Internet Addiction

Examining Research Methodology in the Study of Internet and Online Gaming Addiction

by Alvin Lim

In this essay I will analyse two studies of Internet and online gaming addiction and use them to discuss the... more In this essay I will analyse two studies of Internet and online gaming addiction and use them to discuss the differences between qualitative and quantitative social science re- search. For this purpose, I have picked two papers published from the CyberPsychology & Behavior journal, a peer-reviewed journal of psychosocial research on cyberspace. The two studies are distinctly different in methodology although similar in scope. By comparing these studies, I will discuss the merits and demerits of the two methods; how suitable, consistent or effective they were in the research questions asked, and their normative im- plications in the larger scale of things.

AN EVALUATION OF HUMAN ANXIETY ON THE INTERNET

by Santosh Kalwar

In this paper, evaluation of human anxiety on the Internet has been carried out. The hypothesis of the research is... more In this paper, evaluation of human anxiety on the Internet has been carried out. The hypothesis of the research is that human computer interaction techniques could be used for measuring and monitoring human anxiety on the Internet. The rigorous review findings indicated that many of the current challenges such as the study of human anxiety on the Internet have not been addressed. Nevertheless, the literature review shows that very limited research has been conducted to systematically and extensively to measure and observe human anxiety on the Internet. In addition, a simple usability study of the participants through the set of questionnaires has been conducted. A total of ten participants (100% male, mean age 25) participated in the research session. Participants completed two sets of Questionnaires (QS1, QS2) for measuring anxiety and learning behaviors and one set of questionnaire for Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Result shows various anxieties of using the contents on the Internet among the participants. Furthermore, future work would comprise building technological tools for abating human anxiety using novel human-computer interaction techniques.

Human behavior on the internet

by Santosh Kalwar

My interest in human behavior on the Internet was stimulated while observing my friends surf the World Wide Web. I... more My interest in human behavior on the Internet was stimulated while observing my friends surf the World Wide Web. I began to wonder how people act online and what goes on in their mind. I wanted to see if there are people who show signs of normal or addictive behavior and how it differs from more general Internet behavior. There is a wealth of issues regarding the Internet, including safety, security, social networking, business, research, design, information, and addiction. From informal observation it is apparent that many people approach the Internet with some anxiety. It can be defined as a feeling of fear and apprehension felt by individuals when using computers or considering the use of a computer. When we use the Internet we are relating with others. For example, 70% of Internet users build relationships through communication, relationships, social involvement, networking, meetings, or gatherings. Those whose everyday life involves more communication have more social resources-larger social networks, close relationships, community ties, enacted and perceived social support, and extraverted individual orientation, and they are likely to have better psychological functioning, lower levels of stress, and greater happiness. By contrast, those who communicate little and have fewer social resources-social isolation, living alone, the absence of a close relationship, the breakdown or loss of a close relationship, low levels of real and perceived social support, and introversion are more likely to have poor psychological functioning, to feel lonely, and to experience higher levels of depression. Understanding the psychology of the Internet also includes various information gathered from Web browsing, such as getting information on health and science issues to chatting, dating and viewing pornography. When investigating these possibilities I found that previous researchers have not yet compared uses of the Internet with the types of human behaviors and their consequenc- - es.

University Students’ Problematic Internet Use and Communication Skills according to the Internet Use Purposes

by Halil Eksi

Aydoğan Aykut CEYHAN
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice - 11(1) • Winter • 69-77

This study was carried out to investigate whether the levels of university students’ problematic internet use
and... more This study was carried out to investigate whether the levels of university students’ problematic internet use
and of perceived communication skills differ with respect to their basic internet use purposes. The participants
were 411 university students [215 of whom were females (52.30%) and 196 of whom were males (47.70%)]. In
the study, the Problematic Internet Use Scale and the Communication Skills Evaluation Scale were applied. The
analysis of the data was carried out via multivariate analysis of variance. The findings revealed that university
students’ perceived communication skill levels did not differ with respect to their main internet use purposes
but that the levels of their problematic internet use did. In this respect, it was found that in terms of basic internet
use purpose, the problematic internet use levels of the university students who “use the internet for entertainment
purposes” and of those who “use the internet to establish social relationships with unfamiliar people”
were significantly higher than that of those who “use the internet to obtain information.” This result points out
that the use of the internet for entertainment and social interaction constitutes an important risk factor for the
emergence of the problematic internet use symptoms.

