1998

Griffiths Mark

Does Internet and Computer 'Addiction' Exist? : Some Case Study Evidence

http://sosig.esrc.bris.ac.uk/iriss/papers/paper47.htm

It has been alleged that social pathologies are beginning to surface in cyberspace, i.e. technological addictions. To date there is very little empirical evidence that computing activities (i.e. internet use, hacking, programming) are addictive. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the typical 'addict' is a teenager, usually male, with little or no social life and little or no self confidence. This paper concentrates on five case studies of excessive computer usage. It is argued that of the five cases, only two of them are possibly 'addicted' using addiction components criteria. The excessive usage in the majority of cases was purely symptomatic and was where the internet/computer was used to counteract other deficiencies.