The determinants and predictors of computer addiction cannot be isolated only to a specific series of demographic, psychographic or socioeconomic variables, it is an equal opportunity disease. Empirical studies indicate that computer addiction is contrary to popular opinion, not just reserved for male teenagers who have been known to spend 48 hours straight playing games on their computers or engaging in online chat sessions (Soule, 65, 66). The determinants of computer addiction are more based on lineless and isolation, and the reliance on the computer as a means to find autonomy, mastery and purpose in life (Quinn, 175, 176). The symptoms of computer addiction include significant swings in a person's mood when they are online or off, whether they have been able to attain the level of activity on the computer they deem significant, and when denied access, conflict and feelings of anger, desperation and at times mood swings that bordered on psychosis (Soule, 72, 73). Computer addiction's best cure is to remove patients from the often extreme isolation conditions they have and create more suitable triggers of dopamine release, including accomplishing tasks in the real, not virtual, world (Quinn, 174, 175). Analysis of Computer Addiction It has been problematic for researchers to isolate a specific series of attributes or traits that distinguish those that are predisposed to computer addiction relative to those that aren't. This has made prediction difficult and opponents of the research, including PC hardware and software companies, able to refute these claims of their products being the basis of health problems for consumers (Neumann, 129, 130). Fortunately PC manufacturers including Apple and others have also studied the implications of computer addiction in the context of ergonomics and usability, and discovered that those that seek recursive feedback constantly, creating virtually what they need in person, are the most prone to this psychiatric condition (Neumann, 128, 129). The quick release of dopamine is at the center of the computer addictions millions of people have today (Soule, 72). The Internet acts like a dopamine accelerator for computer addict, accelerating the physiological and psychological changes their brains go through when interacting with their computer and especially the Internet (Quinn, 175, 176). The continual isolation that society today is continually creating along with the affinity that dopamine creates when it finds a source are powerful catalysts of behavioral change. The combination of these two factors are being helped along with the growing role of social media in general and Facebook specifically in people's lives. Posting on Facebook gives Internet addicts a dopamine rush that is highly addictive and lead marathon sessions of posting updates. This is what creates the continual need to share literally everything going on in their lives, as each post releases a significant dopamine rush (Charman-Anderson, 17, 18).
Computer Addiction: Causes and Potential Cures
The determinants and predictors of computer addiction cannot be isolated only to a specific series of demographic, psychographic or socioeconomic variables, it is an equal opportunity disease. Empirical studies indicate that computer addiction is contrary to popular opinion, not just reserved for male teenagers who have been known to spend 48 hours straight playing games on their computers or engaging in online chat sessions (Soule, 65, 66). The determinants of computer addiction are more based on lineless and isolation, and the reliance on the computer as a means to find autonomy, mastery and purpose in life (Quinn, 175, 176). The symptoms of computer addiction include significant swings in a person's mood when they are online or off, whether they have been able to attain the level of activity on the computer they deem significant, and when denied access, conflict and feelings of anger, desperation and at times mood swings that bordered on psychosis (Soule, 72, 73). Computer addiction's best cure is to remove patients from the often extreme isolation conditions they have and create more suitable triggers of dopamine release, including accomplishing tasks in the real, not virtual, world (Quinn, 174, 175).
Analysis of Computer Addiction
It has been problematic for researchers to isolate a specific series of attributes or traits that distinguish those that are predisposed to computer addiction relative to those that aren't. This has made prediction difficult and opponents of the research, including PC hardware and software companies, able to refute these claims of their products being the basis of health problems for consumers (Neumann, 129, 130). Fortunately PC manufacturers including Apple and others have also studied the implications of computer addiction in the context of ergonomics and usability, and discovered that those that seek recursive feedback constantly, creating virtually what they need in person, are the most prone to this psychiatric condition (Neumann, 128, 129). The quick release of dopamine is at the center of the computer addictions millions of people have today (Soule, 72). The Internet acts like a dopamine accelerator for computer addict, accelerating the physiological and psychological changes their brains go through when interacting with their computer and especially the Internet (Quinn, 175, 176). The continual isolation that society today is continually creating along with the affinity that dopamine creates when it finds a source are powerful catalysts of behavioral change. The combination of these two factors are being helped along with the growing role of social media in general and Facebook specifically in people's lives. Posting on Facebook gives Internet addicts a dopamine rush that is highly addictive and lead marathon sessions of posting updates. This is what creates the continual need to share literally everything going on in their lives, as each post releases a significant dopamine rush (Charman-Anderson, 17, 18).
Dopamine is also the reason why the many forms of computer addiction are so difficult to treat. With anonymity comes the opportunity to create multiple identities or personas online (Soule, 66, 67). This is what leads employees who have Internet addictions to create many different online identities, giving them ethical and moral leeway they would never give themselves. This aspect of personas and the forgiven unethicacy of conduct of personas is a key factor in online crimes committed by employees during company hours (Nykodym, Ariss, Kurtz, 82, 83). The personas of the addicted computer addicts are orchestrated for specific dopamine-driven production to fuel and feed habitual behaviors online
(Quinn 180). These strategies to ensure a steady supply of dopamine may not even be obvious to the addict; they engage in a multifaceted approach to computer addiction that includes cybersex, gambling and compulsion to update status and shop online for example. For the addicted computer user, each interaction with a given application, especially on social networks, is like pushing buttons or pulling the arm of a slot machine (Soule, 67). These behaviors over time become engrained into a person's perception of the world and their needs definition, eventually to the subconscious level (Neumann, 129).
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