Once dismissed as foolish, Internet
addiction is now getting second look from parents
worried about teens' time online
Oh, what a tangled Web we weave, when
first we practice to... get online.
Many Topeka teenagers admit they
never feel quite right until they have checked their
MySpace, Facebook or e-mail accounts in the morning and
when they get home from school and again before bed.
None, however, believe they are
addicted to the Web.
Since the term "Internet addiction"
was introduced in the late 1990s, Web users and medical
professionals have dismissed the idea. Some think the
long hours of isolation characteristic of too much Web
use are just a by-product of other mental issues such as
depression.
But Kimberly Young, director of the
Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, said the idea is
gaining popularity. Parents are starting to research the
addiction as they watch their teens become more attached
to the computer.
Sue Scheff, a Florida mother who
helped start P.U.R.E.™, an organization for parents to help
other parents with struggling teenagers, said Internet
usage should be a major concern for parents.
"Parents aren't as concerned with
their teens who are online once in a while," she said.
"Parents are concerned with the teens who are completely
addicted to MySpace or some other Web site. The ones who
are not able to tear themselves away."
A January media survey released in
China showed 2 million Chinese teenagers are Internet
addicts. The survey also indicated the crime rate among
teens has risen dramatically in the past five years, and
some officials have linked the two findings. Other
studies from sociologists and psychiatrists around the
world have linked Internet addiction to growing levels
of anxiety, depression, loneliness, self-consciousness,
obesity and other problems facing youths.
Numbers for U.S. Internet addicts
aren't as exact. Young said the belief is that 6 percent
of the population are online addicts, with the numbers
rising to 19 percent of the population on college
campuses.
Internet addiction, Scheff said, is
only part of the problem. Not only are teenagers
spending more and more time online — and subsequently
less and less time in reality — they are clueless about
the rules governing the virtual world.
"There are several issues here,"
Scheff explained. "The fact is that these teens can
become introverts. It affects levels of growth and
maturity. The other thing is teens don't understand that
people lie online, people aren't honest online. Do you
really know who is on the other end of those messages or
chat rooms?"
Scheff recently won an online
defamation suit that was one of the largest jury-decided
victories to date. She was given an $11.3 million
decision after an organization attacked her and her
family verbally online with threats and rumors.
She continues to be concerned about
the abuse that goes on between teens. Web sites have
become the new school playground where teasing and
bullying begins.
And, Scheff said, punishment isn't as
easy as throwing someone in time out.
"I was told from the very beginning
my case would be difficult because Internet laws aren't
concrete," she said. "Internet defamation is a new law.
We set the precedent."
In Topeka, teenagers, too, have
recently run into issues with Internet regulations. In a
December issue of the Topeka West's newspaper, The
Campus View, staff members ran photos from students'
Facebook accounts in the paper. The pictures were
blurred out, but parents said not enough to prevent
lawsuits.
However, lawsuits about Internet
ownership are hazy. Chris Joseph, a Topeka lawyer, said,
though he couldn't speak directly about the Topeka West
issue, like defamation, ownership rights on the Internet
also are hard to prosecute.
"It may be that the person who puts a
picture on the Internet doesn't forfeit rights to that
photo, but I just don't know that anyone short of Paris
Hilton would be able to afford going to court over it,"
he said.
According to Facebook and MySpace,
anything posted on a profile, comment, blog or message
still belongs to the user, but the Web site has the
right to use it in the advertising for their site. This
means if someone posted song lyrics on MySpace, the
site, owned now by Fox's Rupert Murdoch, could use the
song in a MySpace commercial.
With the possibility of teenagers
becoming isolated and the hazy regulations, Scheff said
she has to wonder why parents allow teens to be online
as much as they are.
"I just don't understand why the time
they are on the Internet is growing," she said.
According to a study by the Pew
Internet Project, teenage internet usage increased by 24
percent between 2001 and 2005, and still continues to
grow. It is estimated that more than 77 million children
and teenagers are online.
But some Topeka teenagers say they
aren't worried about the downsides of the Web. For the
most part, they haven't experienced depression,
isolation or anything falling into the grey area of
legal issues.
"I'm on the Internet all the time,"
said John David, 17. "I still have friends, and I'm not
sad. We always here about the bad things that could
happen, but they haven't happened to those of us who are
smart online."
Scheff said making sure teenagers use
their brains online is the best way to keep them safe,
but she said she still thinks its necessary to enforce
some limitations.
"It's really sad because it use to be
family time. Now it's computer time playing Free Cell,"
she explained. "People need to go back to being a family
together and being safe."
Taylor Atkins can be reached at
(785)295-1187 or
taylor.atkins@cjonline.com.
