Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Web addiction, does it exist?

Today in class we discussed whether or not web addiction exists. It appears that our generation, more than any other, believes that web addiction does exist. we seem to use this "web addiction"as a scapegoat for the amount of time we spend on the internet. The United States has the largest online population and it has become a staple in our society.

In our reading this week, we read an article by John Bishop called Does Internet Addiction Exist?. In this article he explains why this isn't an legitimate disorder. Bishop says that the internet is a environment, a community in which people, artefacts, and structures exist. So it is impossible for someone to be addicted to an environment. Bishop says this is like, "Saying that people can be addicted to the internet is like saying people can be addicted to the real world." This means that you can't be addicted to an environment but aspects of the environment. For example, in the real world you could be addicted to casinos or gambling. On the internet you could be addicted to bidding on Ebay but you can't be addicted to the internet itself. This leads to the question, if there is no such thing as internet addiction then why do sometimes people suffer withdrawal symptoms like convulsions when the internet is removed? Bishop believes that these symptoms of withdrawals occur because they are not longer to live out their social desires. For instance, if you live out your desires in a chat room and then your internet is taken away you would suffer withdrawals because you aren't able to act out those desires not because you are addicted to the Internet.

Although, the jury is still out on Internet Addiction Disorder there are some people and communities that truly believe this is a serious issue. Now there are a couple of clinics and treatment centers that aim to help people who are "addicted to the internet". The first officially licensed clinic is in Beijing. China has the second largest online population, 94 million (2nd to the United States), and they find that IAD is a crippling their society. Although the internet is used regularly for business and education, the use of the internet for different reasons has spiraled out of control. Authorities have even had to step in to shut down many illegally operated internet cafes. Other psychologists and psychiatrists have taken note of the widespread dependence on the internet in the US and now there are clinics and doctors who specialize in this phenomena.

I don't think that it is so much an addiction to the internet but more of a reliance on technology. It seems that we are so dependent on the internet to get information, directions, music, etc that we forget how to function without it. So... what are your thoughts? Do you think that web addiction is a legitimate disorder? Could someone actually suffer withdrawal symptoms from lack of internet? Most of all, do you think that these treatment programs and treatments are actually helping others from coping with their addiction to the internet?

17 comments:

  1. Kristine, I agree. I don’t believe there is such a disorder, rather just an obsession that in a way our society has fostered and encouraged the use of the internet. The ever-increasing demands for use of the computer and the internet in our everyday lives is what spurred the problem. I think that as a society, our reliance on this technology has gotten to a point where it’s negatively affecting our society and has ultimately become a counterproductive tool in some rights. Our ability to give full attention to learning has even been compromised. I remember back in high school, we weren’t allowed to type our notes on computers. Now, I watch countless people in all of my classes “play around” on their computer, while stopping briefly to pay attention long enough to copy down some notes. I’m definitely guilty of this too; it’s too easy not to be tempted when it is right at your finger tips.
    I think the whole concept of withdrawal symptoms is ridiculous. Anyone that is so connected to the internet that they experience convulsions is clear out of touch with reality. I find it hard to believe that the internet is far more appealing than interacting with real people. As far as the treatment plans created to help this “disorder,” I find it sad that they are even in existence. I wish there was a way to reverse the obsession, but with the constant invention of new software, games, and branches of the internet, I don’t see the choices and habits of the internet-crazed population changing for the better any time soon.

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  2. I don't necessarily think that "web addiction" should be classified as a real disorder, as I do not think it can compare to more serious substance dependence disorders. However, I think that the overuse of the Internet is still a major problem. I know that my laptop must be put away if I am to be productive. Otherwise, I will be checking up on things every fifteen minutes and not get nearly the amount of work done that I would otherwise. If it becomes a real problem for an individual, to the point where they are completely unproductive, I don't see any issue with sending them to a treatment center. I don't think whether or not we classify it as a "disorder" is of much importance.

