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The Myth of the Sirens, or the Internet as a New Drug
People who connect to the Internet can no longer give it up. They lose interest in life outside the computer, and apathy sets in. The Internet is essentially a new drug, and it is extremely difficult to fight the addiction to it.
Let's start by figuring out what drug addiction is. It includes several points: psychological, physical, and reactive dependence.
There is no physical dependence on the Internet by definition. Because it strictly requires intoxication of the body, i.e., it occurs at the biochemical level. A computer is not equipped with an IV drip, so we are free from this. Period.
Having discarded this nonsense, let's move on to the issue of psychological dependence, without confusing it with psychological dependence.
Psychological dependence is the constant thought about an object, especially in its absence. And the Internet draws you in when you are sitting at the keyboard. An Internet addict may indulge in web surfing during moments of idleness, rather than being busy. That is, psychological dependence does not apply here.
And what about psychological dependence? It's a little more complicated. It includes more harmless phenomena, such as the need for a certain activity or pleasure. If you are a philatelist, then you are dependent on stamps, if you are a loving father, then you are dependent on children, and so on. What's wrong with that? Nothing, as long as you don't go beyond reasonable limits, but that's already a matter of common sense.
A grain of truth.
The Internet is essentially a constantly replenishing source of information. And a person has a natural craving for information and can become overly attached to a particular way of obtaining it.