In my opinion, online gambling is a disease spreading through the Cornell campus at an alarming rate. Fraternity houses, such as my own, are hotbeds for this affliction. Many of my good friends have lost significant amounts of money this semester on online poker, as well as football bets. This certainly constitutes problematic internet usage.
Caplan discusses PIU as including "maladaptive cognitions and behaviors involving Internet use that result in negative academic, professional, and social consequences.” Online gambling results in all three. Users spend there time procrastinating on online poker sites, or watching sports games on which they have bet, rather then complete their assignments. The addicting properties of the sites coerce the users to continue in the face of repetitive loss by reinforcing the gambling behavior with the occasional reward on a variable ratio schedule. This operant conditioning leads to the development of a response that is very difficult to extinguish.
The sites are intelligent in their design, which requires users to pay a certain amount up front in exchange for E-currency being credited to their account on the site. This means that the user will not actually gain money from a win until he cashes out, and will not feel the affects of a loss until all the money in the account is gone. This usually leads to any winnings being immediately lost as they are pumped back into the gambling system before being realized. It also leads users not to associate any feeling of loss with the online gambling experience, as they do not ever have to “pay up” after a loss, they simply lose the funds previously invested into their account.
The availability of online gambling also leads to its addictive nature. The ability to gamble on your own, at any time whatsoever, allows individuals who would have had a problem with gambling in face to face environments to reach far more disastrous levels of addiction. When a game of poker can be joined at
I do not feel that Caplan’s model accurately describes the reasons for PIU in online gamblers, however. These individuals are not seeking a replacement for social interaction, and do not feel less socially competent. They simply become conditioned to continue executing a learned behavior whenever they have time in front of their computer. Betting on sports often involves spending time with friends in face to face environments, but is made easier and more removed through CMC gambling sights.
This dangerous online addiction seems to be growing more and more popular day. For years, gambling has been recognized as a dangerous addiction, and treatment and support groups have been available for those suffering from it. The effects of the internet on the potential damage caused by this addiction are enormous, as it is now available to users who are alone and do not feel as if they are spending real money.
3 comments:
Hi. Yes, many of my friends gamble online. You made some very interesting points about online gambling and why it is addictive. I would say that none of my friends exhibit PIU, but they do spend an obscene amount of money online (which you mentioned). I agree with your reason as well. Users will rationalize their money spending such as "I already spent the money so I might as well keep going." This is a sign of PIU. The fact that the site has tokenized money is also a huge factor. It's not money but a number on my screen. Also, like you mentioned, many of my friends also state that since they don't have to pay up right away they feel they can win it back.
Very intersting blog! I also found it interesting that your experiences counteracted Caplan's.
You make some interesting points about internet gambling, and I can definitely see how it can lead to disaster. However, as someone who has gambled in the past, both online and offline, I can tell you that gambling problems are definitely due to individual differences. I had one friend who lost over 1500 dollars in one night. For myself, when I started playing internet poker, I would start by allocating myself twenty dollars a month, and if I lost it before the end of the month, I just played the free alternative version. Fortunately my skills improved, so now I'm playing basically for fun on only profits. But my point is that I never had trouble controlling my playing when I was in the negative profit range.
I agree with you in that alot of my friends have also been using online gambling and betting on sports. I have seen it vary in each individual case but in all situations, everyone spends alot of time online and experience high levels of PIU. One point that was well made was when you contradicted Caplan and was able to justify it.
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