Internet Explodes
Only a few years ago, the rapid and
phenomenal growth of the World Wide Web
was only imagined. The Internet’s power and
influence is astounding. Nearly universal
access to information, commerce and
personal communication has changed our
lives. A whole new vocabulary has been
spawned. We’ve integrated technology into our schools.
The average student can be like a one-man band,
virtually toggling, listening, watching, manipulating,
responding all at the same time. Students’ lives have
been electronically altered and they must be able to
recognize both the merits and the hazards of the Internet,
and learn to use it appropriately before it uses them.
INTERNET
ADDICTIONS
and Teens
Catherine Peterson, M.Ed., M.A.
Granite School District
November 2009
What’s up with this stuff?
Photolurking – looking through online
photo albums of people you don’t know
Blogstreaking – publishing personal
information or secrets online
Cheesepodding – downloading cheesy
music
How do you think heavy Internet
use can affect teenagers?
Biosocial development1
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Brain/body?
Rest/recreation?
Over-use injuries?
How can heavy Internet use
affect student brains?
Cognitive Development2
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Neural wiring in adolescent
brain?
Operational reasoning?
Education?
How will heavy Internet use
affect students’ relationships with
friends and families ?
Psychosocial development3
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Identity acquisition?
Peer relationships?
Family relationships?
1,2,3,
Berger, K., The Developing Person Through the Lifespan, p.437
Internet Addiction Inventory
How do I know if
I’m addicted?
(Do a selfassessment.)
Types of Internet Addiction
Social networking addiction
Gaming addiction
Shopping addiction
Gambling addiction
Pornography addiction
Social Networking
Social networkingAny means of
communicating with
an individual or group
on the Internet
Ways Kids Network
Web cam
Cell phones
E-mail
Instant messaging
Chat rooms
Blogs
Discussion boards
Web pages
Facebook
MySpace
Twitter, etc.
Teen Health Hazards
of Social Networking
Anonymity and escape from reality
Predation and victimization
Breach of privacy
Cyber-bullying
Exposure to harmful and
inappropriate materials
Cyber-bullying
Impersonating another
person online
Instant messages
3-Way calls
Blogs
Technobullying, Damaging & Illegal
Illegal Harassment
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Unwelcome
Severe, persistent or
pervasive
Unreasonable
interferes with work or
study
Must be subjectively
and objectively hostile
and intimidating
Bullying
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Unwelcome
Severe, persistent or
pervasive
Unreasonable
interferes with work or
study
Must be subjectively
and objectively hostile
and intimidating
Cyber-bullying, Damaging & Illegal?
ILLEGAL HARASSMENT:
Does the harassment have to do with
sexual/sexual orientation?
gender?
race?
religion?
national origin?
disability?
BULLYING:
In the case of bullying, is there intent to do
harm?
Gaming
Using the Internet to play interactive
games either as an individual, pair or
group
Gaming Addiction Signs
Can’t predict time spent gaming
Sense of euphoria while playing
Neglecting family and friends
Restless, irritable or discontent
when not gaming
5) Lying about your gaming
6) Problems with school or
job performance
7) Guilt, shame, anxiety or
depression from gaming
1)
2)
3)
4)
8) Can’t control gaming for an extended
period of time
9) Changing sleep patterns
10)Carpel tunnel, eye strain, weight change,
back ache, sore neck, arms
11)Denying, rationalizing and minimizing bad
consequences
12)Withdrawing from real life hobbies
13)Eating more and more meals at computer
14)Constant conversation with uninterested
others about gaming
15)Increased free-time surfing game related
websites
16)Attempts to get friends/family/partner to
play
17)Purchasing in-game
items for real life money
18)Feeling the urge to
“stand up for gamers”
and proclaim that your life is perfect by
listing all of your life’s achievements, and
yet you still game for 4-6 hours a day
From http://www.olganonboard.org
Click this picture to see what happened to one teen.
http://www.vidoemo.com/yvideo.php?i=SzhoZkszc
WuRpUlFzMmc&world-of-warcraft-addict
Gambling
Games of chance played or wagered on
the Internet either for money or prizes.
Easy money? Happy life?
For whom?
$11,900,000,000.00 estimated Internet
gambling revenue in 2005 estimated to
double by 2010
2,000 estimated gambling sites
23 million online gamblers in 2005
Statistics accessed on CBS.com, “Gambling”
A Million a Month
Approximately a million young people per
month are gambling online
850,000 males 18-22
357,000 males 14-17
Teens illegally use credit
to gamble.
National Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth,
http://apcpenn.org/NewsDetails.aspx?myld+32
Spending on the Net
Easy credit – start ‘em young!
Online Shopping
Buying on the Internet either via vendor
website or auction.
Shopping Addiction
“People get very caught up in the
illusion that they’re not spending money.
Your card gets debited, and that removes
the mechanics of shopping. It feels good
for a moment, but because it is a
temporary state, you do it again and
again.”
Dr. Kimberly Young quoted in http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,271545,00.html
How Out-of-Control Shopping Can
Change Your Life
One Guy’s Story
My mother is insane. Like, one of those eBay ladies you see on the local news
insane. Since it’s inevitably going to come up I’ll get out of the way that I am
too, but at least I take a full dose of my medication. I’ve been meaning to make
this thread for about the last year, but the longer I waited the more interesting
the situation became. Also, I’m incredibly lazy. Case in point, these pictures are
about three weeks old. Anyway, lets take a tour of our eBay house.
Here’s the house from
the outside.
Looks a bit overgrown,
but fairly normal. Come
inside, won’t you?
http://www.randomthink.net/misc/ebay
Definitions
Pornography – Explicit sexual depictions
designed to elicit sexual arousal
Pornography
By a “legal” definition pornography may
be defined as obscenity which appeals to
a prurient (sick, morbid, shameful, or
lascivious) interest in sex, depicts sexual
conduct in a patently offensive manner
(doesn’t meet societal standards for
depictions of sex acts), and
taken as a whole, lacks serious literary,
artistic, political, and scientific value.
U.S. Supreme Court (Miller vs. California, 1973)
Kids on Porn
How can you tell?
Talking about unknown adults
Inappropriate/premature sexual knowledge or
use of sex slang
Secretiveness
Sleeping problems
On the Web late at night
Hidden pornography stash
Movies or TV watching with sexual content
Depression
See Neiger, Hill, Thackeray, Barnes,
The Effects of Pornography on the Health and Well-being of Adolescents
Brigham Young University
Descent into Porn
Moral/emotional steps to destruction:
1. Addiction
2. Escalation
3. Desensitization
4. Acting out
Victor L. Cline, Ph.D.
What’s the harm in just looking?
" . . . You reach that jumping off point
where you begin to wonder if maybe
actually doing it will give you that
which is beyond just reading about it or
looking at it . . . "
". . . I've met a lot of men who were
motivated to commit violence just like
me. And without exception, every one
of them was deeply involved in
pornography . . . "
From Ted Bundy interview by Dr. James Dobson
“Pornography
tells lies about
women.
But pornography tells
the truth about men.”
John Stoltenberg
In conclusion:
How do you
think heavy
Internet use
affects students?
Will you change
any of your
behaviors?
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