Addiction is always bad, no matter what you are addicted to; whether it is something as dangerous as drugs or something like watching television, addiction can lead to a lot of issues. It can cause health issues and may also interfere with your day-to-day life. Different people are addicted to different things. But there is also a proportion of the general population who is addicted to the darknet. Accessing the dark web may not seem like an addictive activity. But there are certain things associated with the dark web that people can get addicted to.
Why Do People Get Addicted To The Dark Web?
There are several reasons that people can get addicted to using the dark web. Let’s take a look at a few major reasons.
Continuous Curiosity about the Forbidden Content
One of the biggest draws of the dark web for people especially teenagers is the access it seemingly provides to forbidden knowledge and taboo content. At an age where exploring boundaries and engaging in restricted activities holds immense attractiveness, the dark web can feel like a portal into the unknown.
The promise of unfiltered information across a wide range of illicit topics, from illegal pornography to exploitative red rooms, can pique a teen’s sense of curiosity to problematic extremes. What’s more, the dark web allows users to delve into disturbing ideological material surrounding hate groups that are typically inaccessible or blocked on mainstream internet spaces. For some curious adolescents, this can quickly devolve into a compulsive obsession with increasingly shocking and dangerous content.
Addiction to Activities Offered on the Dark Web like Drugs
While the dark web itself may not be inherently addictive, it enables access to activities and content that can absolutely result in some form of addiction. One obvious example is the vast illegal drug markets that operate on dark web links. A person struggling with substance abuse issues may become dependent on these sites as reliable sources for their drug of choice. And because of this, they might have to visit the dark web again and again.
Similarly, some get hooked on the endless streams of explicit pornographic content hosted on various dark web porn sites. The anonymity of being able to troll and cyberbullying can also become an obsession.
The Addiction to Committing Crimes
A small group of people in this world suffer from kleptomania where you have an urge to steal things that you don’t even need. It is an urge that comes from within the person and sometimes they are not in control of it. In the same way, people can feel the urge to carry out crimes repeatedly and when they have access to a platform like the darknet it becomes easier for them to act on their urges.
With minimal risk of being traced, the temptation to engage in criminal actions like ransomware attacks. And network infiltration can gradually develop into a compulsive need to keep hacking and stealing. People who have a high lifestyle but don’t have the money to maintain it might get addicted to stealing through the dark web. It is easier for them to get away with stealing money through the dark web. And once they get away with it, they would feel unstoppable and they would want to try it again and again as it would be easy money for them.
Addiction to Conspiracy Theories
If you have ever seen a conspiracy theorist character in Hollywood movies then you would know that such characters are usually portrayed as someone who is not thinking straight or someone who is thought to have mental difficulties. In some cases, it is just Hollywood taking liberties with the character. But in reality, there are many people who get so addicted to conspiracy theorists that they turn into those characters. Their addiction to conspiracy theories has a negative effect on their minds.
This can cause them to regularly go on dark web forums and talk about conspiracy theories and exchange information about the respective conspiracy theories. A recent example can be about COVID vaccines. There was a lot of misinformation about COVID vaccines on the dark web and once people got a different view on the vaccines they regularly looked for information on the dark web to strengthen their points and prove their argument. The dark web contains a lot of misinformation that can be dangerous.
Disconnected from real-world information, these misinformation dark web environments boost the growth of paranoia, distrust in institutions, and descent into belief systems in the minds of people. Once you get hooked on any of these conspiracies breaking free from the compulsive drive to delve deeper into their fallacious depths can be very challenging.
The Addiction of Seeking Thrill of Dark Web
If you have an adventurous person in your life then you would have seen them go on regular adventures, take risks, and just live a daring life. This is because such people love that adrenaline rush they love the thrill of adventure. In the same way, people visit the darknet for the thrill of it. One cannot ignore the thrill factor and adrenaline rush that can come from tapping into the darknet’s mystique. The very act of accessing this illicit dimension of the internet through specialized tools can build an intoxicating sense of rebelliousness. The fact that there is no accountability on the darknet makes people get involved in deeper and deeper exploration of the darknet which is an addictive prospect for some thrill-seeking people.
