Digiteen

An old attitude that makes it difficult to create harmony between the old generations and the new is the behavior of more experienced users towards `newbies' on the net. In the past, one could expect other users to be somewhat familiar with computing environment. People who asked too many `stupid' questions were ostracized and `flamed.' Now the net must handle a gigantic influx of users with less computer experience, who will ask thousands of questions in their exploration of the obscure operations of the Internet.

Awful things Internet addiction has done to me:- Internet addiction has made me a very lazy and unwilling fellow who would usually take 2-3 hours to start the day off.- Internet addiction has caused me great amounts of stress and anxiety. (For example, I have lots of pornographic material scattered around my two laptops and I start getting paranoid when people ask me if they can use my computer to check something.) The death of a loved one 2 years ago only made my situation worse.- Internet addiction has prevented me from exercising and staying fit.- Internet addiction has put lots of strain into my eyes, from constantly staring at the monitor for about 6+ hours a day. (Not natural.)- Internet addiction has made me less social with my friends and made me feel more impatient (like when I would wait longer than 5-10 minutes for a friend on an instant messenger program to respond to me and I'd start wondering if I said something that could have offended them or if I am bugging them too much).- Internet addiction has turned me away from playing some of my favorite video game consoles (I grew up with the Super Nintendo and still have it). Thankfully, at least I never got into MMORPGs or any other online game services. I mainly emulated.- Internet addiction has made me very obsessed with atheism and religion. Of course I am glad to no longer subscribe to any organized religion (I hold no grudges against those who do, just the ones that try to shove their beliefs down others' throats because I find it very inhumane), but I don't want to continue obsessing over it; it makes me feel very depressed. I don't want this.- Internet addiction has made me very untidy. Currently I have 4 stacks of plates, 2 stacks of cereal bowls, 3 stacks of 8 oz glass cups, and 2-3 forks and knives and 7 spoons. I have bits of shed hair (I have long, frizzy hair) here and there on the carpet and it is quite embarrassing!- Internet addiction has made me procrastinate on class assignments and fail school indubitably. - Internet addiction has wasted so much of my precious, precious time that could have been used for other things that are more worthwhile and productive. In fact, my one-year-and-a-half Facebook addiction has worsened me to the point where I just had to delete my account once and for all.- Internet addiction has made me forget about the usefulness and convenience of doing real-life alternatives, such as mailing out letters/post cards to friends instead of just refreshing my e-mail inbox every 1 hour when I am awake, or listening to my massive cassette/CD/record collection instead of just sitting around my computer listening to MP3s.So you see, I am in a SERIOUS need of a change! I am sick and tired of living this sad and pathetic lifestyle. The stupidity of sites like 4chan inspired me to leave the Internet behind.

Because of the internet, clashes between the sensibilities of different societies will only increase. Offended parties will press publishers to keep offensive communications off the network. However, if people only publish what's acceptable to most everyone in the world, then the internet will be a far less effective tool for social and political change than it might otherwise be.

Teenagers who are addicted to the Internet are more likely to develop depression or other psychiatric problems than teens who are classified as normal Internet users,

Researchers say that their work suggests that teens who use the Internet pathologically may be about 2.5 times more likely to develop depression than  teens who are not addicted to the Internet.

Researchers in Australia and China studied pathological or uncontrolled Internet use and later mental health problems in 1,041 teenage students in China. The students were free of depression and anxiety at the start of the study. Sixty-two of the teenagers were classified at the start of the study as being moderately pathological users of the Internet, and two were found to be severely at risk for uncontrollable urges to go online. Nine months later, the youngsters were evaluated again for anxiety and depression and 87 were judged as having developed depression. Eight reported significant

About a year ago in my first visit to Second Life, the popular online virtual world, I spent half an hour trying to make my avatar, or online character, look like a hotter version of myself — which isn't easy when you don't know how to use the tools. When I finally made it onto Money Island to mingle, a stranger approached me and said, "Hello there, Devon." I froze. Then I tried to run. I was desperately searching for the teleport tool when my sister walked into the room, peered over my shoulder at the computer screen and said, "Why'd you make your avatar ugly?" I logged off.

Protests against an American-made online video mocking the Prophet Muhammad have sparked discussions about free speech. Guest host Steve Roberts and his guests discuss clashing cultural norms and efforts to define and regulate hate speech across the globe.