Preference for Online Social Interactions Twenty Years Later: Reconceptualizing the Construct and Its Role in Internet-Related Behavioral Addictions

Abstract

Abstract Purpose of Review This manuscript presents a conceptual reframing of a construct that has traditionally played a central role within the cognitive-behavioral model of problematic Internet use: the Preference for Online Social Interactions (POSI). This concept has been introduced to capture a key cognitive risk factor for the lack of control over multidimensional Internet use, particularly Internet communicative services (e.g., online social networks). Recent Findings Given the evolution of digital communication, POSI’s original definition—based on a binary distinction between online and offline social relationships—may no longer have the same pervasiveness and effectiveness in describing, representing, and encapsulating the individual experience that may serve as a gateway to problematic Internet uses. Drawing on a narrative review of studies that have examined POSI in relation to various forms of problematic Internet use, we propose that this concept should now be reframed to emphasize rigidity and a predominant orientation toward the online environment. Summary Under this updated conceptualization, POSI may still function as a relevant cognitive precursor of the behavioral dimensions—e.g., loss of control—characterizing several problematic Internet-related behaviors. Although the relevance of POSI might vary across these behaviors, we discuss theoretical and empirical reasons to consider it involved in Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU), Gaming Disorder (GD), Gambling Disorder, Compulsive-Shopping Disorder (CSD), Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD), Problematic Pornography Use (PPU) and even in the emerging use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a surrogate for human relationships.