Share:
Portal for those affected First aid offers for Internet addicts
The Internet has made life easier for us in many areas. However, some people spend more time on the web than good for them. Above all, more and more young people are threatening internet addiction. Safer Internet Day on February 7th sees the launch of a new aid offer for those affected.
The Internet has become an integral part of everyday life
Reading the latest news, watching football results, chatting with friends, playing games, shopping or even looking for a partner for life: For many people, the Internet has become an integral part of everyday life. Although it facilitates our lives in many areas, it also carries risks: more and more people are affected by online addiction. Above all, young men are at risk. On "Safer Internet Day" (7 February) launches a new aid offer for those affected.
For "Safer Internet Day" launches a new service for Internet addicts, which should facilitate the treatment search. (Image: Photographee.eu/fotolia.com) Where is the boundary between normal use and dependency?
The question of where the Internet is the border between normal use and addiction, is often not so easy to answer.
For example, if it hampers hobbies that suffer from social contact, or if users themselves interrupt beautiful activities to look at the screen, the risk of Internet addiction or cell phone addiction is high.
Online therapy search for people with Internet addiction
On 7 February, the "Safer Internet Day", Germany's most comprehensive online database for finding therapy for people with Internet addiction will go online, reports the University Hospital Tübingen in a press release.
The center of the website "First Aid Internet Addiction" is therefore an address database for counseling and treatment offers in Internet-based addictions.
The Germany-wide search of the addresses took place in 2015 as part of the project "Offers on internet-based addictive behavior (AbiS)".
The web offer was conceived, developed and implemented by a research team of the Section for Addiction Medicine and Addiction Research at the Tübingen University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy under the direction of Prof. Dr. med. Anil Batra and dr. Kay Uwe Petersen.
In addition to the address search, the website also provides interested parties and relatives with background information about Internet addiction.
Possible solutions for problematic internet usage
"There are many ways to solve problematic internet usage. Sometimes even small changes in everyday life are sufficient to improve the situation, "it says on the website.
"It is important to explain in an understandable way what kind of help there is - from ambulatory counseling and therapy to the day clinic or inpatient hospital stay," said psychologist Sara Hanke, researcher at the project.
"With dynamic and lively content, for example in the form of a blog, we want to reach people of all ages and backgrounds," says the expert.
"We deliberately designed the site to be lively and yet serious," said research assistant Linny Bieber. "It is flexibly expandable and offers numerous additional offers. The modern, responsive design makes it possible to access the offer via smartphone and tablet as well. "
More attention for the safety in the net
Safer Internet Day was initiated by the European Union. It takes place every year on the second day of the second week of the second month.
People of all ages should be encouraged to pay more attention to Internet security. This includes the self-control over the time and intensity with which people deal with Internet applications such as online games or social networks.
If one loses control so that school, professional or social obligations are no longer or only insufficiently fulfilled, there may be an "Internet addiction", the university writes in its communication. (Ad)