From behavioral dependence to economic cost: Reframing digital addiction in economic terms
Abstrak
Digital addiction is typically examined as a psychological or behavioral condition, while its broader economic consequences remain insufficiently addressed. This paper reframes digital addiction as an economic pathology, emphasizing its welfare and productivity implications across individuals, organizations, and public systems. Drawing on behavioral economics, time-allocation theory, and the economics of externalities, the study develops a theory-driven analytical framework to map the diffusion of economic costs associated with excessive digital use. Methodologically, a structured literature synthesis is combined with relative intensity scoring and heatmap visualization to compare cost channels and affected stakeholders. The findings indicate that the primary economic burden arises from time misallocation, productivity losses, and social spillovers rather than direct expenditures alone, with costs distributed asymmetrically across the economy. The framework provides a diagnostic basis for future empirical research and policy intervention in the digital economy.
Penulis (3)
Constantinos Challoumis
Nikolaos Eriotis
Dimitrios Vasiliou
Akses Cepat
- Tahun Terbit
- 2026
- Bahasa
- en
- Sumber Database
- Semantic Scholar
- DOI
- 10.59429/esp.v11i3.4549
- Akses
- Open Access ✓