"ІНТЕРНЕТ ЗАЛЕЖНІСТЬ: РЕАЛЬНА ЗАГРОЗА ЧИ ПЕРЕБІЛЬШЕННЯ? " Віра Іванова (Ukrainian)

by Vira Ivanova

Збірник аналітичних доповідей

ІНФОРМАЦІЙНІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ ЯК ФАКТОР
СУСПІЛЬНИХ ПЕРЕТВОРЕНЬ В УКРАЇНІ

НАЦІОНАЛЬНИЙ ІНСТИТУТ СТРАТЕГІЧНИХ ДОСЛІДЖЕНЬ

Часто користувачі, їх близькі люди, представники преси та на-
віть психологи мають досить розмите розуміння... more Часто користувачі, їх близькі люди, представники преси та на-
віть психологи мають досить розмите розуміння того, чим є інтернет-
залежність. Метою даної публікації є донесення поглядів провідних
дослідників мережі на те, чим є найновіший вид узалежнення. Напри-
кінці тексту читач знайде стислий опис загрозливих тенденцій при ви-
користанні Інтернету в Україні та Польщі.

Predictiveness of Identity Status, Main Internet Use Purposes and Gender on University Students’ the Problematic Internet Use

by Halil Eksi

Esra CEYHAN
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice
10 (3) • Summer 2010 • 1343-1355

This study aims at revealing the relationships between the problematic Internet use of university students and their... more This study aims at revealing the relationships between the problematic Internet use of university students and their identity status, main Internet use purposes, and gender. A total of 464 university students participated in the study, and the research data were collected
through the Problematic Internet Use Scale, the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status, and the Information Questionnaire. The results of the analyses carried
out with hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the most important predictor of the problematic Internet use was the use of the Internet for the purpose of “establishing social relationships with unfamiliar people.” In addition, it was found that the problematic
Internet use was significantly predicted by “identity moratorium status”, “identity achievement
status” (negatively), the Internet use for “entertainment” purposes, and the Internet
use for the purpose of “establishing relationships with friends and relatives”, respectively.
These findings show that, in general, the Internet use purpose and the identity status are important determiners in problematic Internet use. For this reason, taking the Internet
motives of individuals and their identity status into account contributes to guidance and counseling services for the prevention of unhealthy Internet use and future researches.

Griffiths, M.D. (1998). Internet addiction: Does it really exist? In J. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the Internet: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and Transpersonal Applications. pp. 61-75. New York: Academic Press.

by Mark Griffiths

Griffiths, M.D. (2004). Internet abuse and addiction in the workplace – Issues and concerns for employers. In M. Anandarajan (Eds.). Personal Web Usage in the Workplace: A Guide to Effective Human Resource Management. pp. 230-245. Hershey, Pennsylvania: Idea Publishing.

by Mark Griffiths

Griffiths, M.D. (2005). Internet abuse and addiction in the workplace. In M. Khosrow-Pour (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Vol. I-V. pp. 1623-1628. Hershey, Pennsylvania: Idea Publishing.

by Mark Griffiths

As with the introduction of other mass communication technologies, issues surrounding Internet use, abuse and... more As with the introduction of other mass communication technologies, issues surrounding Internet use, abuse and addiction have surfaced. This article has a number of objectives. It will first introduce readers to the concept of Internet addiction before going on to look at the wider issue of Internet abuse in the workplace. In this section, generic types of Internet abuse will be described, in addition to further examination of the reasons why Inter- net abuse occurs. The chapter ends with some guidelines and recommendations for employers and human resources departments.

