Internet Addiction

          I never thought about addictions outside of drugs but this show has really brought my attention to a topic I would have otherwise ignored. It's really frightening how many different types of addictions there are that affect people. In the show however, there were people who argued that internet addiction is not a real thing and I think that the defense against that was really believable. We can't just confine ourselves assuming that only drugs are addictive and must open ourselves to other types of addictions so that we can find a solution for them before they actually become a major issue. Besides, "It's not a type of addiction" is probably exactly what people said about drugs and look what happened. Internet addiction is a very probable threat that has already started affecting hundreds of people and with the rate at which technology is advancing, how long until all of us are effected? 

          I really feel bad for the people who are losing everything because of this but I also think that they should still show at least a little bit more self control. After all, hundreds of other people are exposed to the same games and sites, so why don't they become addicted? I think it's because of our mindset. Some people are more dedicated to their outside lives than others so they are at a lower risk of becoming addicted. And others may also have multiple other things to focus on such as school so they have like a "higher calling" that stops them from becoming addicted. I think it's the people with too much free time that are at the highest risk of becoming addicted. After all, an idle mind is a vulnerable mind- words to live by. 

          I think this issue will really make other people realize that technology, although useful on the surface, has a dark essence inside. Because of technology, people are able to work more and get more done but that also increases the demands so really, we haven't gotten anywhere near making our lives easier. And as populations grow faster than technology grows, the demand gets harder and harder to meet. Here is a report from CNN showing some of the world's happiest countries. At the top is Costa Rica. The first thing I noticed was that almost none of the first world countries are on there. The difference between these countries and us, they don't have the technology we do. It's all about perspective. What may look bleak to us, seems great to them. So technology is only as useful as we make it and so far, I don't think we have done a good job, as this addiction shows.

                                                                                                  -Jalees N.

Sources:
          http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/denmark-ousted-100-latest-worlds-happiest-country-             561826