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Addiction to internet 'is an illness'

New evidence shows that heavy users suffer isolation,
fatigue and withdrawal symptoms
• David Smith, technology correspondent
• The Observer, Sunday 23 March 2008

1 Tense? Angry? Can't get · The need for better

online? Internet addiction is now a computers, more software, or
serious public health issue that more hours of use;
should be officially recognised as a
clinical disorder, according to a · Negative repercussions,
leading psychiatrist. including arguments, lying,
poor achievement, social
2 Excessive gaming, viewing isolation and fatigue.
online pornography, emailing and
text messaging have been 3 A primary case study is South
identified as causes of a Korea, which has the greatest use
compulsive-impulsive disorder by of broadband in the world. Block
Dr Jerald Block, author of an points out that 10 people died from
editorial for the respected blood clots from remaining seated
American Journal of Psychiatry. for long periods in internet cafes
Block argues that the disorder is and another was murdered
now so common that it merits because of an online game. Their
inclusion in the Diagnostic and country now 'considers internet
Statistical Manual of Mental addiction one of its most serious
Disorders, the profession's primary public health issues'. The
resource to categorise and government estimates that around
diagnose mental illnesses. He says 210,000 South Korean children are
internet addiction has four main affected and in need of treatment,
components: of whom 80 per cent might need
drugs targeting the brain and
· Excessive use, often nearly a quarter could need to go
associated with a loss of sense to hospital. Since the average high
of time or a neglect of basic school pupil there spends about 23
drives; hours per week gaming, Block
notes, another 1.2 million are
· Withdrawal, including believed to be at risk of addiction
feelings of anger, tension and require basic counselling.
and/or depression when the There has been alarm over a rising
computer is inaccessible; number of addicts dropping out of
school or quitting their jobs to

spend more time on computers. In
China it has been reported that
13.7 per cent of adolescent
internet users, about 10 million,
could be considered addicts.
4 Dr Block, a psychiatrist at the
Oregon Health & Science University
in Portland, writes that the extent
of the disorder is more difficult to
estimate in America because
people tend to surf at home
instead of in internet cafes. But he
believes there are similar cases,
concluding: 'Unfortunately internet
addiction is resistant to treatment,
entails significant risks and has
high relapse rates.' He told The
Observer that he did not believe
specific websites were responsible.
'The relationship is with the
computer,' he said. 'First, it
becomes a significant other to
them. Second, they exhaust
emotions that they could
experience in the real world on the
computer, through any number of
mechanisms: emailing, gaming,
porn. Third, computer use occupies
a tremendous amount of time in
their life. Then if you try to cut the
cord in a very abrupt fashion,
they've lost essentially their best
friend. That can take the form of
depression or rage.'
5 Harry Husted, a single 51-
year-old from New York, spends 16
hours a day on the internet. He
insists that he is not addicted, but
admits that he used to be. 'I used
to work with computers for eight
hours, then get home and go online
for seven hours. I would stay up till
two or three in the morning until I
Hoang Thi Phuong Lien 4B07
got so sleepy I had to go to bed. I
wouldn't go out to get the
groceries and I couldn't have cared
less about friends, TV, anything.
After a while I realised what was
happening and did something
about it. Now if I use MySpace it's
only to advertise my business.'
6 Internet addiction clinics
have sprung up around the world in
an attempt to wean people off their
need for a fix. Many people have
turned, apparently without irony, to
web discussion boards with names
such as Internet Addicts
Anonymous. The Centre for
Internet Addiction Recovery in
Bradford, Pennsylvania, says
internet addiction has become a
growing legal issue in criminal,
divorce and employment cases. It
offers a consultation service to
lawyers that includes 'assessing
the role of electronic anonymity in
the development of deviant,
deceptive and illegal sexual online
activities'.
7 Robert Freedman, editor of
the American Journal of Psychiatry,
said expressions of the addiction
could be diverse. 'In Korea, it
seems to be primarily gaming sites.
In America, it seems to be
Facebook. It's porn, it's games, it's
gambling, it's chatting with friends.
All these things existed before, but
now they're a lot easier.'
8 To beat the addiction, he
advised: 'A self-help group might
be a place to start. Maybe replace
an online group with a real one.'
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Analysis of

Addiction to internet 'is an illness'

I. Meaning:
Clinical disorder

A brief summary Begins with questions to catch reader’s

Paragrap attention.
h1 “Tense? Angry? Can't get online?”
 Internet addiction is now a serious public health
issue.
Excessive gaming, viewing online pornography,
emailing and text messaging - causes of a
compulsive-impulsive disorder

