Internet Addiction In The USA

Introduction

The topic of Internet Addiction has continued to be hotly debated in the "research" (or, in full, "Psychology of the Internet: research and theory") discussion list. Strong feelings were aroused by the appearance of the book (briefly mentioned in the last commentary): Caught in the Web: How to Recognise and Recover from Internet Addiction and a Winning Strategy for Recovery, published by Wiley. The author is Kimberly Young, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. She has also set up a Center for On-Line Addiction (COLA  see below) offering consultancy and counselling.

Discussion

The suggestion that Internet Addiction is a genuine disorder, for which treatment is warranted, has aroused scepticism and antagonism, the latter mainly because it is seen as a pretext by which self-styled therapists can profit. Dr Young has become a focus for the expression of these feelings, to an extent that has produced references to internet "flame wars" and "lynch mobs". (The word "flame" is internet jargon for the sending of a vituperative message.) As well as the angry messages, though, there have been a fair number in support of Dr Young.( Newburger,55)

A central issue, of course, is the definition of "addiction". Since the Internet is a valuable research tool, a large amount of time spent logged-on need be no more a sign of pathological addiction than is a large amount of time spent in a library. On the other hand, Dr Young is able to refer to cases that show characteristics of other well-known forms of addiction, including habitual lying to friends and family about the time spent logged-on, and increasing irritability when separated from the computer.

A self-test for internet addiction is offered, in the form of a questionnaire, but there already seems to be general agreement that it is unsound. Happily, the debate has been summarised in an article in the publication USA Today, and can be found on-line at the address http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctc497.htm, with a link to another article in the same journal which treats the topic of addiction in general. The article is accepted by John Grohol, an authoritative and frequent contributor to the controversy, as substantially sound, though he considers it a "black mark" that it reproduces the self-test questionnaire. While Internet gambling popularity continues to grow, so do the concerns surrounding the business. Questions concerning the legality, potential dangers and moral issues have made this industry a controversial topic. In this paper I will first briefly examine the social/political concerns about online gambling. I will then discuss the two main legal approaches that Canada could take in dealing with online gambling and the issues involved in these approaches.(Cunningham,794)

Social/Political Concerns

As Internet gambling rises in popularity, concern over its potential effects have grown as well. While traditional forms of gambling have been subject to much criticism, online gambling has raised its own specific concerns. Four of these are fraud, gambling by minors, increased addiction, lost state revenue.

Fraud:

The inherent nature of online gambling leads to questions of how gambling on ...