Internet Paradox Study

The Internet Paradox study (Kraut et al., 1998) found evidence of a causal link between Internet use and depression, but it may have been specific to novice Internet users.The relationship between Internet use, social support and depression was reformulated drawing on social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997) to account for the possible influence of self-efficacy, Internet-related stress, and perceived social support.The Internet paradox study (Kraut et al., 1998), part of the HomeNet project at Carnegie Mellon University, provided important preliminary evidence of the possible harmful effects of Internet use.The results were also paradoxical in the face of competing, if inconsistent, evidence of the positive social impacts of Internet use. Wynn and Katz (1997) emphasized the inherent "situatedness" of Internet use in a broader social context that makes it impossible to completely separate the virtual world online from the real world off-line. Ethnographic research suggests that online communication supplements existing real world relationships rather than displaces them (Hamman, 1999).Wellman and Gulia (1999) concluded that online relationships can be strong and intimate and may strengthen real world relationships as much as diminish them.Surveys (Katz & Aspden, 1997; Parks & Floyd, 1996; Parks & Roberts, 1998) indicated that the Internet spawned highly developed online relationships, many of which led to real world social contacts, suggesting that social isolation might decrease with greater Internet use.In a Pew Research Center poll (Pew Research Center, 2000) most Internet users said that e-mail had improved their connections to family and friends, and those perceptions increased the longer users had been on the Internet and the more they used it. other scholars have warned about the potential harmful effects of online interpersonal communication, blaming online technology for disrupting real world networks (Heim, 1993; Stoll, 1995) and creating a "lonely crowd" in cyberspace (Kroker & Weinstein, 1994). Turkle (1995, p. 235) pointed out the absurdity of the notion that community can arise from among people sitting alone, typing messages to virtual friends. Nie and Erbring (2000) found that as Internet use increased, users were more likely to report a decrease in time spent talking to family and friends and attending social events. Online relationships may develop less interdependence, understanding, and commitment than comparable off-line ones do (Parks & Roberts, 1998).

However, all these studies make the possibly mistaken assumption that face-to-face relationships are inherently superior to online relationships (Hamman, 1999; Parks & Roberts, 1998) and neglect the possibility of hyperpersonal online interactions that may be more intimate than their offline counterparts (Walther, 1996). Aside from Turkle's ethnographic case studies (which are contradicted by Hamman's, 1999), the hypothesis that online relationships diminish real world relationships has sparse empirical support. Riphagen and Kanfer (1997) found that e-mail users had more distance relationships than non-users and that the total number of relationships was about equal, suggesting that local (presumably strong) ties suffered as a result of having e-mail.

Social cognitive theory provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding human behavior, social interaction and psychological well-being (Bandura, 1986; 1989; 1997) with which we propose to reformulate the relationship between Internet use and depression.The self-efficacy mechanism (Bandura, 1977; 1982; 1997) pertains since it describes the cognitive processes that relate the acquisition to the performance of new behaviors.


Whereas Kraut et al. found that Internet use caused depression, which was also directly linked to stress, the sociocognitive view differentiates the relationships among these effects. According to Bandura (1997, p. 153), depression results from "the inability to influence events and social conditions that significantly affect one's life," while stress is an emotional state generated by threats and taxing demands (p. 262). Adversity leads to depression when people create a depressing social environment for themselves, provoking social rejection through their own alienating behavior.College students are one such lonely and depressed population (Rich & Scovel, 1987) for which social support buffers the effects of stress on depression (Cohen et al., 1986) and for which the Internet paradox might be stood on its head. Indeed, the situation of college students exposes the questionable assumption of equating distant ties with weak ones.



References


Kiesler, S. & Kraut, R. (1999). Internet use and the ties that bind. The American Psychologist, 54, 783-784.

Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukophadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53, 1017-1031

Kraut, R., Mukhopadhyay, T., Szczypula, J., Kiesler, S., & Sherlis, B. (1999) Information and communication: Alternative uses of the Internet in households. Information Systems Research, 10, 287-303.


and many more not mentioned here....

Kid and Technology

For those who do not know how to avoid excessive online usage or how to deal with the fastest technology today called Internet-please do not hesitate to ask any question here. I will try my best to give you best answer which can heal your sufferings.