Paragrap Introduction So common that it merits inclusion in the

h2 profession's primary resource to to categorise
and diagnose mental illnesses.
Four main components
 Why Internet addiction is called mental illness.
1. People died from blood clots from remaining
seated for long periods in internet cafes.
2. Another was murdered because of an online
game.
Paragrap Evidence for 3. Around 210,000 South Korean children might
h3 “mental illness” need drugs targeting the brain and go to
hospital.
4. There has been alarm over a rising number of
addicts dropping out of school or quitting their
jobs.
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5. About 10 million adolescent internet users in

China could be considered addicts.

 Internet addiction strongly affects health and other

negative behaviors in some Asian countries.
1. The extent of the disorder is more difficult to
Paragrap estimate in America.
h4 2. Internet addiction is resistant to treatment,
entails significant risks and has high relapse
rates.
Other evidence 3. Internet addiction has become a growing legal
for “mental issue in criminal, divorce and employment cases.
illness” 4. Second, they exhaust emotions that they
could experience in the real world on the
Paragrap computer, through any number of mechanisms:
h5 emailing, gaming, porn.
5. Third, computer use occupies a tremendous
amount of time in their life.
6. Example of Harry Husted.
 Other bad effects of Internet addiction on users in
America.

1. Internet addiction clinics have been opened

Signals of around the world.
Paragrap treatment 2. Many people have named as Internet Addicts
h6 Anonymous on web discussion boards.

 The worldwide need for a “fix”.

1. Expressions of the addiction could be diverse.
Summary 2. Porn, games, gambling, chatting with friends
Paragrap existed before, but now they're a lot easier.
h7
 Internet addiction is now diverse and easier to
commit all over the world nowadays.
Paragrap Replace an online group with a real self-help
Conclusion
h8 group
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 Main idea of text article:

The article mainly discusses why Internet addiction is an illness by

listing the variety of bad effects.
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II. Structure:

Addiction to internet 'is an illness'

Headline - The number of words is proper and “is an illness” is emphasized
by quotation mark, which captures attention from readers.

New evidence shows that heavy users suffer isolation,

fatigue and withdrawal symptoms
Sub-headline – prepares the information for the readers to predict or
expect what they are going to read. The better the predictions are made, the
faster the processing of text is. The words are clever and concise so the
readers are still drawn in.

• David Smith, technology correspondent

Running head – the author’s name: David Smith, who is a technology

correspondent.

• The Observer, Sunday 23 March 2008

Source and publishing date of the article:

This article appeared on p11 of the Main section section of the

Observer on Sunday 23 March 2008. It was published on
guardian.co.uk at 12.06 GMT on Sunday 23 March 2008. It was last
modified at 12.06 GMT on Tuesday 25 March 2008.

The headline with a proper number of words and hot topic allures
readers to click on it. It is followed by the subtitle which is really succinct and
informative. The article begins with a lead paragraph with a series of
questions to raise interests and catch attention from readers, which is a brief
lead section introducing the issue. The organizational structure of main text
also attracts great attention by the following reasons. First, it is logically
organized with introduction, body and conclusion. Second, the body gives
reader’s many interesting and persuasive facts, which fulfils the promise the
author made in headline and sub-headline. Third, the figures and
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exemplification illustrate and embody clearly the urgency of the issue. In

addition, the supporting facts make the article convincing. Furthermore,
many evidences are demonstrated successively and closely so the ideas run
smoothly. Fourth, each paragraph is short enough to be readable, and
especially the ending paragraph with one-sentence is very emphatic and
concise. It is expressed in a neutral tone of the author to give a gentle advice
for readers. What’s more, topic sentence in each paragraph helps readers
focus the idea easily; then successive sentences are expansions of this
particular idea. Fifth, the development of ideas in the article moves
organizationally from Asia to America and covers worldwide, and from the
factual states to solution. Many nouns and descriptive adjectives are used so
the language is principally descriptive although it carries a bit overtone of
persuasion. Last but not least, the cohesion and coherence are good, which
helps readers follow easily. The author made good use of linkers and idea
arrangement in this article. Therefore, supporting details are arranged in a
logical manner. In conclusion, the structure and the main ideas of whole as
well as parts are carefully calculated and presented to assist reader’s
reading process.
III. Aspects of language:
Language is principally descriptive and therefore easily found
with a prevalence of nouns and verbs and a low density of adjectives.
1. Terms

