The Internet is a source of knowledge. Its basic feature is its mass and global nature, and its most important element is the community that uses it and develops this network.
We use the Internet every day. We do shopping, talk to our relatives. This daily virtual activity often unconsciously infiltrates reality and disturbs interpersonal relations.
Unfortunately, Internet relationships make us move away from the real world and function in the virtual one. We are not able to talk face to face. We close ourselves to the reality surrounding us.
Anders Hansen, a Swedish psychiatrist, has conducted numerous studies on the influence of the Internet on humanity. He presented his findings in the book “Log off your brain”.
Turn off your cell phone for one or two hours during the day. Even a few minutes of movement a day will help you reduce stress and improve concentration, In the evening, change the image on your phone to black and white, it will reduce the release of dopamine and the desire to scroll through messages. Don’t check your work email right before you go to bed. On social media, try to only follow people you really want to interact with. These are just examples of the effective tips in this book.
Why does using Instagram trigger the same areas in the brain as hunting wild animals once did? What happens to our memory when we rely solely on GPS while driving? What is digital envy and can the Internet rob us of empathy? Every day we have to endure an information tsunami, and our mirror neurons in contact with social media stimulate the brain to constantly compare itself with others, according to the author.
We often envy others by looking at their accounts, social media posts. What we don’t realize is that some of these posts are over-colored by their authors, because they are adjusted to the prevailing trends in the network. It reflects on our relationships through jealousy. It is important to approach the materials shared in social media with a distance.
The Internet has reduced the distance between people. However, looking from a broader perspective – paradoxically, it brings people closer and further away from each other. It brings a lot of threats, but it also helps to solve problems.
Many studies show that the escape of young people to the intrnet has already had clear effects. Just look at the restaurant gardens, where 4 young people sit at a common table, each looking at their smartphone. While underestimating the common real-life contacts. They are in one place, but separated at the same time. It is not only young people who are susceptible to the impact of the Internet on the human body. Adults also often escape into the virtual world, looking for new experiences there, being bored with the real world and everyday life. Often these are temporary, new relationships, which we later regret. The boundary between the real world and the real world becomes blurred, which leads to a loss of human sensitivity.
There are more and more psychological guides on the market, which advise how to “come back” to real relationships and find yourself in this world. Relationships with other people need to be based on internal understanding. In the virtual world there is a lack of sincerity, but also of skillful establishment of a valuable dialogue.
The Internet undoubtedly affects human relationships. This could be seen during the outbreak of the pandemic, when contacts were limited. Back then, thanks to instant messaging, we talked and saw each other with family and friends. Another positive of the Internet is making new acquaintances with people who are now even on the other side of the world.
The Internet has both negative and positive sides. Everyone individually approaches this topic evaluating from his subjective point of view all the pros and cons of using the Internet. It is important to benefit from it, while paying attention to the loved ones in our environment, not to take care of the relationship with them. Internet is for everyone, we just need to learn how to use it skillfully.
source of the main photo: pexels.com