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  3. This discussion reminds me of what we discussed in class about gaming addiction. I must say that I quite agree that gaming addiction is most like addiction to gambling.

    Unlike substance abuse, there is no external chemical that enters your system to cause a physiological change. There is, however, the dopamine (that was also mentioned in class) produced by your body when you have feelings of satisfaction that come with your 'reward' of winning or learning. I found two interesting articles about that here:

    http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro05/web1/isiddiqui.html

    http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v4/n5/full/nrn1127.html

    But when you use the internet, is there any form of 'reward' that comes with using it? Or is it just the feeling of satisfaction that potentially triggers the release of dopamine as well? Perhaps that could account for this 'internet addiction'. It's a hard case to make though, since the activities on the internet aren't exactly rewarding or satisfying in an explicit or direct manner. What do the rest of y'all think?

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  4. I have trouble buying into the idea of an internet disorder as well. I agree with Carrie that it is more akin to an obsession though if the obsession is serious enough the person might need some help to get over it. When people talk about withdrawal systems, I really do think that it is just because the person got used to doing something and they cannot do it anymore so it makes them anxious. Not being able to connect at will to whatever activities they are taking part in on the web can make people feel anxious but if they are stimulated in another way, I think that they can get over it. There are a lot of people who were “addicted” to different things on the internet but where able to stop without treatment/rehab and I don’t think that would be the case if it was really a disorder. You’d think that there would be more instances of people having to go to rehab or talk to a psychologist to help them get over the internet. I don’t think that the internet can act as a replacement for human interaction really either since a lot of the people that you do hear about in the few news reports on this issue are addicted to activities on the internet that involve interaction with other people, it is just that they are interacting through computers. I know it isn’t the same as face to face but I still think that the reason why some people become so obsessed with computers is because it can give them this interaction straight from their living room with little effort on their part. The internet just makes everything so easy, from just entertaining yourself, to meeting people with similar interests, to finding information and because of the convenience of the computer people are starting to use it as the main way to do these things. By taking away people’s computer, it kind of sends a shock to them because know they have to do these things the old way which takes a little more effort.

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  5. I agree that for most, internet addiction is nothing more than a reliance on the technology that has become so widespread, but for some I do believe the computer has become an addiction. I called out my sister in class... I'm going to continue to do it here... I'm sure she'd love to know I'm outing her. My family sees my sister and her husband at Thanksgiving or Christmas. During that time the two of them are plugged into WOW and barely socialize with anyone but their "friends" planning raids and improving their characters... whatever they're officially called. I'm worried that if they have kids they're going to be those parents we mentioned in class who neglected feeding their kids because of constantly playing computer games. She already forgets to eat herself. I know I'm being a little over the top, but I think that many won't see computer addition as a disorder until they live with someone and see how much of their life they have essentially wasted. Thankfully her "friends" on WOW recently told her how bad her new character is, so she's boycotting them. I'm hoping the boycott continues.

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  6. I am an information science major and my classmates and I are attached to our computers at all times. We rely on our computers for all of our work and a good deal of our recreation as well. In one of my classes my teacher decided to re-enact an experiment, but had never been performed on a our specific cohort. The basis of the experiment was to attempt to have us sit through an entire class while he possessed our computers and cell phones and see how attached to that technology and access we truly felt.

    Between my cell phone and my computer I have a great deal of my personality poured into making those devices an extension of me. Because they were so close, but in an environment I didn't feel entirely comfortable with I began to focus more on them than the task at hand. I, as many of my class mates did, felt uneasy. At the end he asked us questions like if you were leaving for class, but couldn't find your cell phone would you continue to search for it, or leave it. Many said skip class to search for it, I on many occasions have left it but returned to the task immediately when I got home. So I must ask are these tendencies addictive (many smokers describe their feelings as the same i.e. sitting through class without a computer is to sitting through coffee without a cigarette)? And how would you answer these questions/react to the experiment?

