Technology addiction: How social network sites impact our lives

Abstract

Aim/Purpose The media and research have made significant noise about young people's addictions to technology, however the American Psychological Association (APA) has reserved judgment on the clinical diagnosis of technology addic-tion. Research to understand technology addiction is important to the future of information systems development and behavioral usage understanding. Background Addiction implies that there is a problem from which an IS client needs to try to recover, further implying a negative impact on life. Multiple defini-tions and outcomes of addictions have been studied in the information sys-tems discipline, with virtually no focus on quality of life of the IS client. Methodology This research employs a survey of students at a large southwestern United States university. Measures were adopted from previously validated sources. The final sample includes 413 usable responses analyzed using PLS. Contribution This research broadens theoretical and practical understanding of SNS IS client perceptions by relating technology addiction to a broader impact on an individual's life. By doing so, it provides guidance on society's understand-ing of frequent technology use, as well as the development of new systems that are highly used. Findings This research indicates diminished impulse control, distraction, social influ-ence and satisfaction are all highly correlated with technology addiction; specifically, 55% of the variance in addiction is explained by these four indi-cators. However, the model further shows addiction has no significant rela-tionship with overall satisfaction of life, indicating that IS clients do not cor-relate the two ideas. Recommendations for Practitioners Heavy technology use may indicate a paradigm shift in how people interact, instead of a concern to be addressed by the APA. Recommendation for Researchers Research needs to clearly define technology dependence, addiction, and overuse so that there is a strong understanding of what is meant. These findings help guide assumptions about the dark side of Information Tech-nology. Impact on Society While technology use is increasing, younger generations may find the use to be acceptable and less of a problem then older generations. Future Research Future research should replicate these findings on other technology artifacts and other technology addiction definitions. In the future, there is also opportunity to delve deeper into the outcome variable of satisfaction with life.