Internet Use: Breakthrough Or Breakdown?

IntroductionWith the Expansion of global communication, social interactions supported by modern technologies have become an important part of our personal, professional, educational and political lives. The is a defining feature of modern life, it represents the most increasing mass medium of the last years. Besides television, radio and print media, it belongs to the most important media to get information and news from. Moreover, the Internet is a multi functional medium with a lot of interfaces to fulfil several services. Apart from the simple task of providing information and news, it serves the human desire of communication through Emails, chats, forums and Internet telephony. Furthermore, it provides a medium to satisfy nearly all primary and secondaiy human needs. In this context the Internet represents the most powerful medium of modern mass media, because it provides a huge number of services with a great variety.The growth in use of the has been exponential. In 1989 there were around 500,000 users (Morahan-Martin, 2005), whereas today we have a total population of 2,405,518,376 (IWS, 2012). Although the was originally designed to facilitate the communication of information within academia and the military (Young, 2004), the technology has received wide usage in the business and leisure domains. Today the is accessed by wide sections of the world's population: nationally the highest percentages of people using the come from Asia (44.8%), Europe (21.5%) and North America (11.4%) (IWS, 2012). This rapid growth in the availability of the is encouraged by politicians and health workers across the world. Within the UK, for example, the government has made £300m available to provide free computers and access to children from low income families (BBC, 2008). Middle-aged and older people are encouraged to use the as a means of boosting brain power and counteracting dementia (Small & Vorgan, 2008). Proliferation of sophisticated mobile telephones with connectivity has equally contributed to the rapid growth in the availability of the internet. Individuals with I-phones, blackberries, I-pad etc does not need to be confined in a place to access the internet.Despite these significant benefits there is growing evidence that the misuse of it has become a significant problem in today's world. As people becomes dependent on its usage, more people have become addicted to it. Internet has been identified as a national problem not only in the United States but also in countries such as China, South Korea, and Taiwan, and government intervention has grown to battle Internet and what has become a serious public health concern.Internet is a rapidly growing problem that has caused negative side effects due to its misuse in today's world. Millions of people are becoming online addicts and the number is growing eveiy day. The is adversely affecting the mental health and well-being of a number of users who spend excessive periods of time using the facility (Young, 2004).Internet in Nigerian society is a new and often unrecognized clinical disorder that is causing relational, occupational, and social problems. As it is viewed as an impulsive control disorder comparable to pathological gambling because of its overlapping criteria (Young, 2009). The is part of the fall-out over the 'always on' mentality that has engulfed many countries over the last decade, with the prevalence of cheap access and the rise of the smartphones.ConceptualizationThe term internet addiction is an attempt to describe the observed behaviour of Internet overuse. It has been proposed as an explanation for uncontrollable, damaging use of this technology. Excessive use of the Internet is the first sign of Internet addiction.Young (1998), defined as 'any online-related, compulsive behaviour which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved enes, and one's work environment Like for any addiction, the behaviour dominants one's life. …