entering the new century, the emerging Internet is bringing drastic changes to Chinese society, and it is entering more and more profoundly into all fields of contemporary Chinese society. The Internet is an important infrastructure for national modernization, and the next-generation Internet, featuring bigger, faster, more secure and more timely. (2 stories: South Korea, Germany, railroad) Internet has become a new fashion, with the development of network technology, in the rapid development of the Internet today, like to accept new things, curious teenagers also joined the army of Internet users, in China’s 84 million Internet users, minors under 18 years old are 16.5 million, accounting for 19% %. 14.8 % of the 16.5 million minors That’s 14.8 percent of the 16.5 million minors, or 2.44 million. Internet access has become a popular form of entertainment and leisure for teenagers. Some teenage students are obsessed with online games, and the first thing they ask when they meet their classmates is: “How many levels are you? Have you upgraded today, when will you go together?” Facing the virtual world constructed by the Internet, the charm of online games lies in role-playing, through a network line, netizens from all over the world fight side by side in the virtual world, born into death, and establish a deep friendship. The huge charming magnetic field of the Internet has rolled in many people, however, some negative effects arising from it are also becoming more and more prominent, and certain young students are obsessed with online games, which affects their study and body, and has gradually become a topic of family and society. So what exactly drives teenagers to be so obsessed with the Internet, even to the point of becoming “addicted” to it? In this paper, we analyze and think about the motivation of college students’ dependent Internet behavior from the perspective of psychology.
(A) What is Internet addiction?
They not only love the Internet, but also become addicted to it. According to the international standard, this is called “Internet Addiction Syndrome” (IAD).
A psychiatrist in New York, USA, proposed a definition in 1995: Internet addiction is a cyber syndrome of “excessive use of the Internet and a lack of well-being”.
The term “addiction” was originally used only for drug dependence, and similar criteria for addiction were applied to behavioral disorders such as eating disorders, gambling addiction, computer addiction, video game addiction, and the overuse of certain technologies. Internet addiction refers to a phenomenon that results in significant social and psychological impairment due to excessive use of the Internet. These Internet addicts are very similar to gambling addicts in that they all have uncontrolled behavioral impulses without the effect of addictive substances, leading to the failure of the Internet user’s academic life.
(2) What are the effects of “pathological Internet addiction” on patients?
Although “pathological Internet addiction” has not been included in China’s diagnosis system (CCMD), it has received attention, and some experts have defined it as persistent, frequent, and recurrent online behaviors that dominate one’s life and have caused damage to social, professional, property, and family values and obligations. Both cases described above fit this definition.
Psychological aspects
The patient has a strong and uncontrollable need or urge to access the Internet, an urge that prevents him or her from engaging in other activities. Their concentration cannot be focused and sustained, their memory is diminished, they lack interest in other activities, they are apathetic, lack a sense of time, are depressed, negative and pessimistic, withdrawn in isolation, lose self-esteem and self-confidence, and lose friends. In a survey of 17,000 Internet users, 10% said they felt empty and had nothing to do if they could not access the Internet for a period of time; up to 30% admitted that the Internet had become an important means of escaping from reality and seeking relief for themselves.
Somatic aspects
Patients are so excited when they indulge in online activities that they over-release energy so much that they cannot maintain a normal sleep cycle and experience insomnia, headaches, poor concentration, indigestion, nausea and anorexia, and weight loss when they stop surfing the Internet. Long periods of immobility while surfing the Internet and poor blood return to the lower extremities also predispose to disease.
Behavioral aspects
In order to surf the Internet, patients put their work and study aside, lie and break the law to get money, lose their personality and self-esteem, and cause personality or character disorders. Some experts point out that indulging in the Internet can cause loneliness and depression, resulting in apathy toward friends and family, as well as theft, use of fake checks, and aggressive behavior.
(3) What are the factors related to the development of “Internet addiction
The younger the age, the easier it is to become addicted, probably related to the younger the age, the less control. An expert in the United States believes that a child who starts to surf the Internet at the age of eight is more likely to become addicted than a child who starts to play computer games in his teens.
Gender
Researchers have done a series of studies on adolescent video game dependence and found that boys are more likely to be addicted than girls.
Time spent online
Foreign online studies show that time spent online is positively correlated with addiction, with addicts usually spending more time online than non-addicts, but prolonged time online does not necessarily mean that addiction will develop.
Internet content
Studies have shown that content such as violent games, pornography and gray information are more likely to make people addicted to the Internet.
Personality Factors
”Pathological Internet addiction” is related to personality factors such as loneliness, depression, and social withdrawal. Some surveys show that the intelligence level of Internet addicts is relatively low.
(2) Basic “symptoms”
They can skip meals and sleep, but they can’t skip the Internet, and even though they realize the seriousness of the problem, they will continue. Even if they are aware of the seriousness of the problem, they will continue to do so. They are often depressed, dizzy, hands trembling, tired and weak, and lose their appetite, etc.
(3) How to determine if a child is addicted to the Internet?
