Addiction, autonomy, and the Internet: Some ethical considerations

Despite growing understanding of the addictive qualities of the Internet, and rising concerns about the effects of excessive Internet use on personal well-being and mental health, the corresponding ethical debate is still in its infancy, and many of the relevant philosophical and conceptual frameworks are underdeveloped. Our goal in this chapter is to explore some of this evolving terrain. While there are unique ethical considerations that pertain to the formalization of a disorder related to excessive Internet use, our ethical concerns (and indeed our mental health concerns) about whether certain technologies undermine well-being can and should be far broader than the debates about the appropriateness of particular diagnostic categories. In this chapter, we introduce some of these wider debates with regard to persuasive digital technologies—particularly those which aim to maximize use, or even to encourage compulsive engagement—as well as the difficulty in articulating the harms involved in excessive Internet use, especially where such use has not led to functional impairment. Following these conversations, we briefly consider some more practical ethical implications, including regulation of certain design features, concerns about growing socioeconomic inequality in online services, and whether there should be a “right to disconnect.”