Running head: SENSATION SEEKING AND INTERNET DEPENDENCE

Sensation Seeking and Collegiate Vulnerability

To Internet Dependence

Michael Lavin

Kelly Marvin,

Amber McLarney,

Vincent Nola, and

Lori Scott

St. Bonaventure University

Michael J. Lavin, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

Psychology Department

St. Bonaventure University

St. Bonaventure, New York 14778

(716) 375-2488

E-mail: mlavin@sbu.edu

Fax: (716) 375-7618

Abstract

Past research on Internet dependence has suggested that those who are Internet dependent spend more time on-line, use chat rooms more frequently, play MUDs more often, and web surf more than non-dependent Internet users, but few studies have examined how personality characteristics interact with Internet dependence. This study investigates how Internet usage, preferences and attitudes toward the Internet, and Internet behaviors are correlated with sensation seeking. It was predicted that participants who were higher in Internet usage and Internet behaviors would be higher in sensation seeking. Results indicated that Internet dependents tended to spend more time on-line, use e-mail, surfed the web, used chat rooms, used MUDs, and visited cybersex sites more often than non-dependent Internet users. However, dependents scored significantly lower on sensation seeking, thrill and adventure seeking, and excitement seeking than non-dependent Internet users. It was concluded that dependents interact with the internet using a motivation scheme dissimilar to the physical thrill and excitement that typically characterize sensation seeking archetypes

Introduction

Thousands of teens enter the collegiate world every year with a desire to learn and experience new aspects of life. In many cases, colleges are making this desire more profound by way of the Internet. For example, the University of Arizona, Texas A & M, and the University of California at Berkeley are just a few universities that offer classes via the Internet. This allows for more convenient learning since students can connect from any phone line, in many cases, straight from their dorm room.^1-3

Colleges and universities not only use the Internet to conduct classes but they also use it as a tool to enhance education and the disbursement of information to the fullest. Many Universities use the Internet as a means of obtaining information on everything from student grades to the next university-sporting event. Students can arrange their own chat-rooms and E-mail lists as an avenue to conduct study groups or post feedback on classmate's papers. In addition, Internet access has become available in many dorm rooms, making certain universities and colleges more attractive to prospective students who view the Internet as an essential tool for learning.

The availability of computers, expectancy to use the Internet, and the comfort of not actually having to physically be in class is extremely appealing to many prospective students. Kandell⁴ offers a caveat emptor suggesting college age students are at risk of dependency for three reasons: (1) psychological and developmental changes that occur during this period in the students’ life; (2) access; and (3) expectations for the students to use the Internet. Internet dependency is described as "a psychological dependence on the Internet and is characterized by a) an increasing investment of resources on Internet-related activities, b) unpleasant feelings when off-line, c) an increasing tolerance to the effects of being on-line, and d) denial of the problematic behaviors"⁴(p. 1).

Internet availability is viewed as a step toward the next millenium however, colleges and universities are already seeing warning signs concerning the effects of prolonged Internet use. For instance, at Alfred University, officials found a relationship between excessive Internet use and a more than doubled academic dismissal rate.⁵ To curb excessive use, the University of Washington chose to limit the time individuals can spend on-line.⁶ Counseling centers at several campuses such as the University of Texas, University of Maryland, and Marquette have felt the necessity to offer support groups for students concerned about their time on the Internet. ⁷

Although Kandell⁴ addresses the possibility of Internet dependency, no empirical studies have been conducted to determine how or why students develop a dependence toward the Internet. Young⁸ collected anecdotal reports from Internet users who reported addictive feelings associated with their Internet usage. Users who reported addiction feelings were found to spend more time on-line than those who did not report feelings of addiction.⁸ Young⁸ also found that those who reported feelings of dependency suffered with problems in other areas of their life, which were attributed to their Internet usage. Individuals reported family problems due to the lack of time spent with families, as well as work problems due to excessive Internet usage. Most importantly, 58 percent of Internet dependents reported a decline in their academic work. They reported lowered levels of studying, a decrease in their grades, and missed classes due to their use.

