Week 6 Discussion Board Post
The behavioralist interpretation of addiction relies on three aspects:
availability, lack of reinforcement for alternative behaviors, and lack of
punishment with respect to experimentation with the addictive habit in
question, in the case of page 149 of our text specifically referring to drugs.
Along with these perspectives, add in a piece from last week's reading that
notes a lack of public pushback for legal substances or habits such as the
use of alcohol or nicotine, and it makes addiction they use the Internet as
outlined in the assignment article this week a more easily understood
phenomenon, particularly in adolescents who are lacking heightened impulse
control. Not only is the Internet incredibly available inside and outside the
modern household, but its use is also very encouraged based on the influx of
social media, games, and the capacity to utilize it for research, directions,
answering basic questions, etc. The participants in the study also had more
free time than most would, ranging from 13 to 17 and lacking the major
time-consuming responsibilities of full-time work, childcare, and the general
errands that accompany being an adult and providing for yourself and
others. This free time accompanied by the lack of impulse control
characterized by an immature frontal lobe allows this age group to be the
perfect opportunity for accessing the internet with the general lack of
supervision, persuasion to alternative hobbies, or punishment/guidance
when they overuse their Internet privileges. While the Internet is not
something that is illegal, nor are the downfalls of its use something that isn't
visible to the general population to an extreme degree, is even more
accepted in its use; especially among children who are seen to not truly be
wasting their time due to a lack of legitimate responsibilities. I also feel as
though the increased divorce rate in parents is also allowing kids more time
and ability to spend on their computer because children are seemingly less
monitored and more independent today. Parents are often busy trying to
maintain their financial standing while also having to perform upkeep on
their house and feed/clothe their children and themselves that the internet is
seen as a harmless way to occupy their kids so that they can be engaged in
something when they can't be engaged in activity with another member of
their family.
