Why Is the Internet So Addicting?
That's the question, isn't it? Why is the Internet so addicting? Well, I have a few theories:
1. Almost all websites are never-ending. By this I mean that you could spend hours on a website and not run out of content to view. Examples: Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, etc. (I only regularly use two of those (Pinterest and YouTube), but I'm sure the others are the same))
2. Everything is relatively quick. By this I mean that you can watch a three or four minute YouTube video and think "Oh, that's not that long, I have time to watch another", so you watch another... and another... and another. And soon enough that three minutes has become three hours.
3. The Internet is so accessible. This one came from DL, and she is so right. The Internet practically surrounds us like some omnipresent spider web. It captures us like... well, like a net.
4. The Internet is so fast. You can look something up and have your answer in a minute. You don't have to waste time looking words up in an actual paper-and-spine dictionary, or going to a library to get books for a research project, or any of that 20th century nonsense. You just go to your computer or tablet or phone and type in whatever you want to know and BLIP! it's there.
5. The Internet is visually appealing. Websites are crafted specifically for our enjoyment, and people know what to do to get us to visit as much as possible: they make their sites pretty.
6. Most people in the 21st century use the Internet as a means of communicating. Therefore, we feel obliged to participate so that we're not left out of the loop. That means checking your email or Facebook or Twitter or whatever the heck people use every single day. And if we don't check it, we feel like we could potentially be missing something extremely important.
And I have a theory that the Internet has similar effects to drugs. Besides being addicting, it is also something that gives you a momentary high. When you're on the Internet, you're like, "This is so much fun! I have nothing to do! I love the Internet! My life is amazing!" Then you get off the Internet and think, "Why did I just spend two hours online shopping for things I'm never going to buy? I'm the laziest person on this planet. I have so much to do and I just wasted two precious hours looking at crocodile pillows on Amazon *. I'm a failure at life."
*Not a real life experience. I promise.*
My evidence:
So many people try to limit their time on the Internet and make resolutions to not spend so much time on it, because at the end of the day they realize that they've spent the whole day being lazy and they feel bad about themselves. I know this because I've listened to countless YouTubers make resolutions to turn off their laptops by a certain time, or to go outside more, or to only use the Internet for however many hours a day. If the Internet had a long-time happiness effect, it wouldn't be something that people want less of in their lives. But it doesn't provide long-time happiness. It provides a short-term high. Much like drugs.
Am I saying that the Internet is as bad for you as heroine or cocaine or LSD? Absolutely not. Am I saying that you can get "high" off the Internet? No, not really. Am I saying that the Internet has long-term negative side effects? Heck if I know. It's been around for less than half a century. If long-term side effects are to be discovered, it will probably be in my generation.
Day Ninety-Two Song Recommendation: "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel. I don't usually like to put up cover videos of the songs I recommend, but I thought this was a really good cover by the band Local Natives. And if you haven't already heard the original "Cecilia", you haven't lived. Okay, I'm being dramatic. But you really should look it up.
-SE Wagner
1. Almost all websites are never-ending. By this I mean that you could spend hours on a website and not run out of content to view. Examples: Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, etc. (I only regularly use two of those (Pinterest and YouTube), but I'm sure the others are the same))
2. Everything is relatively quick. By this I mean that you can watch a three or four minute YouTube video and think "Oh, that's not that long, I have time to watch another", so you watch another... and another... and another. And soon enough that three minutes has become three hours.3. The Internet is so accessible. This one came from DL, and she is so right. The Internet practically surrounds us like some omnipresent spider web. It captures us like... well, like a net.
4. The Internet is so fast. You can look something up and have your answer in a minute. You don't have to waste time looking words up in an actual paper-and-spine dictionary, or going to a library to get books for a research project, or any of that 20th century nonsense. You just go to your computer or tablet or phone and type in whatever you want to know and BLIP! it's there.
5. The Internet is visually appealing. Websites are crafted specifically for our enjoyment, and people know what to do to get us to visit as much as possible: they make their sites pretty.
6. Most people in the 21st century use the Internet as a means of communicating. Therefore, we feel obliged to participate so that we're not left out of the loop. That means checking your email or Facebook or Twitter or whatever the heck people use every single day. And if we don't check it, we feel like we could potentially be missing something extremely important.
And I have a theory that the Internet has similar effects to drugs. Besides being addicting, it is also something that gives you a momentary high. When you're on the Internet, you're like, "This is so much fun! I have nothing to do! I love the Internet! My life is amazing!" Then you get off the Internet and think, "Why did I just spend two hours online shopping for things I'm never going to buy? I'm the laziest person on this planet. I have so much to do and I just wasted two precious hours looking at crocodile pillows on Amazon *. I'm a failure at life."
*Not a real life experience. I promise.*
My evidence:
So many people try to limit their time on the Internet and make resolutions to not spend so much time on it, because at the end of the day they realize that they've spent the whole day being lazy and they feel bad about themselves. I know this because I've listened to countless YouTubers make resolutions to turn off their laptops by a certain time, or to go outside more, or to only use the Internet for however many hours a day. If the Internet had a long-time happiness effect, it wouldn't be something that people want less of in their lives. But it doesn't provide long-time happiness. It provides a short-term high. Much like drugs.Am I saying that the Internet is as bad for you as heroine or cocaine or LSD? Absolutely not. Am I saying that you can get "high" off the Internet? No, not really. Am I saying that the Internet has long-term negative side effects? Heck if I know. It's been around for less than half a century. If long-term side effects are to be discovered, it will probably be in my generation.
Day Ninety-Two Song Recommendation: "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel. I don't usually like to put up cover videos of the songs I recommend, but I thought this was a really good cover by the band Local Natives. And if you haven't already heard the original "Cecilia", you haven't lived. Okay, I'm being dramatic. But you really should look it up.
-SE Wagner
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