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).
Potential Cures
As researchers estimate that approximately 5 to 10% of the global computer user base has an addiction...
Empirical studies indicate that computer addiction is most visible in mental health patients who also have depression, anxiety, bi-polar tendencies or have had significant emotional trauma previously in their lives (Soule, 71). This has led psychologists to seek out testing and validation methodologies to evaluate patients with mental conditions for computer addiction. The incessant postings of friends on Facebook or Twitter could be interpreted as a cry for help from dopamine addiction for example (Charman-Anderson, 23). The cure for these conditions is to find a replacement or substitute dopamine source that is not as destructive or anti-social as isolating patients by themselves for long periods of time with a computer or the Internet.
Works Cited
Charman-Anderson, Suw. "Seeking Addiction: The Role of Dopamine in Social Media." Computer Weekly (2009): 16-23.
Neumann, Peter G. "Are Computers Addictive?" Association for Computing Machinery.Communications of the ACM 41.3 (1998): 128-135.
Nykodym, Nick, Sonny Ariss, and Katarina Kurtz. "Computer Addiction and Cyber Crime." Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics (2008): 78-85. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.
Quinn, Brian. "The Medicalisation of Online Behaviour." Online Information Review 25.3 (2001): 173-80.
Soule, Lori C., L.W. Shell, and…
