POE: QUESTION TWO

There are plenty advantages that come with the internet for instance, information is available like never before; communication can happen globally and in real time and the list goes on... essentially, life is a whole lot easier with the internet. however the internet has made the world a smaller place and this creates conflict because it can allow people to become anonymous with their interactions with others. along with the advantages of the internet there also comes disadvantages. the following are some psychological issues that the world faces:

1. Addiction

Figure 1: (New straits times, 2017)

Can’t leave your smartphone or laptop alone? Do you think it’s an addiction? Internet addiction is an impulse control disorder. Internet addiction is defined as the unhealthy behaviour of compulsive internet usage that fully dictates a person’s life and causes stress. This issue can also cause some people to make significant decisions like leaving their job all for the sake of meeting people online. Addicts struggle to control their behaviour leading them to become desperate to fall back into the addictive pattern.

For example, your friend meets a special someone online (that she hasn’t met in person) and can’t stop talking to that person. Your friend begins to draw further away from you and every time you see her she’s always on the phone talking to her special someone. Your friend then begins to slack on her studies and soon drops out of college because she can’t handle the stress but still continues to talk to her special someone. She has no control of her behaviour and is addicted to social media and it has governed her life.

2. Online disinhibition effect

When online some people will act out more intensely or frequently than they would in person. Online disinhibition is the lack of restrain someone feels when they communicate online in comparison to communicating in-person. There are two types of disinhibition that online disinhibition can be classified into:

Benigin: in this case we are more vulnerable and open about our deepest feelings and more helpful to others.

Toxic disinhibition: in this case you are more likely to threaten, harass or abuse others on social media where they are unable to see your face. Due to the ability of being anonymous online, to hurt people becomes easy for people who wish to hurt people.

For example, a fellow classmate (girl) of yours doesn’t really like you and was dared to embarrass you on social media. So she decided to call you nasty names and picked on your appearance when she commented one of your posts on Instagram. So when you confronted her one day at campus she spoke innocently and quite polite to you. All she has been to your face is nice. This is also called ‘trolling’. 

Figure 2: (How-to-geek, 2020)

3. Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying is the use of digital tools such as your cellphone, laptop, etc. to threaten, torment, or humiliate someone else. Whether it’s sharing one humiliating photo of someone else or sending them 1 000 harmful text messages cyber bullying can damage someone’s reputation, self-esteem or their mental health. Because cyber bullying happens online, the attacker can stay anonymous and cannot see the pain he/she has caused to the target and thus will continue to terrorise them and even increase the intensity of their attacks.

Figure 3: (Shout out UK, 2018)

For example, Bernie and Terry have been friends since primary school and Bernie has some of the most embarrassing pictures of Terry when he was younger on his phone. However now that both Bernie and Terry are in college, Terry has now found new friends and Bernie is jealous. So Bernie decides to upload those embarrassing pictures of Terry on social media. Following that, Terry has been getting high-volume messages from anonymous people insulting him constantly. Terry's self-esteem drops and this has lead him into a state of depression.

4. Cyber Stalking

A cyber stalker is someone who uses the internet or any electronic communication to evade someone's privacy and to repeatedly threaten or harass them. Normally stalkers intention is to eventually expert control over the person they are stalking. A cyber stalker will send threatening messages, watch your every move on social media and even know your exact whereabouts by looking at the location of your posts. Cyber stalkers are very good at keeping their identity anonymous online and are quite hard to find. Cyber stalking is a serious crime.

Figure 4: (Authors Unite, 2020)

Figure 5: (BBC News, 2018)

For example, Simon has always had a crush on Susan. However, Susan doesn't like Simon like that. So Simon begins to get angry when Susan starts to ignore him. He begins to watch Susan's every move, where she goes and who she talks to. Simon is good at Information Technology and has his every move covered up. Simon sends Susan anonymous messages to scare Susan. Simon's ultimate goal is to have Susan under his control.

References 

New straits times. 2017. Internet addictions in Malaysia at epidemic proportions: MCMC studies, 16 December 2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/12/315031/internet-addiction-malaysia-epidemic-proportions-mcmc-study [Accessed 19 July 2020]

How-to-geek. 2020. What is an internet troll, 21 January 2020. [Online]. Available at: https://www.howtogeek.com/465416/what-is-an-internet-troll-and-how-to-handle-trolls/ [Accessed 19 July 2020]

Shout out UK. 2018. Is social media preventing young people from being happy, 8 August 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://www.shoutoutuk.org/2018/08/08/is-social-media-preventing-young-people-from-being-happy/ [Accessed 19 July 2020]

Authors Unite. 2020. Lessons from the dark side: what entrepreneurs can learn from hackers, 27 January 2020. [Online]. Available at: https://authorsunite.com/what-entrepreneurs-can-learn-from-hackers/ [Accessed 19 July 2020]

BBC News. 2018. What you need to do if you are being stalked, 18 January 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-42731612 [Accessed 19 July 2020]

Frontiersin. 2014. Internet addiction: coping styles, expectancies and treatment implications, 11 November 2014. [Online]. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01256/full [Accessed 19 July 2020]

E learning industry. 2019. Shedding our disinhibitions, 14 September 2019. [Online]. Available at: https://elearningindustry.com/shedding-our-disinhibitions-part-1-of-2 [Accessed 19 July 2020]

Public safety Canada. 2018. What is cyber bulling, 4 October 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cbr-scrt/cbrbllng/prnts/cbrbllng-en.aspx [Accessed 19 July 2020]

Nord VPN. 2020. Cyberstalking: definition and laws, 11 February 2020. [Online]. Available at: https://nordvpn.com/blog/cyberstalking/ [Accessed 19 July 2020]