To Get What You Need: Healthy and Pathological Internet Use

Abstract

One's passion for the Internet can be healthy, pathologically addictive, or somewhere inbetween. Where a person falls on that continuum is determined by the cluster of needs that are being fulfilled by his or her Internet use and how the internet addresses those needs. This article suggests eight factors that can help clarify the healthy or unhealthy qualities of one's commitment to cyberspace activities, as well the effect of those activities on the person's underlying needs. It then explores the types of needs addressed by internet use. The "integration principle" is proposed as a rule of thumb for assessing pathological and healthy Internet use.