Assign Nine: That Dude's List

Let's say I have a 'friend' that has an internet addiction-- what would you guess their addiction consists of? We all know there's a lot free porn out there, and we all know that the gambling is good for the compulsive types. (I've also lost a few friends to W.o.W (R.I.P.)-- but who hasn't?) Please try to stay in your seat when I tell you that this particular friend is addicted to something far more foul and insidious than all these. It crawled out from the underbelly of our internet alleyways and started to proffer luring knick-knacks at irresistible prices. I'm talking about that dude's list... oh what's his name? Oh right. Craig.

Craigslist.com offers local listings for everything from old sinks and golf clubs to Ithacan male strippers:

"Spice up your next party.
Great guy, baby boomer, fit and fun, will deliver balloons or flowers to your next party, birthday or holiday event. Laugh, blush and party!
g-string or nude.
- Boomer Balloons"

How could you resist a baby-boomer in a g-string? But in all seriousness, if someone begins to check craigslist for good deals, there is no telling what will be available or how long it will be available before someone buys it. Some listings go up late at night and are already sold by the next day,encouraging constant vigilance for deal-seekers. Wallace would describe the addictiveness of craigslist by referring to the psychological technique of operant conditioning with a variable reward schedule. Checking craigslist is difficult to extinguish because users become conditioned to expect very sporadic rewards.

But craigslist is not just rusty garage tools and grandpa's television set, it is also an online social interaction network. People often post very personal entries just describing a problem they have or venting about things that they find frustrating. It is this aspect of craigslist that lends itself to the factors of Caplan's model. It seems likely that users that seek out the craigslist community in a problematic way are often already afflicted by psychosocial problems like loneliness. In this way, they prefer online interactions via CMC to FtF because they perceive it to be less threatening and perceive themselves to be more capable of having their desired effect (efficacious). Caplan showed that this positive feedback loop can lead to exacerbated psychosocial problems, a stronger preference for CMC and further excessive use of CMC, repeating ad infinitum.

Alright, alright. So it's me who is addicted. I just can't help myself when there are reel-to-reel tape recorders from the sixties out there! It is truly a foul temptation!

http://comm245yellow.blogspot.com/2007/11/assignment-9_2069.html#c5843907650484504254

http://comm245yellow.blogspot.com/2007/11/bidzcoma-low-profile-1-start-bidding.html#c1127616974217810133