Auction Addiction

It seems that with any new online service, what is meant to be enjoyable, fun, and harmless can turn into a dangerous addiction if the user is not careful. The creation of eBay and other online auctions was followed swiftly by people becoming hooked on bidding..... This comes from being so obsessed with "winning" whatever product you're bidding on, it becomes overwhelming, consuming your life.

So, how do your know if you're addicted to online auctions? Here are some questions to consider:

• Do you need to bid with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement?
• Are you preoccupied with auction houses (thinking about being online when offline, anticipating your next online session)?
• Have you lied to friends and family members to conceal extent of your online bidding?
• Do you feel restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop online bidding?
• Have you made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop online bidding?
• Do you use auction houses as a way of escaping from problems or relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression?
• Have you jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of online bidding?
• Have you committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement to finance online activities?

Source: http://www.netaddiction.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88%3Aebay&catid=42%3Arecovery-resources&Itemid=86


This epidemic is a growing problem and it is only continuing to grow as time goes on and more and more unique and potentially more addicting online auction sites emerge in the e-commerce world.

In my opinion, I think that penny auction sites are the most addictive of them all because it is so easy to keep bidding and bidding and bidding and the dollar amounts start so small that it may seem harmless, so the money keeps increasing and increasing without notice. Not only that, but I think the shorter auction timers may add to the addiction. Being that the auction may only last 10-20 seconds after each bid, the fast pace inevitably increases the adrenaline rush more and more as time goes by.

On all auction sites, no matter what the time, addiction is highly possible if you're not careful especially since they are now available anytime, anywhere, considering the ease of access we enjoy with Web 2.0 and WiFi networks. It is now possible to connect to the Internet anywhere, whether on a computer at home, school, or work, not to mention on our fancy smartphones.

So the real question... Is it really worth it?