Virtual Addiction

by David N. Greenfield

The Internet and other forms of digital media are not completely new. They are not the first easily accessible, affordable, time-distorting, interactive, anonymous, and pleasurable activity we’ve come up with. What is new however, are the intensity, accessibility, perceived anonymity, and availability and how all of these characteristics are utilized within Internet-enabled technologies. Most activities (behaviors) and substances that produce pleasurable effects tend to be repeated; this positive reinforcement occurs when the presence of a reward increases the likelihood of the preceding response. The positive reinforcement that occurs with the Internet and media technologies that use the Internet (such as smart phones, tablets and other digital media devices) occur in a variable ratio (slot machine-like manner), thereby increasing the habit naturally discontinuing (extinction-resistance). In other words, every text, email, or look at face book is novel and changeable—and it is this novelty and unpredictability that creates the pleasurable dopamine hit that chemically locks in the reinforcement. The fact that you cannot predict what and when you will get a desirable text, email, face book page, or surf experience creates addictive reinforcement experience, and it is this phenomenon that seems to help lock-in a compulsive pattern of online use.We are not designed to be in a constant state of nervous system arousal. With all our portable devices, all operating on this variable ratio reinforcement pattern, we feel as if we cannot turn them off and we begin to feel we cannot live without them. The question then arises as to how can we live well with them? Living our lives in virtual environments as in gaming, porn, surfing or virtual worlds like face book or twitter leaves many questions. How can we live a virtual-life when we aren’t fully living our real-time life? Every time we answer our cell phone, web surf, or look at text or email on our smart phone we in essence shifting time and space and making the public and personal statement that we are wanting to be somewhere other than where we actually are. We in essence leave the here and now. It seems as though we are running away from being where we actually are at the moment. We are trying to numb ourselves, to deal with boredom, or our disconnection from ourselves and our lives. So we remain mindlessly connected and distracted, and at the same time disconnected from ourselves in an endless fashion. We go to bed using our technology (sleeping next to our smart phones) and begin our day with it as well. We live our lives unconsciously, wired and wireless, and then we medicate ourselves with the same technology when we feel bad. We know that many marriages and relationships have been significantly impacted by the use and abuse of the Internet and other digital media devices; In France, it was recently reported that fifty percent of all divorces have some type of Internet or digital media issue associated with it and it was ruled that text messages can be used as evidence in divorce proceedings. Often these technologies become digital distractions from the real-time work of connection, intimacy, and communication. Having the portability and accessibility can be practical, entertaining, and fun-- but highly distracting. The longer we fail to see the power that Internet technologies have in our lives, the more likely we will be unconscious as to the negative impact they can produce from their use and abuse. The ability for us to recognize the potential positive and negative impact is what will allow us to manage our use in a more positive and conscious manner. In the long run, we must learn to live our lives with conscious computing and to integrate all our digital media technologies into a healthier balance.

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2012