Internet addiction rising alarm for mental health

Manish Gajbhiye

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The Internet has revolutionized the lives of the people. They are completely dependent on social media. However, the extensive use of social media than required is a rising alarm for mental health, the experts opined.

Psychiatrist Dr Anand Kale observed that people these days are using social media extensively these days. It has an adverse effect on mental health and is posing a serious problem in the near future.

The rate of Internet addiction is around 6 to 18 percent. Hence, it has gained a status of a separate mental disease and needs to get proper treatment from the psychiatrists.

Why do people get addicted?

Making Reels and Memes are on the rise. No doubt it enhances creativity in human beings, but at the same time the results it yields create mental instability. People are craving to get likes for their reels and memes. If they get more likes they feel happy. This part of the mind is called the happy mind, but due to its extensive use, its working capacity is reduced. People start spending maximum of their time on the internet watching WhatsApp, Facebook and other sites. Over a period of time, they get addicted to it. This is a common factor among the children these days.

Symptoms of Net addicts

- Spending maximum time on the net and start feeling uneasy if the process is interrupted.

- Forget everything around him and lose completely in it.

- Do not take interest in any other activity than the internet.

- Routine activities are affected.

- Increase in restlessness, depression and unawareness.

- Loss of thinking ability, and sleep.

Measures for avoiding addiction

There are two types of treatment of internet addiction. One is Psychological and the other is Medicine. Both these types are applied by the psychiatrists separately or collected as required.

Psychological

- To reduce the time of internet use step by step instead of sudden closure.

- Keep a record of the time of internet use.

- The limit of use is fixed and it is reduced gradually.

- An alarm is set to make them aware that the time of internet use is completed.

- Encourage the patient to get involved in other mental and physical exercises.

- create awareness through counselling and proper discussion.

Medicines

- Medicines are used in the cases of serious patients.

- Many people get into depression if not get adequate response on the internet and also when get enormous responses.

- Medicines are used when the patients is in depression, restless and uncontrolled emotions.