· Arousal · Exercise · Posture
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The Cause of Internet
and TV Addiction? www.causeof.org |
My Theories My name is Christopher McPeck. I have a BS in Computer Science. On this page I
have included my latest theories about the cause of Internet and Television
Addiction, and other topics. ·
Sensory
Overload, Deductive Reasoning and Suggestion ·
Internet
Addiction is Caused by Hypovolemia (Low Blood
Volume) · Internet
Addiction is Caused by a Desire to Increase Arousal · Bates Method
Exercises Increase Hemispheric Communication ·
Internet
Addiction is Caused by Activities which Constantly Require Central Vision Sensory Overload,
Deductive Reasoning and Suggestion 1.
Excessive computer use leads to sensory overload. Sensory
overload may be exacerbated in people with sensitivities to sound, light,
touch (e.g. electrical sensitivity), etc. 2.
People experiencing sensory overload may become more and
more dependent and focused on their senses and instincts, and less
and less dependent on their deductive reasoning ability. 3.
Difficulties in deductive reasoning lead to difficulties in
making decisions. People become more
neurotic and more open to suggestion, leading to additional computer use,
additional sensory overload, and additional difficulties with deductive
reasoning. Additional Information: Internet Addiction is Caused by Hypovolemia (Low Blood Volume) Internet addiction is caused by hypovolemia (low blood volume). ·
People
with hypovolemia experience light-headedness
because of a lack of cerebral blood flow. ·
People
with hypovolemia try to increase their cerebral
blood flow, and become more focused, by increasing their blood pressure. This
is done by engaging in self-stimulatory activities, such as playing exciting
computer games, which can cause the brain to produce more adrenaline. ·
"When fluid levels
drop, the brain produces more adrenaline so ·
The heart has to pump
more blood to compensate for this." Our FM/CFIDS World: Are Electrolyte Drinks for You? ·
Along with
more adrenaline, self-stimulatory activities cause stress. ·
This
increased stress, possibly accompanied by other stress causing conditions
such as hyperacusis or problems with laterality,
exacerbates dehydration. ·
Dehydration
exacerbates hypovolemia, and this cycle continues. Internet Addiction is Caused by a Desire to Increase Arousal Internet addiction is
caused by a desire to increase arousal. Definition of Arousal "arousal
(arous·al) ([schwa]-rou˘z[schwa]l) 1. a state of responsiveness to sensory stimulation or
excitability." Dorlands Medical Dictionary: arousal Desire to Increase
Arousal Low arousal leads to a
desire to increase arousal. Low Arousal Low Arousal may be
caused conditions such as: ·
fatigue, illness, prolonged close-up work, convergence
insufficiency, etc. Conditions
associated with fatigue may be caused by: ·
anxiety, accommodative insufficiency, muscle tension, a decrease
in hemispheric communication, etc. An Increase in Arousal A person's arousal may
be increased by participating in activities which involve vigilance. Activities which
Involve Vigilence Some examples of
computer activities which involve vigilance may include playing computer
games, shopping, or waiting for the computer, or another user, to respond to
a user's request. "When information
is familiar to the organism it is immediately meaningful and its recognized
and acted upon without effort expended to classify or understand it.
The response pattern in this case is mainly motor (action) with little need
for the autonomic changes which an especially novel environment stimulates
through the arousal system. If the
information is not familiar and is confusing, threatening,
or overwhelming to the organism, a different brain process is engaged
which includes arousal, frontal organization and vigilance(the
information will be processed until it is understood)." "…The eye movement
patterns characteristic of poor vision are similar to those of experimental
subjects who are involved in situations of visual overload. Mackworth (1976) used sophisticated eye movement
measuring devices to record the visual characteristics of subjects in visual
tasks at various levels of difficulty. He described [ascribed?] the
adjustments made by the visual motor system to conditions of visual overload.
