Online addiction is no excuse and never will be.

By Abigail Clarke: Contributing Content Blogger

It has come out lately that more and more mental health administrators are recognising internet addiction as a legitimate condition. Fine. Are they only getting to this now? Yes. The internet is still a fairly new phenomenon but even I could put the dots together to call this one is it really that much a surprise? British doctors are describing those suffering from online addictions as people who have lost touch with the real world through social networks and websites. Really? They say addiction behaviours are much more common than most of us realise and that temptations to overindulge in one’s compulsions are always there for every one of us. Talk about poppycock confusing the issues and it sounds like the granting of excuses and condolences to dangerous individuals who have the power to choose not to do what they do. I refuse to accept that. Giving people an excuse to harm others is empowering to them and only works to increase the explosion of sick behaviours we are already experiencing. Victims of sick online people are seeing lives ruined and committing suicide!

Cyberharassment is the only type of addiction, if you call it that, where the behaviour is focused on harming others, not the behaviour harming the addicted. There is no doubt a phenomenon exists that is going on en masse, but I don’t believe it is an addiction per se and if it really is it can NEVER be used as an excuse or tool to help the violators get off legally from what they do to someone else. I believe what we are seeing is spawned by a new generation incapable of forming normal healthy relationships away from a screen. Look at the world today, much among youth, do they talk on the phone? No. They text. They carry out whole relationships in text. To now label online abusive behaviour as an addiction could dangerously cause more grief going forward. We should be wise to not begin educating the public that this is an addiction issue, rather the unveiling of what has been there all along which is that piece of human nature that finds fascination in seeing others suffer and is willing to harm others for nothing more than a cheap thrill and power trip.

The Pattern of Internet Mobbing

By David Simms, Senior Contributor
The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

Internet mobbing is defined as a repeated pattern of negative intrusive violational behaviour carried out against one or more targets and is the phrase most used in continental Europe as opposed to bullying. Mobbing consists of a host of damaging behaviours including constant criticism, refusal of valuing and acknowledging, undermining, discrediting, and humiliation of a targeted individual. 

Every mob has a leader who is either an extrovert or introvert. If this person is an extrovert, it is usually obvious who is inciting and coercing members of the group. However, if the leader is an introvert type, they are likely to be acting behind the scenes manipulating group members into harassing the selected target – introvert bullies are much more dangerous than extrovert types. 

In a mobbing situation, the leader typically incites supporters, copycats, or inexperienced, immature, and emotionally needy individuals with poor values, to engage in actions against a selected target. Once they do this, the chief harasser will often feel a strong sense of gratification and empowerment knowing they are causing such adversarial interactions. This is a salient feature of people with psychopathic personality. 

One technique used by psychopathic bullies is to empower lesser bullies by enticing them to positions of power and authority – things they crave. Once installed, the lesser bully’s lack of competence makes them dependent on the chief psychopath, resulting in a state of willing compliance. One characteristic of those lower down in the mob is that they lack the intellect to understand the nature and manner of their compliant subservience. But it is usually these that a targeted individual is deceived into fighting, blaming and trying to hold accountable, rather than the group leader responsible for the attack. One of the primary reasons psychopathic mob leaders get away with their behaviour repeatedly is that nobody would believe they could be capable of such viciousness.   

Cyber-Stalking Has No Group Boundaries

By David Simms, Senior Contributor

The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

Cyber-stalking is generally not a gender, cultural, or other group-specific phenomenon. It can be inflicted by anybody with an internet connection and can be received by anybody via the same. Whether the stalker has a particular personal grudge against their target or they enjoy the psychological high and sense of control they experience when damaging and harassing the lives of others they don’t know or have a personal connection to has no bearing on propensity toward any one group over another.

The latest statistics show that cyber-harassment is experienced almost equally among all groups. There are also interesting statistics showing people who have recently moved from one country to another, or whose parents are immigrants to a new country, experience a slightly higher frequency of internet harassment. Many in this group are also more likely to be perpetrators of the bullying and harassment. It is speculated that this has something to do with being a defense mechanism to preempt attacks against themselves.