Assignment 9...Goosemoosers Anonymous

Online forums are a major source of entertainment and, for many people, support, regardless of the primary topic of the forum. An example of one such forum is the Goosemoose Pet Portal: Rats Rule! online forum dedicated to the care of pet rats. This forum is used by a number of different people, with many posting daily, some even hourly. With the amount of use that Goosemoose has, it important to ask when does the use of this online forum become problematic. According to Scott E. Caplan, there are two different aspects to problematic Internet use that must be considered. These are excessive use and compulsive use.

Excessive Internet use is when the quantity of use is considered by the participant to exceed a normal, usual, or planned amount of time. Compulsive use is the inability to control one's online activity, along with guilt about lack of control. Examples of excessive and compulsive Internet use are quite prevalent within the Goosemoose community. One example can be observed by seeing the frequency with which people post on the forum. Some members, especially new ones (an idea presented by Patricia Wallace, known as newbie's diseases), post nearly one hundred messages a day, which is a large number considering that Rats Rule! is a relatively small forum. In addition to this, many forum members comment on the fact that they obsessively check Goosemoose, and that they often stay on much longer than they intend, which is supported by the times their posts are made (often around 3:00 AM).

There are number of different reasons that Goosemoosers find themselves facing this, as Caplan would term it, problematic Internet use. These reasons include both psychological consideration, and the possibility that certain Internet affordances make it conducive to being overused. It has been shown that individuals with impoverished self images often find it easier to interact with others online, since they find it less threatening, which can lead to problematic Internet use. This preference for interaction online can cause problems at school, work, and home, resulting in a further degradation of the individuals impression of self, thus creating a self perpetuating cycle. It is hard to find support for this theory on Goosemoose, since psychological impressions of all users are difficult to form. There are, however, a number of users that allude to, or openly state, that they are depressed, lonely, or socially awkward, which suggests support for the theory that a poor self image leads to problematic Internet use. Personally, I find Goosemoose to be an excellent source of distraction and procrastination (one of the four categories in the Online Cognition Scale presented by Davis, Flett, and Besser) , which are the main causes of my excessive Internet use

Excessive Internet use can also be caused by certain Internet affordances, which includes greater anonymity, greater control over self-presentation, more intense and intimate self-disclosure, less perceived social risk and less social responsibility. In online forums, and Goosemoose more specifically, users have a great deal of anonymity, thus causing them to disclose more than they would normally feel comfortable doing. This leads to a greater sense of understanding and community between online members, resulting in a feeling of closeness that may be lacking in face to face relationships, where self disclosure is inhibited by the lack of anonymity. Users of Goosemoose also have the opportunity to present themselves in any way that they please, giving them a control over their self presentation that they can not have in real life. This could cause an increased appeal of online interaction and a decreased appeal of face to face interactions, which may result in problematic Internet use.

Goosemoose Rats Rule! creates an online environment that, for many people, is more appealing than reality, leading to what many would consider, including Caplan, to be problematic Internet use.

Goosemoose!