By Arman Zadeh, Staff Writer
It’s no wonder that kids today are more unproductive than ever. In a generation defined by Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and the rest of the Internet, are we really to blame for this handicap we call the world wide web?
Being raised around the joys of the Internet and its endless possibilities has led to the shortened attention spans of many of the kids of today. Many of us cannot go five minutes without checking our Facebook profiles, updating our Twitter feed or simply checking the latest score of the Laker game. This problem has led to an increase in ADD that carries on into other aspects of a person’s life. In the recent past, studies have linked ADD and ADHD to TV, videogames and the Internet. Nowadays, though, it’s more abnormal than not to not be looking at an iPhone screen or a computer, making it harder for this disease to stop.
But I think we are just victims of our own time. Just like the people of the 20th century who did not see the harms in smoking cigarettes, I believe that we kids of today were blinded by the fun of the Internet too much to see its consequences. The Internet is a drug. It is addictive, satisfying and forces users to become dependent on it. Just like rehabilitation, getting yourself off the Internet requires serious will power.
This crutch we call the Internet has grown into many of us and looks like it is staying for a while. The Internet is both a gift and a curse in this way. It is rapidly growing and connecting the world, but its negative effects have also begun to show.
For example, when the number of likes your picture gets or amount of followers you have judges popularity, the Internet becomes a necessity to any high schooler. This adds to the addictive effect of the Internet and drags users into its vicious circle.
This vicious circle of the Internet lugged down many of its users into its deep abyss of nothingness except for cats and memes, and it is just one of the handicaps we receive for living in the 21st century. Who knows, maybe in the future there will be Internet Rehabilitation facilities to clean up our mess.