Warning signs of Cyber ​​​​addiction (and how to detect it)

Have you ever noticed, in crowded places, the number of people who walk without looking where they are going, staring at their mobile phones?

The use of the Internet has become a fundamental tool for our lives.. It allows us to get in touch with loved ones despite being miles away, produce and receive information about our personal interests, consuming entertainment programs or video games, among many others functions more. The virtual world opens up a space of infinite possibilities that at another time would have been unthinkable. The freedom offered by the Internet, added to the skill with which they move on it, makes it the favorite medium of exchange for children, adolescents and young people; all children of the digital age.

However, the potential of the Internet can carry certain risks. Despite the fact that most of the time it is a beneficial quality, the ease and speed with which people can obtain what we want right now it can lead to the excessive consumption of that inexhaustible source of gratification. For this reason, many investigations have been carried out on how dependent we can become on the Internet, arriving at very interesting conceptualizations around it, such as the

cyber addiction.

Although there is no absolute consensus to determine where the threshold lies between what is healthy and what is pathological, it has been possible to determine a series of warning signs —that is, behaviors or first problematic manifestations— from which can detect dependence on the Internet, which we will develop in this article.

• Related article: "Behavioral addictions: what they are, and characteristics"

Cyber ​​addiction: what is it and what are its characteristics?

Cyber ​​addiction is the formal concept that alludes to pathological dependence on the Internet. Although this theoretical category has its particularities, we could argue that it shares with some addictions to substances —such as tobacco or alcohol. alcohol— certain characteristics. Some of them are: the relevance that the activity acquires in the person's life, leading their thoughts, feelings or behaviors most of the time; a pleasant subjective experience around the activity, product of the activation of the systems of reward from the brain (which will make the problem behavior more likely to recur) repeat); conflict or interference with other people due to the importance given to the activity; withdrawal, that is, those unpleasant emotional states, such as anxiety and irritability, which occur when the activity in question cannot be carried out; and finally, the relapse.

Yes indeed, although cyber addiction shares some characteristics with chemical addictions, it is a psychological addiction. Therefore, problem behavior does not directly have negative physical consequences. However, this is by no means to say that the health of the person suffering from Internet addiction will not be affected. In the case of cyber addiction, the notable physical consequences will derive from sleep deprivation caused by the impossibility of disconnecting, a behavior that usually extends into the wee hours of the evening. This habit in the medium or long term could lead to a weakened immune system, fatigue, and a deterioration in general health.

• You may be interested in: "New technologies and mental health: breaking the barriers of ignorance"

Warning signs of cyber addiction

Bearing this in mind, we will be able to clear the way to determine when it is convenient to talk about cyber addiction and when it is not. Most likely, no matter how shocking the situation may seem, the previously exposed scene of people hooked on their phones is nothing more than a manifestation of our time. That does not imply that carrying the mobile everywhere is a healthy behavior, but it is not necessarily a sign of addiction.

Compared to frequent Internet use, something that distinguishes cyber addiction is the loss of control on the use of electronic devices through which the network is accessed, such as cell phones or computer. No matter how much the person manages at a certain moment to ponder that certain behaviors can be harmful in many areas of your life, such as at work, school or in your interpersonal relationships, you keep referring to they. In fact, these behaviors take control over your life.

Some of the first manifestations that could suggest that a person is dependent on the Internet are the following: the person makes drastic changes in their habits In order to have more time to connect, you neglect your own health or physical appearance as a result of Internet activity, you avoid activities that are important to you stay "online" for longer and, above all, the desire to remain in front of the screen, instead of subsiding after the use of an electronic device, is increasingly elderly.

Another reference point that we could consider to determine the warning signs of cyber addiction is to ask ourselves what the questionnaires used in empirical research evaluate about this issue. Although there is no unequivocal way to collect data from research participants, some of the items that are considered in certain studies to see if a person presents an addictive behavior to the Internet are:

• Anxiety and discomfort at the non-use of technologies.
• Aggression from arguments or anger at the interruption of the connection.
• Changes in sleep rhythms.
• Changes in interests from the tendency to isolation.
• Preference to be with information and communication technologies (ICT) over socialization.

Taking this into account, we could argue that cyber addiction has a series of characteristics shared with other addictions. However, we must be attentive to the particularities of dependence on the Internet in order to be able to detect when a person is making a pathological use of the Internet. It is not less to point out that both the evaluation of cyber addiction and its corresponding treatment must be carried out by a mental health professional.

Cyber ​​addiction is a disorder that seriously affects the quality of life and mental health of those who suffer from it. It therefore becomes necessary to have professionals in the field of psychology capable of knowing and discovering this pathology.

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