From O-Shopping Addiction to Compulsive Buying Disorder

 

NAME: Sherlyn C. Tibay                                                 DATE: September 28, 2022

 

From O-Shopping Addiction to Compulsive Buying Disorder

 

Is anyone looking for a 24/7 shopping mall? Or stores that never get an issue with long queues and demand to go to their place to buy stuff? Or want to better compare various models and brands without straining feet for walking from one store to another? Online shopping offers all of these. Yes, there is convenience in shopping online: it saves time and effort; shopping at home; a wide variety of products; offers good discounts; and makes it easy to compare products (Kotamraju, 2022). Amazon, Alibaba, Lazada, and Shopee are just a few shop names addicted to browsing by their patronizers. Electronic shopping was invented 44 years ago by English inventor Michael Aldrich; its emergence breaks the traditional way of commerce and allows buyers and sellers to transact business from their comfort zone (Ang, 2021). However, its convenience entices another form of behavior common to online shoppers. Convenience exploitation, because of too much convenient shopping experience online, shoppers are tempted to buy compulsively, leading to CBD or Compulsive Buying Disorder.

 

Covid-19 indeed provokes behavioral addiction; one of many addictions being triggered is shopping online. According to Maraz and Yi (2022), there was a nationwide increase in CBD cases after implementing the CARES Act during the ECQ months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic prohibited gatherings, and most public places like malls were closed, paving the way for E-Commerce to gain more popularity. The CARES protocols prompted many traditional shoppers to shift to online shopping, thus burgeoning the number of online buyers daily. Indisputably, buying online is less hassle than roaming shelf to shelf and section to section in the mall. This convenience attracted shoppers more. Aside from that, there are freebies and promos in online shopping centers that entice shoppers to follow and buy more items. Online shopping services bewitch shoppers to become compulsive buyers gradually.

 

Based on the World Psychiatric Journal survey, there is a gender difference in shopping behavior, and the survey showed that 92% of respondents who considered compulsive shoppers were women (de Mattos et al., 2016). Compulsive Buying Disorder is a mood and anxiety disorder and a private pleasure when the CBD person feeds their cravings. Various studies suggested that the average age of a person with a shopping addiction is 30 years old, and more individuals with financial stability have CBD (Block, 2020).

 

Persons with CBD are preoccupied with shopping and spending, buying in a quantity that results in out-of-control spending. Moreover, compulsive buyers cannot control their impulse to buy; hence, CBD is viewed as repetitive and unmanageable behavior (Black, 2007). They obsess over making purchases on a daily and weekly basis; feel intense excitement after buying stuff; their financial stock may run out without noticing, which plunges them into unmanageable debt. Fortunately, all addiction is treatable. Undeniably, the process is not a royal road (Yi & Maraz, 2021).

 

The cliché line says, “Too much of everything is bad.” Online shopping is an answer to all complaints against traditional shopping. Services and freebies offered online are a way to win the buyers’ trust aside from the convenience online shops render. People’s utilization is something to blame for all behavioral disorders (Pickard, 2012). Shoppers have found too much comfort and fun browsing and window shopping, not realizing they have abused the convenient experience resulting in severe emotional, relationship, and financial issues (Yi & Maraz, 2021).

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

Ang, C. (2021, July 5). Timeline: Key Events in the History of Online Shopping. Visualcapital.com. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.visualcapitalist.com/sp/history-of-online-shopping/

 

Black, D. (2007, February 6). A Review of Compulsive Buying Disorder. ncbi.nlm.nih. Retrieve September 27, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1805733/

 

Block, D. (2020, September 17). Which Mental Health Conditions Were Axis I Disorders? verymind.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/axis-i-disorders-2797271

 

de Mattos, C. N., Kim, H., Requiao, M., Marasaldi, R., & Filomensky, T. (2016, December 1). Gender Differences in Compulsive Buying Disorder: Assessment of Demographic and Psychiatric Co-Morbidities. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5131966/

 

Kotamraju, S. (2022, May 18). What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping? tutorialspoint.com. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-online-shopping

 

Pickard, H. (2012, February 5). Responsibility Without Blame: Empathy and the Effective Treatment of Personality Disorder. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3272423/

 

Yi, S. & Maraz, A. (2022, March 11). Compulsive Buying Gradually Increased During the First Six Months of the Covid-19 outbreak. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9109632/