I am a Wikipedia addict. I don’t know when it first started, but I know I can’t stop. Talking to my friends, I know a lot of them have the same addiction (maybe we should join an online support group). For us, Wikipedia is the ultimate source of problematic internet usage. It seems like every time I have to do some schoolwork on my computer, I inevitably end up on Wikipedia for a large amount of time, looking up articles that have nothing to do with my work. Caplan aptly describes problematic internet use as excessive and compulsive use of the internet. That, I feel, does a pretty good job at describing an addiction to Wikipedia. Maybe the compulsive aspect is a little more relevant than the obsessive (because I don’t sit around doing other things wishing I was back on Wikipedia), but the overall effect remains the same: it leads to a massive online time waste. I do not think, though, that the reason Caplan gives for PIUs applies well to this situation. Caplan says that PIU is related to psychological well-being, in that people who are lonely or have low perceptions of their social competence tend to prefer online interaction “because it is less threatening and they feel more efficacious.” All the time spent online, in turn, makes people feel even less socially competent in the real world. Now, this doesn’t make very much sense with Wikipedia because Wikipedia is not really a social site. Wikipedians do not know whether or not I, personally, am viewing a page they worked on, and probably could care less. My viewing tons of Wikipedia pages can’t then be an attempt to find online interaction because offline interaction is too hard (that’s what Facebook is for).
Wallace, on the other hand gives four different reasons for PIU. They are locus of control, operant conditioning, maintenance of virtual presence, and newbie disease. Just like the Caplan model, only one of these features really seems to play a factor in Wikipedia addiction: locus of control. According to Wallace, those people who believe they are in full control over their lives/circumstances are more likely to become addicted to the internet. This seems to make sense when considering why I always find myself on Wikipedia when I am supposed to be doing work. I still feel like I am in control. As long as I still have what I am at my computer, I know that I can go back to work whenever I want to. Tabbed browsing made the problem even worse. It creates no clutter on my screen to keep opening new tabs, and as long as that original page I was at is still open somewhere, I never really left it, right? I just went on a slight detour. Then before I realize it, I spent more time than I realized reading more pages than I wanted to. But only this one aspect of Wallace’s views on PIU seem to apply to Wiki-ddictions.
A third view comes from Davis, Flett, and Besser. They analyzed internet addictions in four categories: diminished impulse control, loneliness/depression, social comfort, and distraction/procrastination. Again, not all of these perfectly describe a Wikipedia addiction, but diminished impulse control along with distraction/procrastination seem to fit the best out of any other theories. It is the distraction and procrastination effect that definitely gets me started on Wikipedia, and then the diminished impulse control keeps me there. I view it as a short little break when I first start, but once I am on, it’s hard to stop clicking on new articles. For example, I might look up an album on Wikipedia to find its track listing. After that I will probably end up at the general page for the band that made the album, and before I have finished reading that, I already have five new tabs waiting for me with the links to other bands they toured with, the members’ various side projects and all sorts of things like that. So because I start by looking for a bit of distraction, I end up not being able to leave Wikipedia when I can’t control my impulses. This model best fits the Wiki-ddiction.
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http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/9-butmy-guild-needs-me.html
9 comments:
Logan, Wikipedia has caused problems for me too. What’s interesting is that the feature that keeps us on the site, fueling our procrastination and distraction, is a feature that is truly meant to revolutionize information. The links between articles are really great for the idea of making more information available and easily accessible, however, they are also each an individual attack on our impulse control, and as you’ve implied, generally the links win.
I agree with your analysis that this type of Problematic Internet Use does not relate to any psychosocial problems as Caplan’s theory suggests, however on some level it might be possible to draw a psychosocial conclusion for people who spend too much time on Wikipedia editing and fact checking articles. Those people are driven, in a way, by other people’s actions on the site, and if someone is spending an inappropriate amount of time editing individual changes, it could be viewed as a psychosocial problem.
Great post, Logan. I often find myself browsing Wikipedia when I should be working, as well. One thing I realized while reading your post is that Wallace's notion of operant conditioning can actually play a role in why a person can become addicted to Wikipedia - because of the "random article" link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random). Every time a person clicks on it, he/she is brought to a random page. It might be something he/she is interested in, or it might not. But the promise of eventually finding something of interest can make a person (myself included) keep clicking for a long time. Thus, a Wikipedia user can be rewarded on a variable schedule and thus be affected by operant conditioning.
Wikkid post, Logan. Hehe. I used to do the same thing, especially when I was writing a paper that I knew wouldn't really take that long anyway. The inter-article links and the random daily articles are addictive.
You do a good job of bringing all the various sources from the course into your analysis of Wiki-ddiction (sweet word), and like Gerard, I agree with your conclusion that this type of PIU doesn't fit well with Caplan's theory.
I think the majority of the people who find themselves spending too much time browsing Wikipedia, are simply curious by nature, and like the fact that knowledge and information is so abundant and easily accessed through the wiki architecture.
Hey Logan,
I'm a self-professed wiki-user as well. It has been a great source for anything from checking up current events to writing up my COMM 24…6 assignments. I completely agree with the aspect of Procrastination/Distraction as described by David, Flett, and Besser. Often times when I look up some term or data for a term paper, I would end up winding through a bunch of links and ending up on completely irrelevant topics.
As mentioned earlier, the random article option adds even further reasons to procrastinate, since I often end up clicking it over and over to see what kind of hilarious article I would stumble upon.
Although sometimes I take it upon myself to, uh, modify certain text to produce what I think would be a humorous addition. I completely realize that Wikipedia defamation is awful, but I must say it is another large element of addiction since you feel a great sense of control.
I thought that you had a great post. Wiki-ddiction seems to be a serious problem among college students. You joke about joining an online support group, but I have actually seen Facebook groups devoted to this very topic.
I agree that Caplan's model does not seem to apply to Wiki-ddiction. Reading your post gave me insight into the fact that perhaps Caplan's model only applies to situations in which one is interacting with others online rather than solely interaction with a computer screen.
The only question I would have about the post is how you described the relationship between locus of control and Wiki-ddiction. My understanding is that those with a high locus of control are drawn to the Internet because of the ability to manage impressions. You, however, interpreted the concept differently. I had not thought of that interpretation, but it was interesting to read.
Hi, Logan
It's funny that I was actually procrastinating on Wiki, looking at informations on a movie before I read your post. Great post by the way.
It's funny how sites that are supposed to facilitate information distribution, making getting informations that we want to know easier and faster, can actually waste more of our time. It's not just Wikipedia--many sites, such as Starcraft Compendium, would have the same affect.
We think we are in control. We think we can stop any time that we want. We think a little bit more wouldn't hurt. And before we know it, we have spent hours procrastinating. Our own locus of control can get the best of us.
I remember that someone once said:"When you want to quit something, ask yourself two questions:'why do you want to stop?' and 'why can't you stop?...If you're going to stop, it all stops. Everything. Not 'little bits,' note even for a moment. You give it up for good. Not even a taste.
When you decide to stop or start anything, either way, you must follow through. All you need is action and determination....Strangers (others) can't help you. You need your own determination.
...so think about this yourself. only you can decide."
Great place for addiction treatment and get recovery soon
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bird.lavonne
Suffering from an addiction. This website has a lot of great resources and treatment centers.
http://www.treatmentcenters.org
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