Types of computer addiction
What type of computer addiction is responsible for most computer addicts? Since there are so many different activities of computers on the Internet, it is very difficult to determine exactly what is the cause of most addicts. However, there are several types that seem to be more common among computer addicts. The activities that are considered the most addictive related to computing and the Internet are described below.
* Online games
Online games are a common cause of computer addiction. Online games consist of multiplayer games over the Internet. This is where the player assumes a character in the game and plays against other people from all over the world. There are many internet games on the market and some of them have millions and millions of players around the world. Most of the players involved enjoy a casual game after school, work, or on the weekends. Yet a minority have become so addicted, and alarmingly, that they spend more than 12 hours a day playing the game they are addicted to. Reports have come in that some people have been playing all day without eating or sleeping for days on end because they don’t want to leave the computer and the character they pretend to be.
* Chat rooms
Millions of people use chat rooms on a daily basis. It’s fun for those millions of people. There are many conventional chat rooms. There is also chat software for the larger chat companies, for example, Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger. Unfortunately, there is again a minority who use chat rooms to fuel their addiction. These people can be whoever they want to be. They can have antisocial problems, they can be shy, they can have other problems that prevent them from meeting people in the real world. No matter what problem the person is having, chat rooms seem to be the answer. However, the real answer is that chat rooms cause a person to lose even more social skills in the real world. Rarely will an internet chat room addict get to know the people they are chatting with. It would ruin the facade addicts are putting up for their chat room mates. Unfortunately, this type of computer addiction can have a drastic effect on a person’s personality and health.
* Online shopping
Online shopping addiction comes in the form of many types. There is the person who is addicted to buying items in the many online stores. Then there is the person who is addicted to auction-type buying. Either one could put a person into debt in a matter of seconds. With just one click of the mouse, you could take money from your credit card and rack up huge debts. This type of addiction usually begins with small purchases and paying with your credit card. Many small purchases of this type add up to many thousands of dollars. The excitement of bidding on an item at an online auction and then over-bidding only to win the item (which they may not want anyway) does cause addiction. Once the item has been bid and won, a contract has been signed. A very easy addiction to develop, but very difficult to get out of once the debt has accumulated.
* Online gambling and online pornography
These are possibly the most damaging of all computer addictions. These million-dollar-a-year businesses make their money by sucking money out of addicts. The thrill of possibly winning by playing is very real and has never been easier since the advent of online casinos and other forms of online gambling. These computer addicts have gone into serious debt. Some have even lost everything, their family, their homes, their possessions and, what is more extreme, their lives. There are organizations that deal specifically with this type of computer addiction and have helped thousands of people to get rid of this harmful addiction and have been able to give advice on how to help put their lives back together again.
By no means is this list of computer addictions complete, as there are many other forms of computer addiction. Those mentioned in this article are, I believe, the most prevalent types of computer addiction.