If you are as obsessed with the Internet as Nikhat Rehan, a 45-year-old mother of three who sets the alarm at half past four in the morning to plough and harvest in her virtual farm in the Facebook game Farmville, then instead of setting the alarm, you need to feel alarm at such behavior. Nikhat claims to spend a good five to seven hours on the Internet each day. She is not a rare example, however, and Internet addiction is becoming a significant social problem throughout the world. Such has been the phenomenon's speedy growth that researchers have been forced to scrutinize the affliction. Many studies conducted in the West for instance, blame the rise of social networking websites as the main culprit. Statistics from 2009 revealed by Facebook boast of a growth of 700 percent in usage and Twitter took the world by storm with a 1,170 percent growth. An estimated eight billion minutes are spent on Facebook every day. The situation is not yet so dire in the Kingdom where Internet usage sits at a mild 30 percent but experts see significant growth in the near future as up to 60 percent of the Kingdom's population comprises of teenagers and young adults who are embracing new technologies faster than anticipated. According to a survey led by a university in the UK, there is a strong link between heavy Internet usage and depression. However, the survey could not conclude whether the depression is causing Internet addiction or vice versa. Moreover, the American Psychology Association has indicated that loneliness, depression, anxiety, and various phobias may cause Internet addiction. Dr. Al-Humood Abdullah, an associate professor in the department of Mass Communication at the Imam Mohammad University in Riyadh, and vice president of the Saudi Association for Media and Communications rejects the idea of depression being linked with excessive Internet usage. He told Saudi Gazette that it might be individual cases who are both depressed and Internet addicts. “People in depression are usually weak in expressing themselves and avoid contacting with others. So, it may be in some rare cases that people find escape from depression in Internet use. Factually, written communication is (more) difficult than face-to-face communication. So how could a depressed person - wanting to avoid contacting people - be an Internet addict?” he asked. Nonetheless, a 22-year-old woman, requesting anonymity, told Saudi Gazette that her addiction to the Internet – and more particularly to social networking - grew after she slipped into depression. “The sudden death of a close relative made me depressed. I never realized that as an alternate to escape from my anxiety I was using Facebook and Twitter more to get the latest news and gossip. Colorful pictures, contacting new people and a curiousity to find out what is happening in the world pushed me into developing strong social-networking addictions. I bought a Blackberry for Internet access on the go. However, I feel guilty at times that I am spending less time with my family and friends. Even if I am physically with them my concentration is more on my messenger and Facebook,” she confessed. According to research, the quality of relationships is also being affected due to this addiction. The youth is spending less time with family and more on the Internet. A popular English newspaper reported recently in February that social-networking is fueling divorces as social networking site Facebook inculcates mistrust, suspicions and jealousy in couples and one in five divorce petitions these days are due to Facebook, say a number of law firms. Agreeing with such research, Abdullah said: “Social-networking has affected the quality of relationships. Free-style social communication can lead a person to a divorce or complicates the nature of relationship. It has also decreased traditional face-to-face communication by 50 percent. Now people like to contact via the Internet more as it allows them to avoid physically avoid contact by hiding their eye, face, vocal and body expressions and thus hide half the truth of a matter. On the other hand, it has encouraged many shy people to open up and express themselves.” Psychologists consider Internet addiction to be avoidable. “The Internet is a boon for human beings that has brought convenience in the means of communication and lifestyle. Living in the 21st century, we can't stop using technology which has both plus and negative points, but not at the cost of human interaction,relations and responsibilities accredited to them. The Internet, no doubt, is a good source of entertainment but an empty mind is a devil's workshop and over-usage may lead to unnecessary and immoral activities which may not coincide with our Islamic values. You can find interesting and beneficial activities outside the Internet world too and there is nothing as good as real human interaction that develops a better personality and etiquette. So why not try that ?” Hina Khan, a psychologist advised.
