Author: Liu Caiyi, senior domestic youth mental health worker, specializing in adolescent Internet addiction and related research
The network is playing an increasingly important role in online life, especially during the COVID-XNUMX pandemic, when work and study have all moved online.We do "business" on the Internet, and we also entertain on the Internet, but most of us can control the time spent on Internet entertainment to a range that does not affect work, study, and rest.According to people's use of the Internet, they can be divided into three categories: healthy online use; excessive use of the Internet; Internet addiction.Internet addiction has a clear definition and judgment criteria: Internet addiction refers to a phenomenon in which excessive use of the Internet leads to obvious social, psychological, and damage.judgement standard:
(1) Symptom criteria: Non-work and study use of the Internet, meeting the following requirements:
- Have a strong craving or compulsion to use the Internet;
- Withdrawal reaction: Individuals will feel uncomfortable, irritable, irritable, inattention, sleep disturbance and other withdrawal reactions when they try to actively control or reduce their online behavior, or passively reduce or fail to surf the Internet; or Use other similar electronic media (such as television, handheld game consoles, etc.) to relieve the above withdrawal symptoms.
(2) Severity standard Impairment of daily life and social function (such as decreased ability to socialize, study or work).
(3) Criteria for course of disease: the symptom criteria have been met or exceeded for 3 months, and the average daily non-work and study purpose continuous use of the Internet has reached or exceeded 6 hours.
According to the content, Internet addiction can be divided into: Internet game addiction, Internet relationship addiction, Internet information addiction, etc.Chief among these is Internet gaming addiction.A domestic survey in China shows that its main group is mainly young people.Teenagers with Internet addiction often have the following characteristics:
- A single evaluation standard for the tendency of Internet addicted teenagers;
- The family function of Internet addicted teenagers is bad;
- Insufficient emotional expression and emotional regulation ability of Internet addicted adolescents;
- Adolescents with Internet addiction have a low sense of purpose in life;
- Teenagers with Internet addiction are often "unwilling to be lonely";
- The social support of adolescents with Internet addiction is low.
Origin
So we can't help but ask, how does Internet addiction come into being?The analysis of Internet-addicted teenagers in China found that Internet addiction has its complex factors, including individual factors, family, school, society, and online games.
First of all, from the point of view of individual factors, teenagers are in the "stormy" period of the "three great changes" of drastic changes in appearance, enhancement of functions and sexual maturity.Adolescents in this period have their unique performances in psychological aspects such as self-awareness, cognition, emotion and interpersonal communication.
1)self-awareness characteristics : All-time high.The so-called self-knowledge refers to your own understanding and evaluation of yourself, such as how do I look?On the basis of self-knowledge, teenagers will have certain self-emotional experiences for themselves, such as self-esteem, self-confidence, pride or inferiority complex, shame and so on.It is on the basis of understanding, evaluation and experience of all aspects of oneself that teenagers will gradually integrate themselves into an independent and complete individual, that is, establish self-identity.In the process of developing self-identity, the way adolescents use to prove themselves usually points to the outside world. They pay more attention to the evaluation and recognition of themselves from the outside world, and are very eager to be affirmed and recognized by others.Teenagers' self-knowledge and experience mainly come from daily life and study, such as study, interpersonal communication, cultural and sports activities, various competitions and other activities.However, under the current education system in our country, teenagers are generally under a lot of pressure to study. Parents and teachers have too many expectations for them. The most important thing is to study well and get into a good university, while extracurricular activities seem tedious.Therefore, good or bad studies often become the only source of adolescents' sense of accomplishment, and their opportunities for self-affirmation and sense of accomplishment are very limited, especially for children with poor academic performance.In the period when teenagers are most eager to gain self-identity, our educational reality cannot satisfy their psychological needs in this area. Instead, their self-esteem and self-confidence are hit, denied and failed, which makes them have a strong sense of self-identity. frustration.Therefore, many children will naturally find a sense of self-worth through other channels, and the Internet just provides a very convenient way for them to seek self-identity.Because it is easy for children to experience success online. Although it is virtual, the psychological feelings it brings are very real, especially if they pass through any level, they can get "rewards". This sense of accomplishment It's something they rarely have the chance to experience in real life.According to some data, a large proportion of children who are obsessed with the Internet are academically poor, which has a lot to do with their inability to be well recognized in reality.
2)Cognitive Development Characteristics: On the one hand, the independence and judgment of thinking have developed significantly, and he likes to doubt and debate. On the other hand, his thinking is one-sided and superficial.The online world is a rich world full of novelty and excitement. New things, new ideas, and new technologies are emerging one after another. Especially in the game, breaking through levels and leveling up is a great challenge and exercise for personal intelligence, which just satisfies the needs of young people in their thinking. Psychological needs that yearn for depth and like challenges at the same time.
3)emotional characteristics: Adolescents are very emotionally rich, but extremely unstable.Emotional and emotional experience is relatively strong, with obvious bipolar characteristics.The heart is full of contradictions like an active volcano, and the mentality is in a period of imbalance.Teenagers often choose to go online when they are bored or irritable, and even play killing games specifically to vent their anger.There is nothing wrong with netbooks, but excessive single use can cause problems and easily lead to obsession with the Internet.
4)Interpersonal Psychology:Their attachment to the family gradually turns to the group of companions, forming close partnerships.Their words and deeds, hobbies, and grooming all affect each other.Some teenagers go online mainly because they are influenced by their peers.There are also teens who do not have a good relationship with their classmates at school and have no friends, so they have to seek friendship and support in the online world.When they are obsessed with surfing the Internet, they may make friends with a large group of netizens, play games together, have common topics, and find a sense of belonging in this small group.
With its unique and powerful appeal, online games have fascinated countless netizens, especially young people.
The plots of online games are intense and exciting, and the pictures are rich and colorful, which can meet the needs of teenagers for feeling seeking;
The content of the game is different, but without exception, the difficulty of promotion is getting more and more difficult. The goal setting of each level can fully motivate young people to pass the test and satisfy their sense of self-achievement; most online games are designed to cooperate with groups in order to achieve common goals. , it is easy for teenagers to form a combat team in the network, with a clear division of labor and mutual support, which meets the psychological needs of teenagers to rely on; as the level is promoted, individuals have more and more wealth and better equipment. For Internet addicted teenagers who have worked hard to "start a business", these are symbols of their identity and status in the online world; Internet addicted teenagers can even marry and have children on the Internet, and raise the next generation. As complicated and cumbersome as real life.
Therefore, although the Internet is virtual, it has too many similar designs with reality, and at the same time saves too much boring and helpless in the real world. They can no longer tell which is real and which is false.Living in the real world, it is difficult for people to understand why teenagers are so addicted to online games, but they do not know that the world that children manage painstakingly in the Internet is just the embodiment of their escapism and pursuit of individual independence.If our society should provide children with more and better entertainment venues and facilities, such as football fields, children's palaces, skating rinks, etc., so that more children can have a place to communicate and play in their spare time, then Internet cafes may become one of the many entertainment and relaxation methods for children, not the only one.
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