Internet dependency a mouse click away
Mimi Wang
A study done in Great Britain shows that teenagers between the ages of 8 and 16 have a strong emotional connection to the internet.
According to the study conducted by Intersperience, an international consumer research specialist, 60 percent of the 1,000 teens survey between the ages of 12 and 16 would be “sad” without an internet connection and 48 percent admitted that they would be “lonely.”
In the recent years where technology and internet usage is becoming more common, 75 percent of the teens claimed that they played online games and 65 percent use the Internet for help with homework.
With social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter making it easier to communicate with friends, it is no surprise that 70 percent of the surveyed teens said that they chat on Facebook.
Although some parents may find their child’s emotional attachment to the internet worrisome or negative, especially with the possibility of internet addiction lingering around the corner, Intersperience chief executive Paul Hudson claims that the attachment is “perfectly natural for a generation whose social life is largely online.” In fact, the survey shows that 50 percent of the teens still preferred talking to their friends face to face.
According to Mesa Community College psychology professor Mary S. Horton, “We’ve all come to depend on it so much for instant information, paying bills, playing games, and social networking. I think you’d get very similar results if you asked any group of adults who frequently use the Internet.”
