Through the years, the use of online media has spread faster than any viral video. From social networking sites we log on to for staying connected, online games we play to keep ourselves entertained, and countless applications we use to track our fitness progress, schedule, and finances among other things, the internet has successfully woven itself into our everyday lives.
Different people use online media differently. But what makes each person's internet use unique?
A Matter Of Genetics
Latest research suggests that our genes play a significant role when it comes to the way we spend our time on the internet.
Experts looked into the internet use of more than 8,500 16-year-old twins - identical (100 percent shared genes) and non-identical (50 percent shared genes) - and assessed the proportional influence of genes and environment on individual differences.
Available online at PLOS ONE, the results of the study suggest that heritability was a greater influencer in all of the respondents' online media activity, compared to environmental factors.
Is The Internet Using You?
Are you using the internet for your own benefit, or is it the other way around?
"Our findings contradict popular media effects theories, which typically view the media as an external entity that has some effect - either good or bad - on 'helpless' consumers. Finding that DNA differences substantially influence how individuals interact with the media puts the consumer in the driver's seat, selecting and modifying their media exposure according to their needs," said Ziada Ayorech, first author of the study from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London.
The paper challenges the preconceived notion when it comes to personalized social media and its filters that experts believe is specifically designed to show us what we want to see, as opposed to the complete picture.
Electroshock Therapy For Internet Addiction
In China, special treatment centers for internet addiction are a common thing.
Some treatment facilities, such as the Addiction Treatment Center in Shandong Province, which houses more than 6,000 internet addicts, mostly in their teens, have drawn public outrage because of their use of electroshock therapy and other physical punishments to cure internet addiction.
Electroconvulsive therapy is an accepted medical technique used to treat depression. However, its effect on addiction remains unfounded. The Chinese government has recently drafted a legislation banning electroshock therapy, which has caused physical and psychological damage to many children.
