Internet addiction refers to a person experiencing addiction-like patterns of using online applications. There are five subtypes of internet addiction:
- Internet gaming disorder
- Internet pornography addiction
- Internet social networking sites addiction
- Internet shopping sites addiction
- Internet gambling addiction
The general internet addiction consists of subdimensions; interpersonal problems (1) and time management problems (2). The general internet addiction model states that psychopathological symptoms (e.g. depression, social anxiety) makes a person more susceptible to develop general internet addiction. Internet-related expectancies (i.e. the internet brings desirable consequences) and coping behaviours (i.e. coping in dysfunctional ways) are a result of the predispositions that make a person more susceptible to general internet addiction.
According to the model, internet addiction is the result of interacting undesirable personal characteristics and internet-related cognitions.
The accessibility of being online was different in the past. There were more external barriers (e.g. the required use of a desktop computer to go online). Mobile devices allowed for permanently online, permanently connected (POPC). The permanently availability and the perception of continues closeness of the object of addiction (i.e. mobile phone) is likely to overwhelm addicted users with problems with self-regulation and self-directedness. POPC makes the behavioural execution of internet addiction likely to become permanent.
POPC is also a risk factor for people who are not addicted to the internet but are at risk of becoming addicted to the internet. POPC is probably less relevant for subtypes of internet addiction that require long, continuous online sessions (e.g. video gaming and pornography). It is more likely to affect subtypes of the internet that allow for short online sessions (e.g. gambling, shopping). POPC can be seen as an amplifier and stabilizer to internet addiction dynamics.
The use of the mobile phone has become a default response for a lot of people to a large array of affordances and requirements. Smartphones and their multi-functionality facilitate the habitualization of using smartphones frequently and for many different purposes. They chronify cognitive structures related to coping with daily experiences and form internet-related expectancies. The habitualization of going online for any purpose may push the individual to addictive usage patterns.
Seeing people interacting with a mobile device has become very common which normalizes heavy online use. People who are at risk for internet addiction or people who have internet addiction are less likely to recognize their problem through social comparison because of the normalization of heavy online use. The perceived normality of heavy online use is likely to undermine individuals’ willingness and ability to find alternative coping strategies and reinforce their tendencies to find solutions to their psychological problems by going and staying online.
The social function of mobile devices urges people to stay online. This puts stress on the self-regulatory capacities of that person. The stress to not disappoint others by going offline may lead a person to develop addictive tendencies.
POPC leaves data traces and recordings of usage times and attendance to services and applications. These data could provide individual users with feedback information on their online consumption. Apps can make a person more aware of one’s online activity and thus potentially reduce online time. This could reduce self-regulatory problems.
The interaction of person-affect-cognition execution (I-PACE) model
