Excessive Valuation of Social Interaction in Text-Message Dependency: A Behavioral Economic Demand Analysis

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a behavioral economic framework of demand analysis can be used to characterize text-message dependency. To this end, we developed a novel hypothetical task using likelihood measures to quantify demand for social interaction through text messaging. Participants completed the hypothetical demand task in which they rated their likelihood of paying an extra charge, ranging from $0.10 to $80, to continue text messaging after reaching their monthly limit. The demand for social interaction from text messaging was more intense and less elastic for the participants with higher levels of text-message dependency compared to those with lower levels of text-message dependency. The results of this proof-of-concept study support the utility of behavioral economic demand analysis for characterizing text-message dependency. In addition, the greater intensity and lesser elasticity of the demand for social interaction shown by text-dependent participants suggests that text-message dependency can be characterized by both excessiveness and persistence of the behavior, similar to other impulsivity related problems.