The Emergence of the Internet Addicts

Author: Yi You

Abstract
The Internet is ubiquitous nowadays and plays an important role in communication. The popularity of the Internet has created a new group of people who spend considerable time at home doing online activities. They do not like being in the wild and rarely have social life. ‘Indoorsy’ is a new word coined to describe a group of people who are addicted to the Internet. The Internet addicts are mainly from Generation Y. They indulge themselves in a virtual world created by the net. The emergence of this new group has already drawn great attention. Many sociologists believe that being addicted to the Internet is a way for people to pursue individualism. They argue that the Internet addicts’ attachment to indoor activities is a new type of autism. This article is based on recent research on the Internet addicts and supported by sociological and psychological theories so as to find out the cause and effect of being addicted to the Internet. On the whole, the emergence of the Internet addicts is mainly due to the pressure from the modern society. They abandon themselves to a virtual world where they can put aside problems and fulfill their dreams. Since they are detached from the reality their social skills are decreasing. Besides being addicted to the Internet also represents that people are more eager to realize their own values than ever.