Studies have also been conducted off-line to examine the consequences of excessive Internet use.^9-11 Morahan-Martin & Schumacher⁹ conducted a which assessed Internet usage. The term "pathological Internet use" was defined as excessive Internet use that resulted in problems at work or school, as well as problems within relationships. In addition, pathological Internet use also applied to those who suffered from distress, an increased tolerance to their Internet use and withdrawal when they attempted to quit using the Internet. Ten percent participants reported suffering from four or more of these symptoms. One reason for this might be the fact that pathological users spent more time on-line than those did with few or no symptoms.⁹ Furthermore, the relationship between pathological Internet use and loneliness, was explored and revealed that pathological users were lonelier than those who had either few symptoms or no symptoms at all.⁹

Scherer¹⁰ examined Internet use among college students. Five hundred and thirty-one college students filled out questionnaires concerning their Internet use. Scherer¹⁰ developed a criteria level to determine Internet dependency by using the DSM-IV criteria for drug addiction as a guide. Those who exhibited three or more of the ten symptoms were classified as Internet dependent. Eight percent of participants were classified as dependents using this criteria.¹⁰ Findings of this study indicate that dependents used the Internet more for personal or leisure use, such as chat, MUDs, and games when compared to non-dependents.¹⁰ Scherer¹⁰ also found that those who were classified as dependents had lower success rates when they attempted to cut down on, or quit, their Internet use. Fifty-three percent of dependent users reported successful attempts to quit, compared to 83 percent of non-dependents

Anderson¹¹ surveyed eight separate colleges, both public and private, and found 9.8 percent of participants to be dependent on the Internet. Participants were categorized as dependent if they experienced 3 or more of a possible seven total dependency symptoms. Anderson¹¹ found the greatest difference between Internet dependents and non-dependents was the amount of time the spend on-line per day (224 mins. vs. 73 mins.) with dependents being on-line longer.

Kubey, Lavin & Barrows¹² conducted the most recent study designed to assess Internet dependency and its effects. A survey was administered to 542 students which contained 43 multiple-choice questions assessing Internet use, study habits, academic performance, as well as personal questions. Results of the Kubey et al.¹² indicated that nine percent of the participants labeled themselves as psychologically dependent to the Internet. Psychological Internet dependence was measured by having participants rate themselves on a 5-point Likert-type scale, asking participants if they thought they had become psychologically dependent on the Internet.

Participants who were classified as dependents study more often agreed to statements about their use of the Internet.¹² These questions included thoughts that they should curb their Internet use, being told that they use the Internet too much, lack of control over their Internet use and guilty feelings about their use. Dependents also agreed that if they had more friends at school, they would spend less time using the Internet. Kubey et al.¹² also found that dependent users had been using the Internet for more years than non-dependents as well as a longer usage (in hours) of the Internet by dependents. These findings are consistent with those of Morahan-Martin & Schumacher.⁹ In addition, Kubey et al.¹² found differences among dependents and non-dependents in academic areas. Those who reported Internet dependence also reported more problems with schoolwork and missing class time, which was contributed to their Internet use. This investigation was designed not only to replicate Kubey et al.'s¹² study but also as a way to study what personality characteristics Internet dependents possess. One of these possible characteristics is sensation seeking. Zuckerman¹³ found computer and video game usage was positively correlated with sensation seeking. Young⁸ found that individuals who reported themselves as Internet dependent spent most of there on-line time in chat-rooms and on MUDS (Multiple User Dungeons), which is an on-line version of Dungeons and Dragons. The interaction found in chat-rooms and MUDS resemble that of computer and video games, which Zuckerman has found to be positively related to sensation seeking.¹³ However, Internet usage has not yet been explored, but it has been suggested that Internet dependents could possibly be sensation seekers. It was hypothesized that those who are categorized as Internet dependents will be high in sensation seeking compared to their non-dependent counter-parts.

Method

Participants

Three hundred and forty-two participants (134 males and 208 females) at a small western New York university participated in the study. Participants took part in the investigation voluntarily.

Measures

Attitudes and Behaviors Toward the Internet. Participants’ Internet usage was assessed via a series of questions concerning their Internet usage, preferences, attitudes toward the Internet, and Internet behaviors. Attitudes and behaviors were assessed by using a 6-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree and 6=strongly agree or 1=never and 6=always). Internet dependency was assessed on the basis of a score of 4 or greater on at least 4 questions.

