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Session 22
Title: The Multiplicities of
Internet Addiction: The Misrecognition of Leisure and Learning.
Session
Description:
Popular cultural pundits,
theorists and journalists posit the over-use of the Internet as
problematic, addictive or disruptive. In our daily lives, we
hear stories that claim online use interferes with relationships
and that it is not healthy to spend ‘excessive’ time in front of
computer screens. People joke about suffering from withdrawal if
they cannot check their emails. Some parents worry especially
about their children’s use of computers and wonder whether it is
to the detriment of other life experiences normally associated
with childhood. Is it possible that people, some young and some
old, are addicted to computers and Internet use?
The environment in which people
are positioned is digital, and former notions of what
constitutes a normal childhood (playing outside, being involved
in sports, music lessons, watching TV, spending time with
friends) are being challenged by the development of home
computer use which is now a primary site of leisure for people
of all ages. Based on a recent research study that examined the
practice found in home computer use as a primary site of
leisure, this book suggests how people of all ages are actually
learning in their online engagement, which is not to their
detriment, but constitutes a leisurely practice that is both
positive and legitimate. This book explains the discourses
surrounding Internet addiction and highlights the new
relationships between our leisure and our learning, and the
increasing blur between our private and public spheres. It
contests the glibly thrown about phrase of ‘Internet addiction’.
Various takes on the existence of Internet addiction are
presented and critiqued.
Presenter: Dr. Nicola F.
Johnson
 PhD
(Deakin), MEd, BEd, Dip Tchg (Primary) Educator (Lecturer) in
Curriculum and Teacher Education Faculty of Education, 23.G15
University of Wollongong Northfields Avenue, 2522 NSW, Australia
The Multiplicities of Internet
Addiction: The Misrecognition of Leisure and Learning, available
now at
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754674962
www.nicolajohnson.net
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