Pastimes and the Internet

Almost everyone has a favourite free time activity, whether it’s collecting stamps, following
the trials and tribulations of a favourite celebrity, or spending time in an Internet chat room.

(1)

Professor Alex Blaszczynski, a psychologist at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital, specialises in

impulse control disorders. He describes the difference between a disorder and an obsession:
‘an obsession, in layman’s terms, is an excessive preoccupation with an interest,’ he says.
‘When you’re talking about an obsession with trainspotting or another hobby, the person has
an interest and spends a lot of time pursuing that. It’s not a disorder unless it is
characterised by a failure to resist behaviour that causes harm to themselves or others.’

(2)

Take Internet obsessions such as online gaming as an example. ‘People around online gamers
may complain or say that they are spending too much time on these things, but that’s a value
judgement,’ he says. ‘However, if a person finds that their hobby causes them to constantly
neglect their family or work or other obligations, then it becomes more of an impulse control
disorder.’

(3)

According to research conducted there, a fifth of all gamers develop a dependency on

gaming. Obsession with this seemingly harmless pursuit can even be fatal: a Korean man died
of heart failure after playing online battle simulation games almost non-stop for 50 hours.

(4)

Not necessarily. According to Bruce Arnold, director of Internet research consultancy Caslon
Analytics, Internet obsessives are often sociable types engaged in rewarding personal
exchanges. He points out that there is a long and respectable history of collecting strange
objects and meeting other enthusiasts. Joining a community of like-minded people who are
interested in the same subject can turn an otherwise solitary pastime into a rewarding, more
communal activity.

(5)

Railway enthusiast Trevor McKenna, a member of the Association of Railway Enthusiasts,

agrees that the Internet has played a large part in bringing enthusiasts together.

(6)

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But are we demonising the Internet as a result of such excessive behaviour? Is the Internet
really turning normal people into robots, glued to their computer screens all hours of the day
and night? And are they losing the ability to communicate with people on a real level?

‘There are dedicated chat rooms, and reputations are made or lost in them. Everyone is
always searching out forgotten lines that can only be observed by the devotee.’ In his case, it
has also helped him develop a healthy business, in the form of an online shop and forum
based in Melbourne. People from all over the world visit the site, buy signs, badges and
models, and of course exchange information.

Therefore, while the line between a hobby, an obsession and a psychological disorder can be
difficult for even the experts to pin down, it would seem to depend on the effect your
interest has on the people close to you.

But for many, a simple hobby can become an obsession, and for an unfortunate few, this can
turn into an uncontrollable psychological problem, known as an ‘impulse control disorder’.

‘People have been exchanging information about all sorts of obscure interests for years – it’s
just that the Internet makes it easier on a global scale for likeminded people to find each
other,’ he says.

Much has been made of ‘Internet addiction’. In 1995, US psychologist Kimberly Young
established a clinic to treat addicts, the Centre for Online Addiction. Similar organisations
have been set up since then, including one in Amsterdam for those obsessed with computer
games.

Complete CAE CD-ROM © Cambridge University Press 2009