Is your kid addicted to the internet?

Development in science and technology has given mankind many tools, intended to make their life easier and simpler. Computers today have found their way into every sphere of work and with the development in computer technology, came a tool which has changed the way we live. Internet in a way has been one of the major inventions of the 21^stcentury, finding vast importance in innumerable fields. However, every coin has two sides. Although there is no denying the usability of internet in our lives, very less attention has been given to the fact that kids today are starting to get so addicted to the internet that sitting in front of a computer for 16hours a day seems much more enjoyable than say going out to school or playing with friends.

Children today are getting access to computers and internet at a very early age. Parents provide their children with internet access to help them in their academics and help them gain more knowledge, but a very few parents realize that there are some aspects of internet that keep their kids hooked to it for long period of times and makes it impossible for them to leave their computers to do other work. One of the major sources of addiction in the internet is the chat sites. Children find the concept of making new friends on the web to be very fascinating and try to venture into unknown territories. Having a separate identity on the web seems to be a very attractive and fun filled idea to them at an early age. However it has been found that in lot of cases, this virtual life on the web makes them forget about the real world they live in and gets them detached from real world stuff such as studying, going to school, playing outdoor games. Sitting in front of the computer screens and chatting with their online friends seems to be the only best thing in the world. Computers games are advancing at a very fast pace and their demand is always in a rise. With the introduction of online gaming, children are able to play multiplayer games with their friends sitting in their respective homes using a simple internet connection. Such multiplayer games are often hard to quit and children tend to waste a lot of time in them. Such habits tend to make children try to find everything on the internet from reading their news paper to doing their school work, as everything is available in the internet. This makes them forget the importance of doing things they are actually meant to be done. Presence of porn sites on the internet is another major source of distraction for the children and affects them in very negative ways.

Parents need to be aware about how much time their child spends surfing the web and should ensure that children get access to the internet for small duration of time according to the requirements. Using internet strictly for educational purpose among children is importance and proper attention should be given to prevent children from getting addicted to the internet and forgetting the real world