Term and Lexical inference

Class
Location

tense adj nervous or worried

having strong feelings about sth that you

angry adj dislike very much or about an unfair
situation

serious adj bad or dangerous

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an illness that causes a part of the body to

disorder n
stop functioning correctly

greater than what seems reasonable or

excessive adj
appropriate

books, videos, etc. that describe or show

naked people and sexual acts in order to
pornography n make people feel sexually excited,
especially in a way that many other people
find offensive

categorise v classify

to say exactly what an illness or the cause of

diagnose v
a problem is

suffering from an illness of the mind,

mental
n especially in a way that affects the way you
illness
think and behave

internet the condition of being unable to stop using

n
addiction internet

the period of time when sb is getting used to

not taking a drug that they have become
withdrawal n
addicted to, and the unpleasant effects of
doing this

an indirect and usually bad result of an

repercussion n action or event that may happen some time
afterwards

isolation n the state of being alone or lonely

fatigue n exhaustion

noun a lump that is formed when blood dries or

blood clot
phrase becomes thicker

resistant adj not affected by sth; able to resist sth

the fact of becoming ill / sick again after

relapse n
making an improvement

sudden and unexpected, often in an

abrupt adj
unpleasant way

clinic n a building or part of a hospital where people

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can go for special medical treatment or

advice

phrasa to appear or develop quickly and/or

spring up l suddenly

verb

wean sb phrasa to make sb gradually stop doing or using sth

off / from l
sth verb

criminal adj connected with or involving crime

the state of remaining unknown to most

anonymity n
other people

very different from each other and of various

diverse adj
kinds

2. Tenses

This is a news article so it is mostly characterized by present

simple tense. The section regarding general assumptions include verbs
in the present tense, used to describe a situation or express the facts,
or verbs in present perfect, used in this case to imply a past process
lasting till now or present relevance of a past event. Sections on
exemplification and results use the past simple tense.
Tense Paragraph No. Use of tense

Present Simple 17 To state the facts

To state the factual state and

Present Perfect 3, 4, 5, 6 emphasize the emergency of
Internet addiction
To list exemplification for the
Past Simple 3, 4, 5 bad effects of Internet
addiction

3. Modal verbs
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This is a news article about the effects of Internet addiction,

therefore, there are some modals that are used several times in the
text such as could, can, would, couldn’t, wouldn’t, might. These help
express the consideration of hypothetical situations of Internet
addiction’s bad effects.
IV. Genre : news article
V. Comments:
Internet has been the buzzword for the people around the world in the
last decade. Very few people will disagree about the fact that everyone likes
to do most of their activities in the most easiest and flexible way possible.
Ease and flexibility is what Internet has provided to the mankind irrespective
of profession or leisure based activity. Today internet is widely used by the
business world for conducting their daily chores and by individuals to
interact, learn and relax. Almost everything can be done online even if it is
not in its true physical sense. While lost in this so called ‘Cyber Community’
for long periods of time, people are neglecting other important activities like;
time with the family, socializing, work and health concern.
David Smith, a technology correspondent, pointed out in the article
that Internet addiction has become a real illness. The average South Korean
high school student spends 23 hours a week playing online games. South
Koreans go online at internet cafes more than Americans. In the USA, most
people surf the internet at home. From the figures in a case study and
details collected, we can see that Internet addiction is now a serious
worldwide issue. David Smith continued with negative behaviors of Internet
addicts. They don’t realize how many hours they spend online. There were
many of them who died after excessive gaming or were murdered because
of an online game. They often lose track of time so they stay up very late at
night or overnight just surfing webs, chatting or watching pornography.
Moreover, they care less about friends and are indulged in the virtual world.
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Those may lead to fatigue and social isolation. Furthermore, addicts may get
withdrawal symptoms or feelings of anger, tension or depression when the
computer is inaccessible. In my opinion, it is reasonable to assume that listed
activities to do online are considered forms of Internet abuse or ways of
expressing existing addict behaviors. The major negative effects are families
in crisis, unemployment, college expulsion, marriage destruction, deepening
depression, mounting debts, broken trust, pedophiles stalking kids and
teenagers breaking down.
As the advent of the Internet, our lives have developed a lot thanks to
ease and flexibility provided. However, the darker side of it is now prevailing
over the positive effects. Help is available, but don't get yourself tangled into
the addiction. It's hard to break once you've got yourself wound into the
habit. Be the master, not the servant of Internet. Good luck fellow Internet
users!

VI. Source :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/23/news.internet