Every fall, as the weather starts to cool down, it is once again time for America’s most diehard fans to cheer on their teams…their fantasy teams of course. Fantasy Football is an Internet phenomenon that engages millions of people through many different online leagues. For those few months of the year, boys and girls, men and women, obsess over changing rosters and minute statistics in hopes of achieving Fantasy Football mastery—the ultimate goal of the League Championship. Is this Problematic Internet Use?
Caplan theory of problematic Internet use and psychosocial well-being could be applied to this situation. The theory says that people prefer online interaction because it is less threatening and perceived as more efficacious. Passionate sports fans can be overwhelming, and if you are not prepared for it, even scary. Many people who may feel intimidated by these hardcore sports fans in FtF communication may feel more comfortable interacting with them online because it is a less threatening atmosphere. They have a greater degree of anonymity and less perceived social risk. Also, they have greater control over self-presentation, so maybe if they are not that excited and intense in person, they can make themselves appear to be that way online to blend in with the other fans. As Wallace says, they have a greater locus of control. However, from my experience, the vast majority of people playing Fantasy Football are those crazy, hardcore sports fans, and many play in leagues with their own groups of friends. In these cases, the excessive and compulsive use of the Internet space does not lead to a negative impression of FtF; it may actually support it within the group because they will spend more time talking about football.
In playing Fantasy Football, both excessive and compulsive use are apparent. While people may plan to just go online and check the scores they got, they usually end up spending extended periods of time analyzing every little thing. From my own experience with Fantasy Football, I can admit to obsessively checking scheduling and injury updates, extensively researching obscure players, and anxiously awaiting trade offers to the point where I would automatically go on my Fantasy Football site the moment I sat down at the computer. Problematic use of Fantasy Football does have negative effects. People would rather read pages of numbers of yards and tackles than socialize or study. Over the summer I worked in an office, and many of the guys there were involved in a Fantasy Baseball league and would check it everyday at work. For my own sanity, and to avoid conflicts of interests in rooting for my actual favorite team, I no longer play Fantasy Football.
Davis hypothesized four dimensions that contribute to PIU. Of those, distraction/procrastination and social comfort can clearly be seen in playing Fantasy Football. Also, of Wallace’s factors, operant conditioning and newbie disease are significant contributors. People new to Fantasy Football will spend weeks learning everything there is to know, obsessing over all the fantasy tip websites, figuring out what each stat means, but once the newness wears off, there is likely to be a drop in how much it is used. Operant conditioning exists in that you never know when a player you chose will reward you with points or when someone might get injured.
There are many aspects of Fantasy Football that fit the symptoms of PIU, and there are many cases where it is actually an issue. It depends though. Is the player an anti-social person who is compulsively on it everyday instead of doing their homework, or are they an excited sports fan that started a pool with some friends to have some extra fun?
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/9-tv-online.html#c6105169523411528988
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/shopping-for-piu.html#c3419935534535953741
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