Questions consisted of such items as length of time using the Internet (years), weekly Internet use (hours, increments of one) and weekly use of specific areas of the Internet including Web-browsing, electronic mail, chat lines, news groups or listservs, Web site construction, online shopping and multiple-user domains (MUD’s).

Sensation Seeking. Participants completed Zuckerman’s ¹³ (1978) Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). The SSS is a 40-item questionnaire that examines sensation seeking as a whole and on four separate dimensions: (1) thrill and adventure seeking; (2) experience seeking; (3) disinhibition; and (4) boredom susceptibility. Respondents rate each item by choosing between two statements. Depending on the statement chosen, scores were obtained by summing the number of statements that corresponded to each dimension and an overall sensation seeking score was obtained.

Procedure

Participants were contacted via a mass electronic mail message to all students at St. Bonaventure University. Participants were asked to voluntarily fill out an on-line survey for psychological research on the Internet and were ensured confidentiality. The survey consisted of both attitudes and behaviors toward the Internet and the Sensation Seeking Scale. ¹³

To ensure anonymity, students gave their responses via the Internet. Once they had completed the survey, their responses were electronically mailed to an address. An e-mail address was provided for students who might wish to communicate with researchers for follow-up questions or comments about the project.

Results

On the basis of their scores on the Internet questionnaire, 43 participants were defined as dependent Internet users and 299 as non-dependent Internet users. Analyses were focused on comparing dependent Internet users to non-dependent users. To assess dependent Internet users on-line usage, t tests were conducted. As shown in Table 1, dependent Internet users were found to spend more time on-line, use e-mail, surfed the web, used chat rooms, used MUDs, and visited cybersex sites more often than non-dependent Internet users.

In addition, Internet dependent users were found to stay up later (M = 3.09, SD = 20.50) than non-dependent Internet users(M = 1.78, SD = 1.04), t (339) = -7.47, p = .001. Also, dependent Internet users tended to be more tired (M = 2.54, SD = 1.40) than non-dependent Internet users (M = 1.38, SD = .711), t (339) = -8.57, p = .000.

Sensation Seeking

T-tests conducted on the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) yielded significant results. Dependent Internet users scored significantly lower (M = 18.00, SD = 6.46) on the overall score for sensation seeking than the non-dependent Internet users (M = 20.70, SD = 5.58), t (339) = 2.91, p = .004 (See Figure 1).

A break down of the SSS showed that dependent Internet users approached significance on the Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) subscale. Results indicated that dependents scored lower (M = 6.33, SD = 3.23) than non-dependent Internet users (M = 7.11, SD = 2.49), t (339) = 1.88, p = .065 (See Figure 2).

Finally, dependent Internet users scored significantly lower (M = 4.07, SD = 2.15) on the Excitement Seeking (ES) subscale than non-dependent Internet users (M = 5.25, SD = 2.01), t (339) = 3.58, p = .000 (See Figure 3). No other results reached significance.

Conclusion

Research has suggested that those who are Internet dependent spend more time on-line, used chat rooms more frequently, played MUDs more often, and web surfed than non-dependent Internet users. ^8-12 In this study, results from the Internet usage ratings suggest that when an individual is Internet dependent, they spend more time on-line, frequently used e-mail, surfed the web, used chat rooms, used MUDs, and visited Cybersex sites more often than non-dependent Internet users. These results are consistent with previous research.

Overall, the trends found suggest that college students are becoming more dependent on the Internet. Much of this may be due to increased availability of computers on campuses, more Internet assignments, and class on-line discussions. Students, especially incoming first-year students, may also use the Internet as a social crutch in their new environment. They may depend on the Internet to maintain ties with family and friends. If people use the Internet mainly for communication with others through e-mail, distribution lists, and so on, they might do so to augment their social contact with others, expanding their number of friends and affording interaction that might not be otherwise possible.

