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Sera Craver
Adam Padgett
ENGL 1102
17 February 2014
Annotated Bibliography
Topic: Misuse of Technology

Inquiry Question: How does someone know when he or she has crossed that line into being a
technology addict based on the general definition of an addict?

Proposed Thesis: Addiction to technology is affecting our social skills, education, minds, and
our lifestyles indefinitely.

Barnstone, Tony. "Technology As Addiction." Technology and Culture. 41.1 (2000): 190-193.
Print.

Barnstones essay illustrates the U.S. technology addiction by using the example of the
phenomenon when seven U.S. states were without power in 1996. He also successfully
illustrates the turmoil that was experienced by giving examples such as malfunctioning
traffic lights causing massive pile-ups or broken AC units causing dehydration and
exhaustion. This was called the Great Blackout of 1996. This just begins to scratch the
surface of the amount of technology Americans rely on today. This article defines
addiction as not being able to maintain ordinary ways of life without technology as
America demonstrated in 1996. It can be considered a credible source because it comes
from the Atkins Library ArticleFirst database and is peer-reviewed.
Gonyea, Jennifer. "Internet Sexuality: Clinical Implications for Couples." American Journal of
Family Therapy. 32.5 (2004): 375-390. Print.

Gonyea shows just how much the Internet can interfere with relationships. The case study
of Winnie and James depicts a troubled marriage seemingly being mended by
compensating with use of alternate resources such as porn sites and online chatting.

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Barriers to building intimacy are evident with new developments. This type of
interaction presents a dichotomy in which the body is present and absent,
simultaneously. Eventually this makes the addict feel that it is okay to be absent from
his or her relationship which makes the idea of a traditional relationship that much more
distant. Developing forms of compensation cause partners to stray from societys version
of a normal relationship or marriage. A normal relationship is traditionally thought of
as intimate, faithful, valuable, and overall exclusive. This article defines addiction as
being unable to maintain a face-to-face intimate relationship without the aid of alternate
resources. This source seems to be credible because it includes case studies to support the
information it provides as well as being part of a peer reviewed journal.
Shaw, Martha, and Donald Black. "Internet Addiction: Definition, Assessment, Epidemiology
and Clinical Management." Cns Drugs. 22.5 (2008): 353-365. Print.

According to the studies done by Shaw and Black, those who are excessive internet users
(addicts) experience Psychiatric Co-Morbidity and are more likely to have addictive
personalities. These abusers are likely to experience mood disorders, substance abuse
disorders, anxiety disorders, and psychotic disorders. These serious disorders that were
found in people also seem to provide a gateway into other habitual behaviors such as
compulsive buying, pathological gambling, pyromania, kleptomania, and more (358).
This source defines addiction as excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges
or behaviors regarding computer use and Internet access that lead to impairment or
distress (361). I chose to use this source not because it helped to define addiction, but
because it shows what a technology addiction can lead to if not taken care of and also to
explain that it can be a gateway addiction. This source seems to be credible because it is a
peer reviewed source and because it provides experimental data to back up the

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information.



HARRIS, KENNETH J, KENT MARETT, and RANIDA B. HARRIS. "Technology-related
Pressure and Work-Family Conflict: Main Effects and an Examination of Moderating
Variables." Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 41.9 (2011): 2077-2103. Print.

Use of technology in work environments has shown an indirect correlation to increased
pressure in a family environment. It is known that there is a constant struggle with
maintaining a proper balance between work and family. Research participants felt that
increased workload and connectivity resulting from new technology indeed overwhelmed
their personal lives, increased personal anxiety, and eventually degraded their
productivity (3). Previous research has shown Work-Family-Conflict to be related to
negative consequences, including worse health, worse career outcomes, decreased
satisfaction and performance, and higher levels of strain, absenteeism, and turnover (2).
New technology allows faster speeds of work to be done. Therefore, more productivity is
expected of the employees. This form of addiction is not always the fault of the worker;
it is induced by their occupation enforcing technology-related tasks. This form of
addiction, relating to occupation, causes stress in families because networking through
technology can be confused with replacing time to connect with ones family. However,
it is still considered addiction because there are always alternatives to technology use.
The desire to keep using technology in order to stay ahead is what makes it an addiction.
This source is reliable because it is a peer-reviewed article and also sites many other
published articles as backup to their research.
Lee, Yu-Kang, Chun-Tuan Chang, You Lin, and Zhao-Hong Cheng. "The Dark Side of
Smartphone Usage: Psychological Traits, Compulsive Behavior and Technostress."
Computers in Human Behavior. 31.3 (2014): 373-383. Print.

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Research of smartphone usage done by these authors shows the link between
psychological traits and the compulsive behaviors of smartphone users, and looks further
into the stress caused by those compulsive behaviors. Compulsive usage of smartphone
and techno-stress are positively related to psychological traits including locus of control,
social interaction anxiety, materialism and the need for touch (1). The authors of this
article, Lee, Chang, Win and Cheng, point out smartphones are no longer cutting-edge
communication gadgets, but are now necessities in peoples lives. For smartphone users,
their phone is the first thing they look at in the morning, and the last thing they look at
before going to sleep (1). This article shows agreement with Shaws definition in the
above citation: an addict demonstrates excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations,
urges or behaviors regarding computer use and Internet access that lead to impairment or
distress. The example used by the authors of this article is when one gets on a routine of
checking their phone after waking up and before falling asleep, they may experience
anxiety or distress when not able to do so. This source is credible because it is peer-
reviewed and shows results consistent with another peer-reviewed source that I have
chosen to use.