A snazzy restaurant. Great food. Lively conversation. Then, mid-sentence, you catch him steal a quick glance at his iPhone. Of course you're annoyed, what is he doing on facebook right now when he could be talking to you? What's so great about social networking anyway? And then you might think, hey, for some the internet really is an addiction.
While not being ruled as a technical psychological disorder as yet as said by Burnsten and Dombeck (2004), scientists are arguing whether or not to make internet addiction as such. Some psychologists, notably Kimberly Young, Ph.D and David Greenfield, Ph.D argue that internet addiction is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with. Others, John Grohol Psy.D, amongst others believe that it is neither an addiction nor a specific disorder and shouldn't be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), where all mental disorders are listed for future reference and general knowledge (APA 2000 and Grohol 2005). Some psychologists believe that there is nothing to worry about. There have however been some startling cases popping up where internet addiction has caused detrimental effects to individuals and their families that should be made note of and perhaps should lead scientists in another direction. After all, with the way society and its love of cyberspace is going, could the internet be classed as an "addictive agent" too?
Addiction, as said by Elizabeth Henderson in her book "Understanding Addiction" (2000) is said to be similar to the 'dependence' definition in the DSM-IV, in respect that due to the substance (this substance being the internet and its content) there is change in the way the brain operates. It is also confirmed by the development of tolerance and withdraw symptoms when going without the substance the victim craves, and a loss of control when going without what they desire for too long.
Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), according to its lead expert Dr. Kimberly Young, who has also ironically created the website netaddiction.com, has placed internet addiction under a certain criteria. Those who feel that they meet the majority of these criteria are likely to suffer from an addiction of the cyberspace kind:
1. Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think about previous online activity or anticipate next online session)?
2. Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?
3. Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop Internet use?
4. Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use?
5. Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
6. Have you jeopardised or risked the loss of significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet?
7. Have you lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet?
8. Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?
However, while these guidelines seem to be somewhat agreed upon by those who agree that there is such a thing as internet addiction, these criteria have not yet unanimously been voted as such and cannot be outlined as true criteria. For this essay however, they will be ruled as such.
One such example of internet addiction that has met the criteria outlined by Dr. Young was the story of Floridan Pam Albridge in 1997. The Umatilla woman apparently grew so addicted to being online that she forgot to pay for the bills and neglected to feed and care for her two young children. When her husband Kevin gave her the ultimatum that she choose either her family or the internet, Albridge chose the internet instead, ultimately losing custody of her children as well (Weekly World News 1998). This example holds true to Kimberly Young's study "internet addiction: the emergence of a new clinical disorder" in 1996, where it states that similar to any drug, alcohol or gambling addiction, internet addiction can in fact result in academic failure, reduced work performance, marital discord and separation, which occured in the Albridge case.
The Albridge case however is not alone and is not quite as severe as the Hacker case, also in 1997. Sandra Hacker's addiction to the internet was one of the worst recorded and probably one of the most well known. While online Hacker would allegedly lock her three children in what she called the "playroom", a room full of broken glass, debris and walls smeared with faeces. Police were horrified by their findings and were stunned for find that though the house was in disrepair, Hacker's computer area was completely immaculate and perfectly clean. (Bricking, 1997) This case too is also respective of Young's 1996 findings regarding significant impairment to family life outlined in "Psychology of computer use: XL. Addictive use of the internet: a case that breaks the stereotype".
While not quite to the extent of the previous examples, this next example of internet addiction goes to show that its not just the regular public that is suffering but celebrities as well. Diddy in February 2009 seemingly posted several "tweets" on his twitter webpage regarding details of a group orgy he was participating in for thirty-six hours (Hudson 2009). Though Diddy bowed out before completing his task, the fact that Diddy paused in his activities to post information on his twitter is indicative of the need to use the internet more to achieve satisfaction and also to the detriment of his "real life", as said on the netaddiction.com website and in O'Reilly's report "Internet addiction: a new disorder enters the medical lexicon" written in 1996.
Adolescents too are suffering the effects of internet addiction. The following flim clip is a video taken of a teenaged boy whose addiction to the online MMORPG game World of Warcraft (WoW) gives us an example of a violent reaction when the young man's subscription to the game is cancelled.
The clearly violent reaction to the cancellation of the game is a classic reaction similar to that of people addicted to various substances when they are not provided with the item they need, also said by Henderson. Addiction sufferers tend to lash out in fits of rage and/or violence at themselves and/or other people, though in this particular case the boy just harmed himself.
While this essay has only provided four empirical examples of internet addiction, it can be seen that issues like this are becoming more common as society spends more time online, as suggested by Mark Griffiths (2004). Like any addiction if given enough time to develop, internet addiction in this case can and has had negative effects on both the victim and the victim's families, families breaking up due to the strain and parents worrying immensely for their children. Despite what scientists argue, internet addiction is prominent in today's society, and if proper investigations were put forth in the near future scientists could develop a greater understanding of this condition that is plaguing modern society.
REFERENCES:
American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association. Task Force on DSM-IV (2000). "Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders". American Psychiatric Association, 2000. University of Michigan.
Bricking, Tanya (1997). "Internet blamed for neglect". Sourced at: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1997/06/16/loc_hacker.html Date accessed: 19/10/09.
Bursten, Julia & Dombeck, Mark (2005). "Introduction to net addiction". sourced at: http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=3830&cn=66internet addiction date accessed: 19/10/09
Griffiths, Mark (2004). "Does internet and computer "addiction" exist? Some case study evidence." sourced from: http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089%2F109493100316067 date accessed: 22/10/09/
Grohol, John (2005). "Internet Addiction Guide". Sourced at: http://psychcentral.com/netaddiction/ Date accessed: 18/10/09
Henderson, E. (2000). "Understanding addiction". Illustrated edition. University Press of Mississippi, 2000.
Hudson, Polly (2009) "P. Diddy shares FAR too much information on Twitter" sourced from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/columnists/polly/2009/03/12/p-diddy-shares-far-too-much-information-on-twitter-115875-21192259/ date sourced: 18/10/09
Mat (2009). "Greatest Freakout Over World of Warcraft :: Mom Cancels Crazy Kid's WoW Account" sourced from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jM2BMW_WVo date sourced: 20/10/09
O'Reilly, Michael (1996). "Internet addiction: a new disorder enters the medical lexicon". Canada Medical Association Journal. June 15, 1996; 154.
Reed, Lori (2002). "Computer addiction as a gendered phenomenon". Sourced at: http://englishmatters.gmu.edu/issue6/reed/reed-body.htm. Date accessed: 20/10/09
Weekly World News (1998). "Hooked on the internet: nerdy mom loses custody of her children!" sourced from: http://books.google.com/books?id=PPEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=Pam+Albridge&source=bl&ots=iZkrRy4xqe&sig=
thAfpWmRo1tuef0cyje9x397GA8&hl=en&ei=263eSuWrIoXl8Qbj3dly&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Pam%20Albridge&f=false date accessed: 19/10/09.
Young, Kimberly S. (1996a) "Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder." University of Pittsburg. Bradford.
Young, Kimberly S. (1996b). Psychology of Computer Use: XL. Addictive Use of the Internet: A case that breaks the stereotype. Univeristy of Pittsburg. Bradford.
Young, Kimberly. (2009) Net addiction sourced from: http://www.netaddiction.com/ Date accessed: 18/10/09/
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