Assignment 9: Online Shopping

Online shopping is an activity that can definitely lead to problematic internet use (trust me, I know). There are millions of items people can buy now without ever having to leave their homes. Websites have also made it easier to search for your favorite items and make the online shopping experience more pleasant. There are also tons of websites geared completely toward bargain shopping, making online shopping an option to almost everyone.

In the case of online shopping, I would have to disagree with Caplan’s (2004) theory that leads to problematic internet use. This is because when you shop online, you’re not really interacting with anyone else, and the things you buy will be seen by people in the real world, not online. I think the four dimensions that Davis, Flett, and Besser (2002) came up with to predict problematic internet use are more applicable to online shopping. One of these dimensions is diminished impulse control, which can be costly when combined with retail stores online. People who are lonely, another dimension, might turn to online shopping because they are looking for material things to fill in for that loneliness. The third dimension is social comfort, and this can apply to online shopping if people feel that having the latest trends and gadgets will help them fit in. And finally, online shopping is a great source of distraction and procrastination, the fourth and final dimension, even if you don’t buy anything.

I also don’t see the affordances of Internet interaction coming into play for online shopping. This is because again, you are not interacting with anyone else, there are no other people making you feel like you are a better person online than in the real world. Online shopping is one instance in which I think the Internet properties are more important than the individual ones. People can browse millions of items for as long as they like, which is not possible when shopping offline, and there are many more places online to find cheap or sale items, making it affordable to more people. Take it from a person who has bought one too many pairs of shoes online in an attempt to put off doing homework, if left unchecked, online shopping can lead to problematic internet use.