It is not easy to say that you have been suffering from what kind of behavior and what kind of anxiety level but it would certainly give you smooth advice on how to reduce it. The pain is there already you just need to feel the pain and come here to ask how to get less effect or less pain.

It is all about us-it is about you, me and everyone related to the technology. The communication aspect is here. We want to communicate but is the communication helping us stay longer online ? How about the best solution for the problem we are currently facing such as addiction, gambling, porno, gaming and many more.

How can we come up to the exact solution ? The solution which will give us how much should we stay in Internet. How long we should spent our time or even if we have to stay longer in the internet how much time is enough ?

Staying in the pond for more than longer period of time-will it help ? How long will it take for us to stay and understand the behavior usage of the technology. It is other side of the coin. We have now at our fingertips the information but what would we do of these information ? Why are we being engaged ?

Some times I feel we are being ruled by the technology. We are going too far from where we have started. It is soon going to create a problem in our life. It will surely create lot of problem these problems will not come rapidly but they will arise slowly and as the number grows.

It will give us one optimum result and it will then stop. I have a belive that every new technology is just like a toy to a kid. The kid uses the technology for certain period of time and once he gets fed up with it, then slowly he stops the usage of it. But What if the technology is growing and becoming such that it does not want to leave a kid alone.

A kid want to leave a technology but technology does not want to leave a kid. In such a situation-Either he has to take rest from the technology or let the technology take rest. Information superhighway goes nowhere. It is there and it will be there till the time you want it to be.

Danger of Internet Dating.

Internet Addiction

Journey begins.

One cannot say how the luck will turn on your way and you finally get your article published in a great publication. I was happy to get accepted my first research article in a reputed publication-IEEE Potential.

It was a good moment. Now I am doing the Master thesis on the same topic. Understanding the behaviour of the human is just like asking too much. One has to understand one single behaviour, there are many things to consider from addiction, learning, feeling and many more.

What would be the effect of this technology which is growing by numbers. Every now and then. Are we really getting addicted ? Are we really learning something ? What is that we are doing ?

What is the best optimum solution to our problems ? What would happen if people sleep in internet ? These are some question which needs to be answer. The solution seems to be easy, it could be as if it does not matter to most of the people how long they use the service but the thinking differs, as we are bound to take care of our health the most important issue is- how much of the use is enough ? How could one reduce the anxiety of the users ?

I am happy to find something new on the topic. I will be glad to show you that one day I will try to make the difference, it is not for me it is for us. The work I am doing on the topic is for all of us. It is for the Mankind, humandkind and all of us. I choose this topic just because I made this topic. The idea here is to join us, technology and our behaviour or attitude.

Whatever be the situation or result I would put my efforts for the same. I hope GOD will give me the support and my mind will work out for the dream that I have made to achieve something for all of us. I am not enough to do it on all my own. I may need your help, I wil surely need the help of those who have been doing lot of hard work in the same topic or similar topic related to it.

I will be thankful for their effort to. I hope to give you suggestion, in case you need them. Please feel free to ask any question regarding it. I will try my level best.


Let the journey begin !

My Internet Addiction Score

I took a survey for the addiction of internet in the website which contains http://www.netaddiction.com. Here is the result of the survey :



Score=31
"You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage."

I think I have to write a script for doing the same and put it in my website. It will be useful and I will ask the people to go through it. By doing so I will conduct the study on number of people being addicted in the Internet.

Cheers !'

Treatment

The October issue of the Cyber Psychology & Behavior Journal published the first study to examine treatment outcomes with Internet addicts. The study conducted by the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery examined 114 patients over 12-weekly sessions and upon six-month follow-up after termination. Results showed that clients gained symptom management by the 3rd session and were able to maintain complete recovery after 12 sessions and at six months after treatment ended. The main and most successful treatment with Internet addicts is cognitive-behavioral therapy and the study supports that CBT is the primary therapy to use in treating Internet addiction. This is the first study to examine specific treatment variables with Internet-addicted patients and shows long-term potential in treatment recovery.

To learn more please read the full article published by Mary Anne Liebert entitled, "Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy with Internet Addicts: Treatment Outcomes and Implications" is published by Cyber Psychology & Behavior, Vol. 10, No. 5, pages 671-679 (October 2007).

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