The major adjustment was seen to be a narrowing of the size of the useful
field of view. This was true not only during the active search of too much
material in too short a time, but was also true during tasks requiring vigilance,
or waiting for a visual stimulus event to occur." In this state of
vigilance a person's arousal, and SMR brainwaves, improves, while their mobility
decreases. This decrease in mobility is referred to below as 'immobility' "[making
a conscious effort to see clearly] is commonly accompanied by some degree of immobility
of the eyes and body. The rate of blinking decreases; breathing
becomes shallower and may, for a while, even stop. The muscles of the
head, neck, shoulders, and perhaps other parts of the body too, may be
unnaturally tensed, and all the time the eyes are fixed with increasing
intentness on their target. As the eyes become fixed so does the attention,
which only encourages the eyes to become yet more fixed, with a resulting
impairment of both vision and perception.(P. 59)" Book: Barnes,
Jonathan. Improve Your Eyesight: A Guide to the Bates Method for Better
Eyesight without Glasses. Souvenir Press, 1999. "The frontal
system includes the frontal cortex as well as the amygdala
and the reticular system of the hypothalamus and brain stem (Pribram, 1971). This frontal system is intimately related
to the arousal-orienting response reactions of the organism. When an animal
is alerted by a novel situation the frontal system is engaged and the
visceral-autonomic centers in the core brain are stimulated. Changes occur
in breathing, heart rate, blood flow, pupil size increase, skin resistance,
etc., and the motor system orients (turns towards the action and then
freezes). There are also changes to electroencephalographic measurements;
the brain wave rhythm increases in frequency and becomes desynchronized.
If the stimulus is unusually strong, surprising, or appears especially
dangerous, the reactions of fight or flight take place." Effects of Prolonged Vigilence A prolonged state of vigilence, while staring at a computer screen, leads to
fatigue and low arousal. The attempt to increase
arousal causes a decrease in arousal, over time, in a cycle of diminishing
returns. "He also found the
size of movements was reduced and become more stereotyped; despite the
decrease in useful field of view, the subject tried to include more
stimuli in each fixation. The visual fixation time was lengthened to
account for the increased number of items encompassed in a single fixation
indicating increased cognitive difficulty processing complex visual
material. Finally, there was a breakdown or failure of adjustment to
increasing complexity under visual overload." Bates Method Exercises Increase Hemispheric Communication Theory Some of the Bates Method exercises
are similar to forms of therapy such as Dual-Brain psychology, Open
Focus therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
therapy. The effect of Open
Focus therapy is similar to the Bates exercise known as palming. Open Focus therapy was
created by Dr. Les Fehmi. Dr. Fehmi
discovered that by palming he could cause his brain to produce synchronous alpha
waves, and it was a powerful relaxation technique. It also increases
hemispheric communication. EMDR According to Dr.
Shapiro, she discovered EMDR while she was walking to her car one night. At
the time, she was emotionally distressed. For some reason, she began to look
quickly back and forth at two lights in the parking lot. She realized that
this action had the effect of relieving her distress. EMDR also increases
hemispheric communication. I believe its effect is similar to Bates' sunning
and swinging exercises. However, EMDR is
controversial. Some believe that Dr. Shapiro's explanation of why EMDR works
is highly theoretical. Dual-Brain psychology may provide a better explanation
for EMDR. Dual-Brain Psychology Dual-Brain psychology
was created by Dr. Fredric Schiffer. Dr. Schiffer discovered that activity in one hemisphere of
the brain can be increased or decreased by selectively blocking a person's
visual field. Changes in brain
activity occur because of how the sheets of the retinas are connected to the
left and right hemispheres of the brain. By selectively blocking parts of the
retinas, hemispheric activity can be altered. More information about
these topics can be found at: Research Topics: Integration Internet Addiction is Caused by Activities which Constantly
Require Central Vision
More information about central
vision can be found in the section: Vision Suggestions: Binocular Functions: Conscious and
Subconscious Vision |