What Are Some Of The Problems You Will Face If You Get Addicted To The Dark Web?
So as mentioned above there can be different reasons why people become addicted to the darknet. But whatever the reason, the consequences of becoming addicted to the darknet can be very bad. Let’s take a look at some of the problems you will face if you become addicted to the dark web.
Exposure to Extremely Illegal, Disturbing, and Abusive Content
The dark web is a platform for some of the most horrifically illegal content imaginable, from sites peddling exploitative child abuse material to extremely graphic and disturbing videos depicting violence, torture, and even death. Immersing oneself in these immoral dark web links can have damaging psychological impacts, contributing to desensitization, trauma, and the normalization of utterly unconscionable acts. The disturbing imagery and subject matter may induce PTSD-like symptoms, emotional detachment, and feelings of guilt or shame from exposure. Continual exposure to this unethical content can damage the sense of basic human decency in a person.
Risk of Computer Being Infected With Malware or Viruses
Every time you visit the dark web you are exposing yourself to cyber criminals who deal in malware and viruses. The dark web’s anonymity provides perfect cover for criminal hackers to infect victims who stray onto compromised sites or portals. Browsing or downloading anything from these shady dark web links potentially opens the door to ransomware attacks. Or complete remote takeover and data theft. The largely lawless environment can even render even the most basic antivirus protections useless against the sophisticated malware that is found on the dark web. Once the hackers get control of your device, they can not only corrupt your device. But they may get hold of your personal information which can be used for identity theft and for blackmailing you.
Increased Likelihood of Cyber Bullying or Online Harassment
There are a lot of forums on the dark web where discussions about a range of different topics happen every day. You have to be very careful when you enter these forums. The level of anonymity that is found on the dark web serves as a ground for the cruelest and most toxic forms of cyberbullying and harassment. Freed from any risk of accountability or consequences, bad actors are empowered to engage in prolonged targeted campaigns of vicious stalking, hate speech, and psychological abuse against vulnerable individuals. The anonymity strips away the inhibitions preventing such behavior in the real world. Teenagers naively exploring these spaces may inadvertently make themselves targets for merciless online bullying.
Access to Dangerous Individuals and Criminal Networks on the Dark Web
Beyond the illicit content, one of the dark web’s most alarming threats is the look it provides into the operations. And social networks of violent criminal enterprises and extremist groups. On the dark web, there are many criminals like human traffickers, drug cartels, terrorists, and hitmen for hire. And some of the most dangerous and morally corrupt people in society. Simply by accessing certain dark websites and forums, naive users can inadvertently expose themselves to predatory individuals aligned with these illegal activities. Who may then attempt to recruit, groom, or even directly threaten them?
Temptation towards Illegal Activities like Hacking
Given its unmoderated nature, the dark web is filled with resources. And impulses that can lure individuals into committing outright illegal cyber activities. With hacking communities openly convening, exchanging code, and detailing cyber-attack methods. The temptation for bored teenagers to try their hands at infiltrating network systems can be overwhelming. Sparked initially by curiosity. This can evolve into a compulsive habit of criminal hacking fueled by the thrills and lack of accountability.
Normalization of Unethical and Illegal Behavior
As a sort of parallel internet disconnected from mainstream ethics and the rule of law, prolonged use of the darknet results in the normalization of unethical, dangerous, and illegal behaviors. With no governance, darknet users create self-perpetuating cycles that reinforce immoral activities. Hate speech becomes prevalent, hacking is highlighted as a prized skill, and drug use is flaunted. Which can subtly shape the mentality to accept these horrific things. For psychologically vulnerable people, this slow ethical erosion becomes all the more dangerous. As they lack the context and foundations to resist being dragged into all this.
