The Internet Is Not a Tool: Reappraising the Model for Internet-Addiction Disorder Based on the Constraints and Opportunities of the Digital Environment

Frontiers in Psychology

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关键词: digital environment;    internet addiction;    internet use;    cognitive ecology;    virtual reality;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00558

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The Internet was born in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century; it was initially used for military purposes but has since become a powerful instrument for nonmilitary use, including the exchange of information all over the world, thanks to the introduction of tools such as the web browser. From the start, the World Wide Web assumed several functions (e.g., recreation, education, and business) but preserved a private dimension. To connect, people needed access to an Internet-connected computer, which represented a separation from real life, or a virtual reality. A video-terminal device helped these people to immerse themselves in salient but virtual images and sounds; this immersion could induce symptoms such as dissociation (Schimmenti and Caretti, 2010). In the 1990s, scientists developed a conceptualization of the misuse of the Internet and of Internet-addiction disorder (IAD) that was coherent with their conception of the Internet as virtual reality. The strongest criterion for distinguishing healthy Internet use from misuse was connection time; this criterion was supported by several empirical studies regarding its relationship with psychopathological symptoms (Young, 1998; Quayle and Taylor, 2003; Musetti et al., 2016, 2017).

【 授权许可】

CC BY