New framework could help online addicts reduce their usage
Isaac Vaghefi, assistant professor of management information systems at Binghamton University, has developed a framework using a theory from psychology known as cognitive dissonance, which is the discomfort felt by those whose actions conflict with their beliefs (e.g. someone who believes that smoking is unhealthy but chain smokes). Along with Hamed Qahri-Saremi, assistant professor of information systems at DePaul University, Vaghefi developed a model showing that the degree of users' cognitive dissonance can make a difference in their willingness to quit their online addiction. "Dissonance is what we need to work on and what we need to help increase for users to make sure that they will do some action to limit their control," said Vaghefi. "We have users who say, 'I know I'm using a lot, but everyone around me is using a lot.' What we need to do is highlight the negative consequences for them. We can objectively use instruments that will show them ...