Development of the Wrong Worldview Based On Misinformation
While anonymity can provide a free speech platform for truthful reporting, the darknet is also overrun with misinformation, conspiracy theories, and extremist doctrines. Its un-moderated nature insulates users from concrete facts, resulting in more ludicrous thoughts and paranoia, away from the objective truth. Once indoctrinated into these belief systems, developing an accurate grasp of reality becomes increasingly difficult. This deranged misinformation running rampant across the dark net holds the alarming capacity to thoroughly corrupt the worldview of people. It can also mess with their moral compasses with a form of brainwashing by corrosive lies and fringe propaganda.
Development of Unhealthy Curiosity about Illicit Topics
What initially begins as curiosity about taboo or illicit subject matter on the darknet can develop into an obsession. An unhealthy fascination that clouds judgment. As users dive deeper into these deep corners of the internet, their interests turn darker. They get fixated on extreme content and may even participate in unethical activities. If this is left unchecked it can result in the person turning to criminal activities even away from the darknet.
Psychological Issues like Desensitization or Trauma
Prolonged exposure to the darknet can inflict immense psychological damage and a person may become desensitized for violence. When you look at graphic content on a regular basis it can make you emotionally numb. There are also legitimate risks of developing PTSD or trauma-induced conditions from exposure to profoundly disturbing content like recordings of assaults or torture.
Financial Losses from Scams, Fraud, or Extortion
The anonymity and lack of accountability on the darknet provide an ideal ground for fraudsters and cybercriminals to proliferate all manners of scams designed to dupe and extort money from victims. From phishing schemes impersonating credible sources to demand ransoms, to sophisticated investment frauds playing on greed, to data-harvesting techniques gathering financial information for identity theft; the varieties of traps and bad things waiting to happen are endless. Those who routinely visit the darknet are continuously at risk of falling prey to such rackets. Suffering considerable monetary losses that may compound as they get deeper and deeper into the darknet.
Potential Legal Consequences If Caught Accessing Illicit Content on the Dark Web
One should always remember that the darknet does provide anonymity. But it doesn’t make you invincible, you are not as secure as you would like to think. If you are not careful your vulnerabilities can be preyed on. There are law enforcement authorities on the darknet as well who may be trying to catch darknet users. So if you stumble across any of them you might get into legal trouble. Even if you haven’t done anything wrong. Just accessing the darknet isn’t illegal. But it can surely make you suspicious in the eyes of law enforcement authorities.
Given the prevalence of exploitative videos and media, it’s possible to accidentally view content like child abuse imagery. That constitutes felony charges for possession in many countries regardless of intent. Similarly, merely visiting certain sites engaged in criminal activities like hiring hitmen or selling illicit arms could theoretically expose an individual’s identity, resulting in accomplice liability and prosecution. Any involvement in hacking networks can result in unforgiving punishments under cyber laws.
How Can You Stop Yourself From Becoming Addicted To The Dark Web?
One of the first things you have to do to not become addicted to the dark web is to exercise self-control. You have to understand the risks associated with accessing the dark web. Dark web addiction comes with a lot of health and legal risks which everyone should know. Even if you feel an urge to check out the dark web try to think of the consequences and it might change your mind.
Try to develop healthier habits and interests that would bring more productivity in your life. Not to mention it would help you stay out of trouble. Many people visit the dark web out of curiosity not knowing that all addictions start small and then they gradually increase. If you are curious about what happens on the dark web then there is a lot of information available on the surface web that can satisfy your curiosity.
Final Words
Any type of addiction that one suffers from, can lead to a lot of negativity in the person’s life. When you are addicted to something you get your priorities mixed up. Which means that you ignore the important things in life and only focus on your addiction. Dark web addiction is slightly different from other addictions as people aren’t usually just addicted to accessing the dark web. But to the different things that the dark web offers. So if someone is addicted to drugs or porn then they might find themselves accessing the dark web again and again.
This addiction can not only cause health issues. But can also result in serious legal trouble. It can totally negatively rewrite your brain. So it is always best to stay away from the dark web entirely. You should try your best to not get addicted to anything available on the dark web. Even a little exposure can lead to an addiction. Which can ruin your life and cause a number of different problems for you.