A Phenomenological Examination of Internet Addiction: Insights from Entanglement Theory

Due to the scale, scope, and complexity of its impact, digital technology has been referred to as the fourth industrial revolution (Schwab, 2017). Researchers have called for a better understanding of such impacts and raised questions about the possible consequences of digital technology use for consumers (Turel, et al., 2017). Emerging research and practice commentary has started to point out the complex and often alarming ways in which digital technology use affects individuals, organizations, and society, forming a field of inquiry referred to as the dark side of digital technology (Rosen et al., 2013; Turel et al., 2017). Considering that Internet is the most important driver of the digital revolution, it is not surprising that the dark side of digital technology has been studied with reference to Internet and Internet addiction (IA). Similar to other addictions, IA represents a compulsive usage and repetitive engagement in a behavior that leads to undesirable consequences for addicts as well as non-addicts (Lee et al., 2014; Thomee et al., 2011). However, two important aspects of IA make it distinct from other addictions. First, whereas in the case of addictions to drugs or cigarettes, the object of the addiction is relatively concrete and tangible, in the case of IA, it is not clear to what exactly individuals are addicted. This ambiguity has prompted some researchers to distinguish between addiction to Internet and addiction on Internet (e.g., Griffiths, 2010). While addiction to Internet relates to a generalized use of Internet, addiction on Internet represents specific types of IA such as online gambling, online shopping, and online pornography (Brand et al., 2014; Montag, 2017). Offering an alternative view, we posit that even specific types of IA represent addictions to underlying physiological, psychological, and social reward systems. Thus, our approach dissolves the duality between being addicted to Internet and being addicted on Internet. We introduce a doubly-mediated model of IA with the first mediation layer consisting of Internet, and the second mediation layer consisting of specific activities (gambling, shopping, social media, etc.) on Internet facilitated by various digital platforms (e.g., smartphones). We examine human-digital technology relationships at the level of lived experiences to provide a better understanding of how IA and its various forms are shaped.