Online shopping addiction: causes and effects

Psychology

Online Shopping Addition

Oniomania also know as a shopping addiction is the compulsive desire to shop. Similar to other compulsive behaviors, people who suffer from this often experience the highs and lows associated with having an addiction. The purchases that they make generate a mood of satisfaction that seems to give their life meaning and lets them forget about what is bothering them. The reasons that people have shopping addictions can vary: fears, depressions, emotional emptiness, and low self-esteem, just to name a few. A person buys things in order to try to handle these feelings. These negative emotions lead to purchasing something, which then leads to feelings of regret and depression. The addicted person copes with these feelings by buying something else (Oniomania-Shopping Addiction 2008).

"The thrill and excitement of spending and shopping are no longer limited to the storefront. Online spending has reached new heights; according to InfoWorld (Jan. 2007), U.S. retail Web sites collected $102.1 billion in 2006" (Karimi, 2007). Many shopaholics deny that there is a problem with their daily trip to the online retailer of their choice, but an online shopping addiction can be a Shopping addictions including online shopping addictions can lead to massive amounts of debt and even to breakups of marriages and loss of friends. This can lead to social isolation and increased depression, which then leads to more shopping. People that are addicted to online shopping find themselves in a vicious cycle that is often hard to break. The best way to deal with a shopping addiction is to get therapy. Shopping addicts need to have their deeper issues dealt with by a professional counselor because it is thought that shopping is merely a symptom of a more serious psychological problem (Shopping Addiction 2008).