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  7. I disagree with the argument that Internet Addiction is not a clinical disorder. I understand the argument made by Bishop where he says that you may be addicted to certain parts of the internet but not the internet itself. In response to this I say that being addicted to certain parts of the internet all falls under the category of Internet Addiction Disorder. If someone is addicted to ebay shopping then I think this falls under IAD, because without the internet this addiction wouldn't exist. The same goes for internet chatting, if you are addicted to this then you are addicted to the internet per se, because once again you rely on the internet. Maybe the reason we don't recognize IAD as true disorder is because we don't fully understand it. Since the internet is so vast, wouldn't IAD be equally vast requiring a vast understanding to properly deal with it. Although this may never happen it may be important to try.

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  8. It seems to me that people who become dependent or obsessed to some activity on the Internet already have a disorder, possibly OCD. I think that these types of people tend to seek activities that result give in a release of dopamine, or any other feel good NT. Since this activity is a more socially acceptable form of dopamine release than those associated with addiction such as drugs, people may find it hard to remain open-minded when considering whether or not it is an addiction. First, addiction on Dictionary.com is defined as “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma”. Determining whether this activity qualifies, as an addiction would depend on what someone considers severe trauma, and I guess whether the definition qualifies as a legitimate one. On the other hand,
    Compulsion on dictionary.com is defined as “a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, esp. one that is irrational or contrary to one's will”. I believe that an Internet activity may more easily be considered a compulsion rather than an addiction by most. Regardless what someone considers the Internet or the activity on it that a person has become dependent on, if it is causing them distress then it needs to be treated. If categorizing the Internet as an addiction gets people the treatment they need, then maybe it should be considered an addiction. Furthermore, if gambling is an addiction off-line than it is an addiction on-line, and if playing an on-line game is addictive then I would think that playing a off-line game would also be addictive. So if someone finds himself or herself unable to stop checking email, to the point of distress, then I would think there would be someone having similar problems with real-life mail checking. Since mail has been around much longer than the Internet, and it has never been, as far as I know, considered an addiction I would consider the Internet, excluding gambling and games similar to gambling, a compulsion. Since psychology is not an exact science and because there is such a fine line between what is considered addiction and what is considered compulsion, which category the Internet falls under is pretty impossible to determine.

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  9. A person can be addicted to anything, because too much of anything can be bad. I agree that our society has become too dependent on technology to make our lives easier and more enjoyable; however, in some instances I think people are in fact addicted. If a person sacrifices other things in their life to pursue something, then it is in fact an addiction. Some people completely check out of their real lives and only have contact with other people through the Internet. Majority of people have become dependent on the Internet for information and entertainment purposes--because it’s always there. A 24-hour information and entertainment haven where you can basically access what you want whenever you want it. This dependence becomes an addiction when people don’t go about their daily lives normally, but instead become fixated on the Internet. This is when I think people actually need help to get over their addiction through treatment programs. If web addiction and other additions such as drug addictions have similar symptoms, then they could have similar withdrawal symptoms. It makes sense that every addiction has emotional and mental withdrawal symptoms, but I don’t think I know enough about web addiction to know if every person goes through a physical withdrawal.

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  10. I, myself agree with the limited few on here who believe that one can be "addicted" to the internet. By definition, addiction is being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is PSYCHOLOGICALLY or physically habit-forming. Sometimes we become so psychologically dependent on the internet that we don't think we would be able to survive without it. Mapquest!? Google!? EJournals!? oh NO! how could we ever survive!? In this sense, being addicted to the internet is a serious disorder in my opinion. It affects our way of living and we constantly rely on it. So it was not hard at all for me to believe that people suffer from withdraw symptoms. In my personal experience as someone said above, to be productive I too have to shut down my laptop. This in itself may be a mild case of an IAD. lol

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  11. I agree with the article. I do not think web addiction exists. I do think that people become addicted to different aspects, such as online shopping, or playing video games online. I use the Internet daily, I check the weather, check my email, get on Facebook, check Blackboard for homework, etc. The Internet is a necessity in today's age, if you do not have a computer it is extremely difficult to communicate or find access to things with the same ease. The internet does affect my life, and when I was in Argentina we had several Internet outages. We were all in a panic because we needed to check our email and to be able to do research for our projects, some would say that is IAD. I think it was our main way of finding information and keeping in touch with the outside world, so we were upset when that was taken away.

