Virtual Addiction Comprehensive

             David Greenfield, PhD, author of this book, seems like a very smart addiction specialist but where his breadth of knowledge in general addiction fails in the specifics of the Internet. His attempt to give common citizens a starting point to understand cyber addiction is a good one, he uses everyday definitions of addiction (adapted from those used by Alcoholics Anonymous) (42), and he relates many simple cases in which he was personally involved to give examples of the theories he presents. He also does an admirable job trying to explain the different facets of the Internet, of course he is lacking many commonplace elements, which explains his lacking macro-theory of Internet addiction.
             I disagree with his analysis that the Internet itself is an addictive entity. He attempts to claim that anything can be defined as addictive as long as it causes changes in the neurochemical balance. This broad range of addictive agents lends to his idea that the Internet is addictive in its own right. I believe that the Internet is simply a new means to do old (addictive) things. Take for instance gambling, Greenfield portrays the Internet as a whole as a parallel to gambling. He says the glitzy nature of casinos and the way you lose sense of time and become hypnotized is very similar to the multimedia presentation that the Internet offers (36). The problem with this is that the intent of the casino is to keep you there, the intent to stay online is fully in the user – the Internet does not offer you free drinks or hide clocks and daylight signifiers.
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