As much as computers and use of the Internet have become part of the lives of urban children, so has the risk increased of these children becoming Internet addicts. Internet addiction among kids is loosely understood as tendencies in children to spend excessive amounts of time in the online and internet space at the cost of other aspects of their social life.
Apart from the necessity of computers and Internet to perform school tasks, parents also provide the facility to children to keep them engaged when they are at home all by themselves. Continuous entertainment, simulation and anytime access that online space and the virtual web provide easily entice children. From innocuous net surfing to more critical interests, like tracking online pornography, Internet addiction among children is a very serious issue and should be tackled with urgency.
Some of the symptoms of Internet addiction that children may show are staying away from mingling with other children or family and using that time to spend online, rearranging mealtimes and other engagements to spend more time surfing, withdrawing from normal school-related activities or indulging in any activity that affects school performance.
An important step in treating internet addiction among kids is for parents to become aware that such a problem exists. The next step is to openly talk it with the children to understand what is causing the addiction. A good thing may be is to ensure that the children are not left alone too much and get to spend quality time with family and friends. The computer should preferably be kept in the common room. What parents should not do is to completely restrict the children’s access to the Internet. This aggravates the problem but does not resolve it. It is necessary to remember that Internet de-addiction in children is possible gradually but cannot be done overnight.