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THE NEXT TIME YOU UPLOAD A PICTURE ON FACEBOOK, OR FLIRT WITH A STRANGER ONLINE, TAKE A SECOND TO THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR MOUSE CLICKS. AS NEW RESEARCH REVEALS WE’RE BECOMING A NATION OF INTERNET ADDICTS, WE EXPOSE THE DANGERS OF GETTING CAUGHT IN THE NET

 

When Laura Pye posted pictures of herself and a couple of friends messing around in their underwear, on Facebook, she had no idea they were about to ruin everything she had worked hard to achieve.

At just 19, Laura, from Henley, Oxfordshire, is one of the youngest town councillors in the country.

She’s seen as the voice of youth in her community and like millions of other young women, thinks nothing of swapping gossip and pictures on social networking sites.

But when those photos of Laura larking around with her friends were copied from her Facebook page and published in a national newspaper, her fellow councillors didn’t see the funny side.

“I didn’t think twice before posting the pictures. Why should I?” Laura says.

“I’m a normal 19 year old – I have a few drinks with my girlfriends just like anyone else.

"But I almost ruined my reputation by having those photos on the site.”

Like many women, Laura was so comfortable in cyberspace she didn’t foresee any negative consequences when she uploaded her intimate pictures.

But with people spending so much more of their time browsing the internet, experts say cases like Laura’s will only become more common.

Studies show UK surfers spend a massive 12 hours a week on social networking sites.

A report in the American Journal of Psychiatry also found many under-16s are online for more than 20 hours a week, concluding that internet addiction should be regarded as a compulsive mental disorder.

Psychology and communications professor Pamela Briggs explains the phenomenon: “Social networking sites in particular are a way in which we can take total control of how we portray ourselves to the outside world.”

Some surfers have unknowingly done themselves out of a job by not taking into account that one in five employers use networking sites to check up on applicants.

A quarter decided not to hire someone because of what they found online.

But it’s not just your job prospects that could be harmed by becoming lost in cyberspace.

Many women say they enjoy a livelier social life online than they do in real life.

Single Sara, 27, is a case in point.

With the credit crunch meaning she has little money for going out, she spends all her time on Second Life.

The web’s biggest virtual world, with 4.6million players, it allows users to live out their fantasies through an ‘avatar’ – a cartoon figure who represents them, and whose online adventures they direct from their keyboard.

Sara, who works in a nail bar, says: “All I see is my flat, my work, my car and a handful of clients.

But as Magenta – my avatar in Second Life – I meet millions of amazing people from all over the world, visit new places and even change my appearance when I get bored – the world’s my oyster.”

But is it, ask the experts.

Considering the ‘men’ she meets could be just about anyone – male or female, young or old – the chances of Sara finding someone she can form a real-life relationship with are virtually nil, and she’s allowing herself to become dangerously isolated from the outside world.

Ophelia is the avatar of a married British woman who’s currently enjoying a steamy online affair with a character called Reuben.

Directing their avatars to virtual bars, they can flirt, type suggestive messages and even order their pseudo-selves to have sex.

Ophelia’s adamant that what happens in Second Life has no bearing on her real life.

“My avatar isn’t me,” she insists.

“She doesn’t even look like me, so I don’t know how this can be called an affair.

"Just because I spend 2-3 hours a night talking to Reuben doesn’t mean I’m an internet addict, or an adulteress.”

Experts in China and South Korea who run state-funded internet addiction boot camps, complete with electric shock therapy, are unlikely to agree.

Risking your relationship or job for the sake of your virtual life is the first sign your surfing has got out of control.

Perhaps if Laura Pye had known that, she might not have been quite so quick to post her provocative pictures online.

 

WE CHALLENGE ANNA HART TO IMMERSE HERSELF IN CYBERSPACE TO SEE THE EFFECT VIRTUAL LIFE HAS ON HER REAL ONE. CLICK HERE TO READ HER SHOCKING EXPERIENCE

 

Do you think twice about putting certain photos on Facebook? Have you landed yourself in trouble on the internet? Maybe you have an online persona too? Or a second life on the web? Do you think it effects your real life? Have you ever risked a job or a relationship because of the internet?

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION NOW!

 

Photography: Lancton, John Lawrence; Illustration: Jimi Crayon; Hair & Make-Up: Sara Bowden, Emily Lawrence