In 2003, the American medical community officially classified Internet addiction as a disease, and the medical name is Internet dependence syndrome. The diagnostic criteria are: playing online games or chatting more than 40 hours a week for more than six months. Leaving the Internet can lead to various withdrawal symptoms, such as restlessness, depression, and even a tendency to lighten up. Many children are not considered to have Internet dependence syndrome in the true sense, but just play games on the Internet to cover up their personality defects. So now our action to help them is not simply to help them get off the Internet, but has extended to the fields of pedagogy and psychology. Will my child go online again after quitting the Internet addiction? It is difficult to quit the addiction of the heart, and recurrence is inevitable. Without recurrence, it is not called Internet addiction. It is important to encourage your child to overcome himself.
Some external manifestations of Internet addiction
① Spend more than 144 hours a month on the Internet, i.e. more than 4 hours a day.
② The mind keeps coming up with things related to the Internet.
③ Unable to suppress the urge to go online.
④ Internet surfing is for escaping from reality and quitting anxiety.
⑤ Dare not explain to relatives how much time they spend on the Internet.
(6) The Internet interferes with school and interpersonal relationships.
(7) Spend more time online than they expect.
⑧ Spending a lot of money on updating internet devices or going online.
⑨ Spend more time on the Internet to be satisfied.
If you answer “yes” to more than 5 items, it means you are addicted to the Internet to some extent.
Some reference criteria for determining Internet addiction
Although formal diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction (IAD) are not yet available, researchers generally agree that it is a broad concept that involves a range of different behavioral and impulse control problems. To diagnose a patient with IAD, the patient must have exhibited three or more of the following seven symptoms within the past 12 months.
1. increased tolerance: the patient has to keep increasing the amount of time spent online to achieve the same level of satisfaction. That is, an increasing addiction to the Internet.
2. withdrawal symptoms: if there is a period of time (ranging from a few hours to a few days) without Internet access, the patient becomes noticeably restless, has an uncontrollable urge to go online, is constantly worried about what he or she is missing, and even dreams about the Internet.
3. the frequency of Internet access is always higher and the duration of access is always longer than planned in advance
4, attempts to shorten the time spent online always end in failure.
5. spending a lot of time on Internet-related activities, such as installing new software, organizing and coding the large number of files downloaded, etc.
6. the social, professional and family life of the patient is seriously affected by the Internet access.
7. Despite being able to realize the serious problems caused by Internet access, the patient continues to spend a lot of time on the Internet.
Five types.
In terms of clinical manifestations, IAD includes at least the following
1. pornographic Internet addiction (including pornographic music, pictures and images on the Internet, etc.)
2.Internet intercourse addiction (including interpersonal intercourse on the Internet using MUDs, chat rooms, etc.)
3.Internet compulsive behavior (including compulsive participation in online gambling, online auctions or online transactions)
4. compulsive information gathering (including compulsive collection of useless, irrelevant, or not-needed information from the Internet)
5. computer addiction (including unstoppable prolonged playing of computer games).
Of course, there are those who still disagree with IAD, for example, Nixon, the general manager of Microsoft’s Canadian Network Centre, believes that saying that a person is addicted to the Internet is like calling someone who likes to read a reading addiction, or someone who likes to listen to music a music addiction; what really makes a person addicted is pornographic information and gambling itself. Nonetheless, everyone acknowledges that it is the Internet that has made access to this information so easy and so cheap.
Q: Is using the Internet and Internet addiction the same concept?
Parents should not see their children using the Internet and assume that they are addicted to it; this is counterproductive.
The Internet does have a very appealing aspect to it. The Internet has penetrated into all areas of our study and life.
This is not about students exchanging emails with each other or looking for useful information online, these are two of the most common ways they are active online.
The distinction between “dependent” and “non-dependent” emphasizes the way they use their time online.
”Non-dependent”
Spending most of their time on the World Wide Web, accessing the latest scientific knowledge and keeping up to date with what is happening around the world.
”Dependent”
Spend most of their time in synchronous communication environments on the Internet, such as chat rooms and multi-user online head-to-head games. The vast majority of the Internet users are “dependent”, and most of the girls are on the Internet for chatting and most of the boys are involved in multi-user games. They show a strong dependency, indulge in the Internet all day long, waste their studies, and neglect their friendships and family. Some adolescent students are excited when they go online, and they are restless after they get off the Internet; they are willing to pay huge amounts of money for online “fun”; some of them would rather waste their studies than to be with the computer.
Are online games really poisonous snakes and fierce beasts?
In some media propaganda, online games are often associated with words such as “mental opium” and “poisoning youth”, and many people call online games “electronic opium”, and for a time Online games are almost regarded as a poisonous snake and beast, and there are shouts of fighting.
Internet chat, a simple application of the network, but there are people who carry out network scams, keen on online romance, missing because of meeting online friends, deceived and even trafficked are not uncommon. Is this all the original sin of the network?
In the past, when street games were popular, there were students who were obsessed with skipping class to play; there were also billiards, hula hoops, etc. Later, when computer stand-alone games came out, there were people who forgot to sleep and stay up at night to play games, and now online games have played this role and have been processed into a synonym for electronic opium. From this, we can see that online games are not born as “spiritual opium”, not born with original sin, but there must be something to play an opposite role or a “carrier” in a period.