This week I decided to delve into the topic of online “shopaholism” that has occurred due to sites like Amazon, eBay, Half.com, etc (but mainly eBay). These sites offer practically anything you could ever want to purchase at a “reasonable” price. However, a few purchases or an exciting bid win can lead to increased propensity for shopping (meaning more time spent surfing these auction sites and less time spent offline). This can cause severe problems in the real world, ranging from being reprimanded at work or even worse in mounds of debt.
The first thing I did when I decided on this topic I went to Google Groups again to see any support groups describing this behavior. I came across this one article that described a woman’s case of severe problematic internet use (PIU). Most cases I read about in personal blogs stated that in the beginning the users (mostly women) had individual control (Wallace) over their shopping habits, but over time that control turned into an excessive, compulsive state where shopping was like second nature to them; they could not function without making a purchase or bidding on an item. Davis, Flett, and Besser (2002) studied PIU based on four dimensions: diminished impulse control, loneliness/depression, social comfort, and distraction/procrastination. I feel that all of these can be attributed to online shopping addictions – you purchase items because they are on sale, or because they make you happy (or it looks good on you, etc), or just to buy them (a new fad, etc).
The thing about online shopping is that the internet has so many properties that make it so appealing; it is easily accessible, the sites offer relatively affordable goods, you can remain anonymous, it’s searchable and global and interactive. Sites like eBay offer the kind of operant conditioning Wallace describes because you are rewarded with a variable schedule (i.e. you don’t always win bids). This is a property of the internet that can lead to PIU. EBay is unique in that it requires a sort of maintenance of virtual presence, because if you want to win the item you must keep bidding.
In the case of shopaholism, I do not think that Caplan’s model applies because it is more about the purchasing of a product and how it makes you feel rather than the interaction and associated self-presentation and self-disclosure attributes.
In all, online shopping can lead to PIU, which can result in negative personal and professional consequences. I feel that the individual and the Internet are at fault with this type of addiction; however, individual differences carry more weight. The Internet offers properties that can potentially lead to excessive use (accessible, interactive, searchable, anonymous), but when it comes down to it, it is the individual and their own self-control that determines how much and often you will be online.
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Comments:
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/do-not-pass-go-do-not-collect-200.html
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/9-butmy-guild-needs-me.html
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