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Internet phobia

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Internet phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiousness where the person perceives the Internet environment to be unsafe with no easy way to hide from it.[1] The term “internet phobia" is derived from the combination of Internet meaning internetwork and the Greek -φοβία, -phobia, meaning "fear".[2]

Specific anxiety-raising situations can include using a computer or mobile phone, reading email, accessing the web, Facebook or other social media, but also being in open spaces, public transit, shopping malls, or simply being outside the home due to the risk of being photographed or otherwise Internet-logged in these situations.[1] Being in any of these situations may result in a panic attack.[3]

It is suggested that Internet phobia may affect about 1.7% of adults.[citation needed] Women are affected about twice as often as men. Unlike other phobias the condition is more prevalent in later adulthood and is also common in old age.[4] Specifically, it is more easily found among government officials and celebrities, with some of them being afraid of the leak of their privacy and consequent influences on their daily life, some being afraid of the reveal of their corruption, and so on.[5] It is rare in children.[4]

Symptoms

People with Internet phobia have got several symptoms including lacking in strength, shortness of breath, insomnia, etc. They are terrified of surfing the Internet, not willing to talk about public opinions appeared on the Internet. Some of them even see the Internet as a formidable enemy.[5] The symptoms occur nearly every time specific anxiety-raising situations are encountered and repeat themselves for a period of more than six months. Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid these situations.[1] In severe cases people become severely handicapped through their inability to carry out Internet-related activity.[3]

Cause

The cause of internet phobia is likely to be a combination of environmental factors. The condition can run in families,[1] between friends or in other intimate relationships. Or perhaps they did some ashamed or criminal things which are not expected to be revealed. Perhaps they just experienced stressful events. Besides, considerable external factors like the timeliness, the interactivity and the wide coverage of the Internet also contribute to the panic.

Internet phobia has yet to be classified in the DSM-5 alongside specific phobias and social phobia.[1][6] Other conditions that can produce similar symptoms include separation anxiety, agoraphobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder. Those affected are at higher risk of depression and substance use disorder.[1]

For exemple,Facebook phobia is a modern-day affliction and a reflection of anxiety that you feel in daily life. Interacting on Facebook carries with it many of the same fears and insecurities that you probably feel in real life. The difference is that when you are alone in front of your computer, there is ample time to start obsessing and spending too much time worrying about what other people think. In this way, Facebook can magnify some of the fears you already experience.

Precaution and treatment

Internet phobia is both preventable and curable. The most important preventive action tends to be surfing the Internet more actively and treating those social medias as a valuable tool to make friends. In addition, Improving the capability of rational judgement and evaluation can be also helpful. For the officers, one suggestion is always have clean hands.[5]

Without treatment it is uncommon for internet phobia to resolve.[1] Treatment begins with diagnosis. Possible treatment is a type of counselling called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).[6][7] CBT results in phobia resolution for about half of people.[8]

For instance,If you want to get a handle on your Facebook phobia, stop doing the following things[9]:

  • 1. Thinking that everyone else is having more fun than you.
  • 2. Thinking everyone else has more friends than you.
  • 3. Deactivating... reactivating... deactivating... reactivating.
  • 4. Worrying about how you look in photographs.
  • 5. Thinking that you have to accept all friend requests.

Correlation with social media

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter seem to be a modern means of facilitating our connectedness with others, sharing activities and news, and keeping in touch with friends both old and new. But new technologies are usually a mixture of both good and bad, and modern social media are no different.

Social media and its associated technology adds a new dimension to Internet phobia by offering people a way of directly quantifying friendships, viewing the friendship networks of others for comparison, and providing immediate information about social events[10]. You can compare your own popularity with that of your peers, and manage that adolescent 'fear of missing out' (FOMO) by continually monitoring what's going on socially. So it's easy to see how technology use can take the place of more traditional social interaction and provide a yardstick for one's popularity – or more significantly, one's feelings of loneliness and alienation. So that's why some people feel afraid to social media.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g American Psychiatric Association (2013), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing, pp. 217–221, 938, ISBN 0890425558
  2. ^ Elster, Charles Harrington (2009). Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. Diversified Publishing. p. PT717. ISBN 9780307560971
  3. ^ a b "Agoraphobia". PubMed Health. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b American Psychiatric Association (2013), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing, pp. 217–221, 938, ISBN 0890425558
  5. ^ a b c "Internet phobia". "Internet phobia" from Baidu Baike. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ a b Wyatt, Richard Jed; Chew, Robert H. (2008). Wyatt's Practical Psychiatric Practice: Forms and Protocols for Clinical Use. American Psychiatric Pub. pp. 90–91. ISBN 9781585626878.
  7. ^ Pompoli, A; Furukawa, TA; Imai, H; Tajika, A; Efthimiou, O; Salanti, G (13 April 2016). "Psychological therapies for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults: a network meta-analysis.". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
  8. ^ Craske, MG; Stein, MB (24 June 2016). "Anxiety.". Lancet. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30381-6. PMID 27349358.
  9. ^ Cuncic, Arlin (January 25, 2018). "Managing Facebook Anxiety When You Are Socially Anxious". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  10. ^ Davey, Graham (December 15, 2016). "Social Media, Loneliness, and Anxiety in Young People". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
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