Widyanto, L. & Griffiths, M.D. (2006). Internet addiction: Does it really exist? (Revisited). In J. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the Internet: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and Transpersonal Applications (2nd Edition), pp.141-163. New York: Academic Press.

by Mark Griffiths

Griffiths, M.D. (2008). Internet and video-game addiction. In C. Essau (Ed.), Adolescent Addiction: Epidemiology, Assessment and Treatment. pp.231-267. San Diego: Elselvier.

by Mark Griffiths

Griffiths, M.D. (2009). Internet abuse and addiction in the workplace. In M. Khosrow-Pour (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Vol. I-V (Second Edition). pp. 2170-2175. Hershey, Pennsylvania: Idea Publishing.

by Mark Griffiths

As with the introduction of other mass communication technologies, issues surrounding Internet use, abuse and... more As with the introduction of other mass communication technologies, issues surrounding Internet use, abuse and addiction have surfaced. This article has a number of objectives. It will first introduce readers to the concept of Internet addiction before going on to look at the wider issue of Internet abuse in the workplace. In this section, generic types of Internet abuse will be described, in addition to further examination of the reasons why Inter- net abuse occurs. The chapter ends with some guidelines and recommendations for employers and human resources departments.

Griffiths, M.D. (2009). Internet addiction (Russian translation). In A.E. Voiskounsky (Ed.), Internet addiction: psychological essence and dynamics of development. pp. 253-256. Moscow: Akropol Publishing (ISBN 978-5-98807-037-5).

by Mark Griffiths

Widyanto, L. & Griffiths, M.D. (2009). Unravelling the Web: Adolescents and Internet Addiction. In R. Zheng, J. Burrow-Sanchez & C. Drew (Eds.), Adolescent Online Social Communication and Behavior: Relationship Formation on the Internet. pp. 29-49. Hershey, Pennsylvania: Idea Publishing.

by Mark Griffiths

Griffiths, M.D. (2010). Internet abuse and addiction in the workplace. The Work Style Magazine, June, p.16.

by Mark Griffiths

Griffiths, M.D. (1996). Netties Anonymous. In Touch, 10, 12-13.

by Mark Griffiths

Griffiths, M.D. (1997). The internuts (internet addiction). The Sun, August 13, p.6.

by Mark Griffiths

Niemz, K., Griffiths, M.D., Banyard, P. (2005). Prevalence of pathological Internet use among university students and correlations with self-esteem, GHQ and disinhibition, CyberPsychology and Behavior, 8, 562-570.

by Mark Griffiths

Over the last few years, there has been increased interest in the addictive potential of the Internet. The current... more Over the last few years, there has been increased interest in the addictive potential of the Internet. The current study was an attempt to replicate common findings in the literature and provide more evidence for the existence of Internet addiction among students—a population considered to be especially vulnerable. A total of 371 British students responded to the ques- tionnaire, which included the Pathological Internet Use (PIU) scale, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a self-esteem scale, and two measures of disinhibition. Results showed that 18.3% of the sample were considered to be pathological Internet users, whose ex- cessive use of the Internet was causing academic, social, and interpersonal problems. Other results showed that pathological Internet users had lower self-esteem and were more socially disinhibited. However, there was no significant difference in GHQ scores. These results are discussed in relation to the methodological shortcomings of research in the area as a whole.

Widyanto, L. & Griffiths, M.D. (2006). Internet addiction: A critical review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 4, 31-51.

by Mark Griffiths

It has been alleged by some academics that excessive Internet use can be pathological and addictive. This paper... more It has been alleged by some academics that excessive Internet use can be pathological and addictive. This paper reviews what is known from the empirical literature on Internet addiction and its derivatives (e.g., Internet Addiction Disorder, Pathological Internet Use, etc.) and assesses to what extent it exists. Empirical research into Internet addiction can roughly be divided into five areas: (1) survey studies that compare excessive Internet users with non-excessive users, (2) survey studies that have examined vulnerable groups of excessive In- ternet use, most notably students, (3) studies that examine the psychometric properties of excessive Internet use, (4) case studies of excessive Internet users and treatment case studies, and (5) correlational studies examining the relationship of excessive Internet use with other behaviours (e.g., psychiatric problems, depression, self-esteem, etc.). Each of these areas is reviewed. It is concluded that if FInternet addiction_ does indeed exist, it affects a relatively small percentage of the online population. However, exactly what it is on the Internet that they are addicted to still remains unclear.

Od żartu do śmierci. Historia rozwoju pojęcia "Uzależnienie od Internetu"

by Vira Ivanova

4/5 Rocznik Europejskiego Kolegium Polskich i Ukraińskich Uniwersytetów
Lublin 2009