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  12. The argument that because the internet is an environment, it is impossible to be addicted to it is merely a game of semantics. Of course "the internet" is not something one can be addicted to. Saying that someone has an "internet addiction" is merely saying that they are addicted to some activity or activities on the internet. As for whether that is an addiction, as long as a physiological dependency on internet activities can be formed, it qualifies (for me) as an addiction, even if there are no "chemicals" in "the internet" that make it inherently addictive.

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  13. It is more likely that people become addicted to certain aspects of the internet, rather than the internet itself. I have heard stories of people chatting on AIM for 12+ hours or playing warcraft unceasingly [except for naps/bathroom breaks]. These could be classified as addictions but as was suggested in the Bishop article, these are certain applications of the internet, not the internet itself. When I leave the realm of internet connectivity, it does feel unsettling but I don't experience physiological changes or extreme discomfort. Like someone said earlier, it would be more likely to classify these conditions as addictions to technology before an addiction to the internet. It is important to be stringent with the proper wording of addictions, especially when laws and medical treatment become part of the equation.

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  14. Admittedly not a medical professional I don't feel like I can judge whether or not someone's internet browsing behavior constitutes an addiction, or any lesser degree of compulsion. No matter the correct clinical term, I think that the very fact some people can have such outrageous reactions when the internet is taken away shows that something in their perception of what is reasonable is amiss. While this behavior may be caused by some other, underlying and preexisting condition I think that such episodes show some people really do feel dependent on the internet. Just because it may be only people who are predisposed to compulsive or obsessive behaviors who react like this doesn't mean that the internet hasn't shown its potential to manifest itself in addictive behaviors.

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  15. I, too, do not believe that this is a true disorder, but I think that one can lose themselves in the internet very easily. Time can pass very quick whenever we get involved with something that is going on online. I have been involved with a computer game or studying online before so intensely that two hours will go by without me even knowing where they went. This is definitely not good when it comes to being responsible for other things and letting those responsibilities go by the wayside. This is where using the internet for ANY purpose moves to the unhealthy level.

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  16. As others have said, I think of it not so much as internet addiction per say but rather internet reliance. I'm on my computer nearly all the time and use the internet a majority of that time. I've been online since I was... 11 years old? Fourth/Fifth grade maybe? If anyone should have an internet addiction, I think I'd be at the top of the list. But I've gone somewhat extended periods of time without the internet and haven't noticed withdrawal in the sense one associates with quitting something cold turkey. I'm pretty sure there's been an occasional snappy comment from irritation at not having access to the internet on my part, but generally I'm with family and we'll play games or chat and I soon forget that I'm without my most used technological innovation. I think we just get so used to it and we rely on it so much, that when we don't have it, we don't know what to do. Wait, actually go to a library/look in an encyclopedia instead of search for the answer online? What a novel concept! But I digress. I do think the internet can become a very time/life consuming thing, but I don't think I'd be so quick to attach 'addiction' to it. Then again, this could just be me not wanting to put myself under that label. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what research says in the future.

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  17. I generally agree with your post, Kristine. When I think of an addiction, I think of a condition in which the body has become physically dependent on a substance, such as caffeine or alcohol. That is not to say, though, that one cannot become psychologically dependent on a piece of technology, such as a game, or the Internet.

    The centers for Internet-dependents do not exist unnecessarily. Users who become so consumed in their game or Internet activity can lose real-world functionality, ultimately leading to the need for rehabilitation. It make sense that these people experience depression and other psychological disorders.

    So, I do not believe in the existence of an Internet addiction, but I am a firm believer in Internet dependencies and the need for available treatment.

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