JOURNAL #6

6. How have you tried to effect change in relation to an issue of personal, local, or national significance?


Addiction is destructive as it gnaws the human mind to make unnecesary leisure a neccesity. One thing I had to change if I wanted to be successful in the adult world was ridding of internet addiction. This is the new age of distractions because of these new technological innovations that were made only for the sole purpose of leisure. We don't neccesary need these devices such as music players, iPads and iPods, and most entities of the internet; however, a devoloped addiction to these time suckers make our minds make it a necessity. Internet addiction is destructive because being prone to it enacts extreme laziness than doing more important requirements in life such as homework or even caring for yourself; however, quitting is hard because the internet is tempting and alluring. The internet offers an overwhelming amount of entertainment and information that can be easily mismanaged and misused. The internet makes it even harder so to stray away from if a class requires an assignment that utilizes the internet. In recent years, it seems that people are blaming the internet for our developed short attention spans; however, the internet is too much of a guilty pleasure for anyone to take extreme action on the issue. In statistics, work enviroments that have access to the internet are more prone to have employess spending time on it ineffeciently for almost more than an hour a day.

In partaking in the IB program, I had to change my work habits drastically and one of the main things I had to change in effect was my internet addiction, of which I'll miss the days of hours of entertainment and conversing with internet peers; however I would be able to see a future of productivity and a lost of self regret and depression if I gave up the internet.To take action on changing internet addiction within myself was to lock my laptop in my closet and out of my sight on weekdays, and I could only access it on the weekends if all work was done. The addiction of the interet is not fully terminated in my mind; however, I have taken the first step of identifying the problem and admitting it. Unfortunatly, the rates of internet addiction seem to be increasing nationally and almost internationally, so I am not the only one alone. Fortunatly, there are organizations that formed in the last couple of years to provide treatment and recovery to internet addiction.