Essay on Conditions for student’s cyber addiction prediction
In this paper I would like to identify the social and educational conditions for cyber addiction prevention, which represent a set of external and internal influences of educational space to the subject’s personal qualities.
Arising of the Internet has spurred the development of new technologies and change the world. However, the global computer network was not the first discovery of such kind. Today the Internet is developing along the same ways as its predecessors – the telegraph and radio. However, unlike them, Internet combines their merits – it has become not only useful for communication between people, but also a public tool for obtaining information.
As a result socialization process of youth is inextricably linked not only with communication and activities of people in the real world now, but also with a new generation integration to the cyberspace, that is – the virtual world.
Each user gets both positive and negative social experiences here. Therefore, there is a need to study this influence to direct it to the desired, useful direction.
Students – it is a social group composed of young people studying in high schools. The essential feature of social students – is their closeness to nature activities, interests, orientation to a social group of intellectuals and experts. General global trend in scientific and technological revolution is the rapid quantitative growth of the students. In the Internet students encounter with alternative patterns of thinking and patterns of behavior.
As a result of the clear life position lack, disturbing balance with the social environment, students began to have trouble with this environment. These problems are easily solved in the virtual reality. This reality provides the opportunity to realize themselves in those areas which students do not succeed in the real world.
Each person has a propensity to certain spheres of activities. So sensible attitude towards hobbies has only the positive side, but the uncontrollable attitude causes dependence, which are divided into chemical and non-chemical addictions.
As for the cyber addiction, there are many definitions of this phenomenon, here’s one of them: “Cyber addiction – a phenomenon of psychological dependence on the Internet. Internet addiction is characterized by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges or behaviors regarding computer use and internet access that lead to impairment or distress” (Brodie & Redfield, 2002).
To prevent the addiction it is necessary to diagnose social and educational causes of its arising. Society transformation processes permanently cause contradiction between value orientations and behavioral norms. Lack of clear, active life position leads person to a significant other dependence, inability to make their own decisions, inability to resist outside influence. So, I want to say that the passive attitude to life is the root cause of cyber addiction. Of course there are plenty of reasons that stem from the first, they are: atmosphere in the family, depression, stress, complexity of communication construction with the social environment, etc.
I’d like to present behavioral characteristics which can be attributed to this syndrome:
– economic aspect: the inability and unwillingness to go out of the Internet even for a short time; inducement to spend more and more money for the Internet, not stopping before climbing into debt;
– interpersonal aspect: the willingness to lie to friends and family about minimizing the duration and frequency of work in the Internet, the ability and inclination to forget about home duties and education, important personal meetings, ignoring the lessons, unwillingness to accept criticism of this kind of lifestyle;
– health aspect: a sharp reduction of the sleep duration, and avoidance of physical activity, neglecting of personal hygiene, constantly forgetting about food.
Based on the mentioned above reasons, and behavioral characteristics of cyber addictive personalities, we define the social and pedagogical conditions of cyber addictive behavior prediction.
First condition is the partnership establishment between the high school teaching staff and students to ensure students’ theoretical and practical knowledge about the cyberspace.
Second condition is the diagnosing of the student’s personality, diagnosing features of their socialization, diagnosing the propensity for addictive behavior.
The third condition is provision of the multilateral humanistic orientation provided by educational support; work with educators, social pedagogues, psychologists. This condition provides self-improvement of young people, promoting self-esteem, formatting of an active life position and free person. It is effective to use such forms of work as: psychological trainings, role plays, lectures, research projects, seminars. These forms of correction work will effectively promote students cyberspace adaptation and create favorable conditions for getting desired results.
Pooled analysis of addictive behavior problems of young people in the Internet and the situation in the society leads to the conclusion that the reason of the problem is in disparity between the ability of societies to meet the needs of students and their desire to get what they want. In general, the students can be neither independent nor accountable, nor contented themselves without the adequate psychological status. So the conditions for student’s cyber addictive prevention can help them in further cyberspace socialization.
