Summary

The Internet is available anytime, anywhere thanks to a host of wireless communications and mobile computing devices. This accessibility makes it difficult for people with online addictions or compulsions to avoid the object of their fixation. Any excessive online activity that leads to personal, family, or community problems can be considered an Internet addiction, and compulsive behaviors can take the form of online and electronic gaming, compulsive shopping, or frequenting chat rooms and social-networking sites.

Internet Addiction and Online Gaming discusses the nature of these problems, their impact on society, and how readers can watch out for emerging addiction in themselves and in others. Aside from the damage addictions can do to someone's personal life, there are also technological risks from malware, viruses, and malicious hackers. Teens will learn how to use information technology wisely and safely and how to protect themselves from these damaging behaviors.

Chapters and topics include:

• Attitudes, behaviors, and characteristics of online addicts
• Social computing and online addictions
• The personal and economic harm of online addictions
• Responsible, safe use of the Internet
• The role of educators, government, and parents.

Specifications

Full-color and black-and-white photographs. Sidebars. Bibliography. Chronology. Endnotes. Further resources. Index.

About the Author(s)

Samuel C. McQuade III, Ph.D., is a professor and graduate program coordinator for the cross-disciplinary professional studies master's degree program in Rochester Institute of Technology's College of Applied Science and Technology. He has 30 years of experience as a practitioner, teacher, and researcher of criminal justice and security. He is a former Air National Guard security police officer, deputy sheriff, police officer and detective, police organizational change consultant, National Institute of Justice program manager for the U.S. Department of Justice, and study director for the Committee on Law and Justice of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. He is also the author of Understanding and Managing Cybercrime and Encyclopedia of Cybercrime.

Sarah E. Gentry is a graduate student in the professional studies master's degree program at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She serves as a graduate research assistant for the RIT-led Cyber Safety and Ethics Initiative. She has worked as a system administrator for both the RIT residential computing lab and the Society for the Protection and Care of Children in Rochester, NY. Gentry holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science degree in multidisciplinary studies.

James P. Colt, Ed.D., is the coordinator of school safety and security for the Monroe 1 BOCES school district. He is a former police officer employed by the State University of New York and served as a criminal justice instructor and school community safety specialist at Monroe 1 BOCES. He is also a certified public school teacher and school administrator in New York State and holds master's degrees in criminal justice and educational administration. He earned his doctorate from St. John Fisher College, with a research focus on cyberbullying and cyberoffending. He is the coauthor of Cyber Bullying: Protecting Kids and Adults from Online Bullies and contributing author to the Encyclopedia of CyberCrime. He also serves on the executive committee of the Cyber Safety and Ethics Initiative in western New York.