Vartanian 1

Tina Vartanian
English 115
Mary Griffith
1 December 2014
Our Addiction to the Web
When we think of the web, we think of endless opportunities. The web can be used as a
way of getting viable information to the public such as government leaks. It can be used as a
telephone, or gateway to communicate with others around the world. Not to mention its ability
to serve as a library to the world. Allowing anyone with access, the possibility of an infinite
amount of knowledge. In the last few decades, our daily routines have altered to revolve around
the web and the effects are apparent mentally and socially. Although these advances in our
society have allowed us to progress in areas such as science and engineering, it has also affected
our relationships and social interactions with one another as well as our brain circuitry.
As shown in the Youtube video, The Effects of the Web Culture, Nicholas Carr and
Stephen Fry express their views and concerns about the web generation. Nicholas Carr, famous
writer and publisher, believes that the web has changed our society from being able to
concentrate and expand on ideas; while, Stephen Fry, writer and activist, believes that although
we do not concentrate and comprehend like before we have gained so much that it overpowers
the bad. As Fry mentioned in the video, ...connection is what humans crave (9:37). In other
words the internet and the use of technology are all used to allow humans to connect in some
way with others. To be informed around the world, to increase the knowledge of certain things,
to be able to conduct better research to share with the world. Yes, the internet was created for

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these reasons; however, when we start to change the dynamics of our society it becomes
alarming.
According to neuroscientist Gary Small, director of UCLAs Memory & Aging Research
Center and coauthor of iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind, our
addiction to the internet has altered the way humans interact and socialize with one another. In
the past 40 years, the internet also known as the web, has created an alternate notion of human
interaction. Society relies heavily on social media to engage with new people. For instance,
people prefer to interact with strangers through Facebook, email, Twitter, Instagram, and various
dating websites instead of meeting at local coffee shops. Such websites replaced the traditional
norms of meeting new people and creating fundamental relationships. Hence, the overall
dynamics of human interaction have been challenged. People find it more convenient to chat
with someone online rather than participate in a dinner outing. Also, long distance relationships
are more accessible through social media and such networks. These websites have created
substantial division in our society.
The changes in our social interactions exhibits Gary Smalls research, in which we are
constantly in ...a state of continuous partial attention due to the effects of the internet
(Klotter 1).Through the internet it is possible to surf the web, read and answer emails, as well as
read the news all at once. We are not forced to fully focus on just one task, and in a sense are
encouraged to multitask as we have several tabs open. Dr. Small further explains this state of
mind by calling it the techno-brain burnout (1). The techno-brain burnout is Smalls name for
a type of stress that causes ones ...adrenal glands [to] produce Cortisol and adrenaline as if the
person [was encountering] and emergency (Klotter 1). In other words, by producing these
hormones our bodies normally respond by becoming alert and prepared to fight; however,
...prolonged secretion of these hormones...lead to fatigue, anxiety, depression, [and other]

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chronic stress-related [illnesses] (Klotter 2). Dr. Small relates our physical illnesses such as
obesity to the amount of time we are on the web. The relationship between the two shows the
reader that the web is not only controlling our mind but it is one of the reasons as to why our
societies health is in danger.
In the peer reviewed journal, Internet Mediated Adolescent Relationships, authors
Fabrcio de Souza and Maria Margarida Pereira Rodrigues expand on the idea that ...self
perceptions of social incompetence...lead lonely and depressed people to seek out ...a less
threatening alternative to face to face interactions (628). They argue that individuals who are
depressed develop a preference for online social interaction. The ability to be anonymous while
sharing their thought seems comforting to them. The article then advances to the idea that the
...preference for online social interaction leads to compulsive and excessive computer-mediated
social interactions along with other cognitive and behavioral symptoms (632). The behaviors
associated with individuals who prefer to socialize through a computer screen rather than in
person, resulted in the conclusion that excessive Internet use results in negative ...personal and
professional outcomes (633). As the article progresses, researchers identified several different
symptoms that the internet has caused among its users. The behavioral symptoms included
...mood alteration, the inability to control ones online activity, withdrawal [in which they had]
difficulties staying away from the Internet along with the constant desire to interact through
the web (633). The shift from interacting with others in person to communicating through the
web has become a very serious issue. The lack of self-esteem has caused many people to hide
and pretend to be someone they are not. In most cases, when online daters are compared to
couples that interact face to face it was concluded that most of the online dating members had
misrepresented themselves.

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Misrepresentation is another common issue when talking about social interactions
through the web. For example, in the novel, Net Slaves 2.0, authors Bill Lessard and Steve
Baldwim explain how the internet has caused a revolution in society and has changed the way
society treats people along with how the balance of power has shifted. As paraphrased in the
novel, there has been real-life situations in which the submission of anonymous people have
been shocking. For example, ...in a recent survey of the best legal advice on the Web, a 15-yearold boy managed to come in the top 200, purely by virtue of the knowledge of the law he had
acquired from reading books and watching documentaries (Lessard 124). This knowledge
allowed him to know exactly how to handle legal matters, so he began to advise people. When
people who he had advised found out he was only a teenager, they were shocked. In many ways,
this teenager had the power to share his knowledge on a certain subject for the better; however, is
too much knowledge a disadvantage at such a young age? Nevertheless, ability to hide ones self
is alarming. Not only does it create isolation between society but it also puts us in danger. The
misrepresentation that the web allows can be dangerous if they ever choose to meet or spend
time together out in the real world because they never know how they look.
In all, the advancement in technology is very beneficial to our daily functions; however
in regards to our social and mental aspect it does have very harmful side effects. The shift from
human to human interaction to socializing through the web has caused a major spike in
depression and other similar illnesses. The constant use of the web has also altered our genes and
brains to not only depend on the internet but to become addicted. The web has embedded itself to
our daily routines. Whether these include new relationships, the discovery of new job
opportunities, or global news, our daily routines have altered to revolve around the web. The
question with socializing through the web is simply is it worth it. Does online relationships and
communication have the same power as person to person communication? If so, whats next? Our

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society has changed so much in the past decades and we are now realizing the effects the web
has had on our health. Not only on our brains but our emotional health as well.

Works Cited

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Caplan, Scott. "Preference for Online Social Interaction." CSUN Library. N.p., Dec. 2003. Web.
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Champeau, Rachel. "UCLA Study Finds That Searching the Internet Increases Brain Function."
UCLA
Newsroom, 14 Oct. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
<http%3A%2F%2Fnewsroom.ucla.edu%2Freleases%2Fucla-study-finds-that-searching6434
8>.
Klotter, Jule. Technology Affects Brain and Social Relationships. Rep. no. 318. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
Townsend Letter. The Townsend Letter Group, Jan. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
<http://go.galegroup.com.libproxy.csun.edu/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE%7CA21
5848328&v=2.1&u=csunorthridge&it=r&p=HRCA&sw=w&authCount=1>.
"Nicholas Carr & Stephen Fry on The Effects of Web Culture." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web.
01
Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA_kxQTutbA>.
Souza, Fabrcio de, and Maria Margarida Pereira Rodrigues. "Internet Mediated Adolescent
Relationships." Interpersonal : An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 4
(2010): 50-73. 01 Dec. 2014.