My Name is Jessica, and I'm a Shop-E-holic
By Suzanne Northington
Jessica has a secret. It takes place at night and she tells
no one, not even her family. But she can't stop; like an addict,
she's hooked and feels unable to control her behavior.
Jessica, by her own admission, is an Internet shopping junkie.
"I can spend $10,000 in ten minutes on the Internet," Jessica
says. "E-shopping is quick and easy. Once you get the swing
of it, it's hard to stop."
A financial planner at a San Francisco brokerage house, she
asked that her real name not be used. "My job is about encouraging
people to trust the Internet as a rational way to manage their
finances," Jessica says. "I can't afford to have my colleagues
know that I do this."
And why does Jessica feel so ashamed? "I've discovered the
incredible thrill of shopping online. The Web is this extraordinary
shopping mall like no mall I've ever been to in the brick
and mortar world. And most important, it's private. I can
do it from my bed."
Jessica's alarming shopping behavior has attracted the attention
of psychiatrists who see it as the dark side of e-commerce.
According to Forrester Research and National Research Foundation
data, Americans spent $2.8 billion online in January 2000.
This points to a powerful and potentially dangerous commerce
engine that could create a colossal new category of shopping
addiction.
"There are many reasons why the Internet would encourage
people to shop to excess," says Dr. Mark Levy, a Mill Valley
psychiatrist and Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF School
of Medicine. "The privacy of the Internet is its most seductive
component. Shopaholics see their spending as illicit and want
to hide it. The Internet gives them the privacy to carry out
their illicit activities without social disapproval."
Dr. Galina Gorodetsky, a San Francisco psychiatrist, sees
Internet shopping addiction as new wine in an old bottle.
"It's the same obsessive-compulsive disorder applied to a
new technology," she says. "I've seen the same thing in women
who do a lot of catalog shopping in secrecy at night and on
weekends. They are very similar to the Internet shoppers."
Moreover, online shoppers can do what they could never do
when shopping at stores: buy a tremendous amount of merchandise
in a matter of seconds. Call it socially sanctioned impulse
buying, with hundreds of banner ads that beckon the surfer
and encourage indulgence.
In this context, spending $1,000 is as easy as a quick click.
Instant gratification, and no one knows your guilty secrets
but your credit card company and postman.
Says Jessica, "It's all so easy. All I have to do is click,
click, click, and it's mine, tax-free no less. I can find
things really fast on the Web that would take me weeks to
find in stores."
Dr. Levy cites the example of a friend who confesses to spending
money to excess on EBay. "This woman would never take the
time to go to 20 antique stores to find this stuff, "he says.
But in cyberspace, she doesn't hesitate to visit 20 antique
stores. "Distance has no meaning in Internet space," says
Dr. Levy.
Quick-click buying may be convenient and save shoe leather,
but it can also push people over the edge financially. Internet
shopping addiction is not just psychologically destructive;
it can also be ruinous to a person's financial health.
Jessica admits that it's taking a toll on her pocketbook.
"I'm spending more on clothes, cosmetics, and jewelry than
ever before. I just can't resist the bargains on the Net."
Dr. Gorodetsky believes the traditional notion of women as
shopaholics may collapse in the brave new world of e-commerce.
For the time being, at least, men are still the predominant
Internet users, constituting 54% of the online population.
And while the addiction applies equally to men and women,
their shopping preferences differ. "Women tend to buy products
that enhance their self-image (i.e., clothes, cosmetics, jewelry),"
says Dr. Levy, "while (male shopaholics) buy things that make
them feel empowered and competent such as computers, cameras,
and electronics."
"Contrary to the popular belief that women are the shopaholics,
it appears that neither gender will be in the majority in
this new shopping arena," she says. "It will be a 50-50 ratio
for both sexes."
The following sites offer more information on and support
for Internet addiction and debt counseling:
Internet addiction:
Debt counseling and support:
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