Course:LIBR559A/Salicetia, F. (2015)

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Citation

Salicetia, F. (2015). Internet addiction disorder (IAD). Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191(2), 1372-1376. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.292

Annotation

Objective: to increase awareness of schools and society, children and adults about safe internet usage, and to stress the importance of real life over the virtual one.

Discussion: according to American Center for Online Addiction, five types of internet addiction emerge.

These are as follows:

  • Cyber Sexual Addiction which includes obsession with cyber sex and pornographic material;
  • Cyber Relationship Addiction where people are too involved in cyber relationships that causes issues in their genuine relationships;
  • Social Network Addiction is when people are excessively involved in online communities, such as Facebook;
  • Net Gaming Addiction involves various online activities, such as gambling, video games, online shopping;
  • Information Overload takes place when "the abundance of information on the Internet creates a new compulsive behaviour which is related to the web surfing or searching of databases. Addicted people use more and more time to search and organize data. An obsessive-compulsive tendency and a reduction of work productivity are connected with this type of addiction" (p. 1373).


In addition, Salicetia states that a lot of people who are affected by internet addiction try to escape their reality as it is too difficult to deal with. This is why people create separate virtual identities - to escape their own reality and dive into the cyber world. And it is understandable that when internet addicts are asked to give up that opportunity, they become irritable as their comfort or the way of coping is being taken away. Furthermore, people with internet addiction deny the problem - much as all individuals with any form of addiction. Interestingly, Salicetia observes that it might be challenging to ask for help because the issue of internet addiction is created by a powerful technological tool which is considered valuable by many users. The author also points out that individuals who are prone to internet addiction have a history of pre-existing pathologies such as, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, compulsive sexual behaviour, etc. What is especially frightening, is the idea of suicides committed due to internet addiction. The author demonstrates that some addicts believe that they can free themselves by killing off their real selves so their cyber avatars can live forever free from problems. In conclusion, Salicetia promotes the idea that as internet has its undeniable benefits, it is of great significance to exercise and educate our society about safe internet use. And most importantly, "real life socialization should never be completely replaced by the virtual one" (p. 1376).

Page Author: Aleks Migorska

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