A " sensation seeker," as defined by Zuckerman ¹³ is one who actively seeks out new and exciting ways to receive pleasure, whether it be in the form of social activity or risky adventures. Rushes of adrenaline from mild or extremely dangerous events are common occurrences for the sensation seeker. Previous research by Scherer¹⁰ has demonstrated that those with Internet dependent characteristics viewed themselves as more sociable and less introverted or avoidant. It follows from these observations that one would expect sensation seeking to be positively correlated with Internet dependence. Contrary to these expectations, it was found that dependent Internet users tended to score significantly lower on sensations seeking scale. In fact, those who are Internet dependent also scored significantly less on the thrill and adventure seeking and excitement seeking subscales. There are a number of possible explanations for these findings. Possibly dependent Internet users tend to be very sociable in their Internet usage but not to the point of sensation seeking. Their sensation seeking differs from the traditional sense of the concept. Instead of sensation seeking through various physical activities such, as sky-diving, dependent Internet users are more non-physical in their sensation seeking. Quite possibly, the scale used to assess sensation seeking touched more on physical sensation seeking as opposed to non-physical sensation seeking. Additionally, because dependent Internet users have been found to be lonelier than non-dependent users ⁹ dependent Internet users might tend to have fewer social connections and thus do no seek sensation from physical actions but rather non-physical actions to compensate for their loneliness. A sensation seeking scale aimed at more non-physical sensation seeking, rather than physical sensation seeking might demonstrate a relationship between sensation seeking and Internet dependence.

Further studies could include Internet usage and social networks. There are some researchers who claim that individuals social network decreases with greater Internet access, however, perhaps people’s social network actually increases due to the ability to communicate with a variety of people almost anywhere in the world. Additionally, sensation seeking could be further explored by using a different sensation seeking scale.

References

1. Hance (1998). University of Arizona: The Wired Campus, Intel. [On-line].

Available: http://www.intel.com/mobile/student/wired/arizona.htm

2. Fenton (1998). Texas A & M University: The Wired Campus, Intel. [On-line].

Available: http://www.intel.com/mobile/student/wired/ut.htm

3. Luong, L.(1998). UC Berkley: The Wired Campus, Intel. [On-line]. Available:

http://www.intel.com/mobile/student/wired/berkley.htm

4. Kandell, J. (1998). Internet addiction on campus-The vulnerability of college

students. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 1 46-59.

5. Campus ties to Internet use to increased dismissal rate. (1996, May 20). National On-

Campus Report, 24, 2.

6. Greene, M. (1996, January 16). Addicted to the 'net. USA Today, pp. A1-A2.

7. Brenner, V. (1996). An initial report on the on-line assessment of Internet addiction:

The first 30 days of the Internet usage survey. [On-line]. Available: http://www.ccsnet.com/prep/pap/pap8b/638b012p.txt

8. Young, K. (1996, August). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new

clinical disorder. Paper presented at the 104th Annual Convention of the American

Psychological Association held in Toronto, Ontario.

9. Morahan-Martin, J., & Schumacher, P. (1997) Incidence and correlates of

pathological Internet use in college students. Paper presented at the 105th Annual

Convention of the American Psychological Association held in Chicago.

10. Scherer, K. (1997) College life on-line: Healthy and unhealthy Internet use. Journal

of College Student Development, 38 655-665.

11. Anderson, K. (1998). Internet dependence among college students: Should we be

concerned? Paper presented at the International Internet Conference presented in San Diego.

12. Kubey, R., Lavin, M., & Barrows, J. (1998) Heavy Internet use and collegiate

academic performance. Submitted to the International Communication Association. San Diego, CA, 1999.

13. Zuckerman

Address reprint requests to:

Michael J. Lavin, Ph.D.

Psychology Department

St. Bonaventure University

St. Bonaventure, New York 14778

E-mail: mlavin@sbu.edu

Table 1

Mean Internet Usage Scores for Dependent and Non-Dependent Internet Users

Dependent Non-Dependent

Internet Usage M SD n M SD n p

Time Spend On-Line	13.00	11.79	43	6.71	7.08	299	.001
E-Mail	4.93	6.38	43	2.62	2.50	299	.000
Internet Surfing/Web Browsing	3.58	3.32	43	2.46	2.85	299	.019
Chat Rooms	2.07	3.83	43	.816	2.45	299	.004
MUDs	.465	2.313	43	.110	.732	299	.041
Cybersex	1.860	1.246	43	1.418	.842	299	.003