The Internet appears to have become an ever-increasing part in many areas of people’s day-to-day lives. One area that deserves further examination surrounds sex addiction and its relationship with excessive Internet usage. It has been alleged by some academics that social pathologies are beginning to surface in cyberspace and have been referred to as “technological addictions.” This article examines the concept of “Internet addiction” in relation to excessive sexual behavior. It contains discussions of the concept of sexual addiction and whether (...) the whole concept is viable. This is done through the evaluation of the small amount of empirical data available. It is concluded that Internet sex is a new medium of expression that may increase participation because of the perceived anonymity and disinhibition factors. It is also argued that although the amount of empirical data is small, Internet sex addiction exists and that there are many opportunities for future research. These are explicitly outlined. (shrink)

The newly proposed framework for non-addictive psychoactive substances postulated by Müller & Schumann (M&S) provides an interesting and plausible explanation for non-addictive drug use. However, with specific reference to the relevant behavioral addiction literature, this commentary argues that the model may unexpectedly hold utility not only for non-addictive use of drugs, but also for non-addictive use of other potentially addictive behaviors.

The for addiction proposed by Redish and colleagues is only unified at a reductionist level of analysis, the biological one relating to decision-making. Theories of addiction may be complementary rather than mutually exclusive, suggesting that limitations of individual theories might be unified through the combination of ideas from different biopsychosocial systems perspectives.