Harry Potter and the end of the road: Parallels with addiction

Abstract

The term addiction involves aspects of salience, withdrawal, and conflict or interference with everyday functioning. The present series of studies examined whether high levels of engagement with the Harry Potter (HP) phenomenon could qualify as an addiction. Through use of three surveys posted online, we established that a sizeable portion (though not a majority) of self-described HP fans demonstrated craving for the release of the final book in the series, and experienced some withdrawal symptoms upon finishing the book. HP fandom also produced a disruptive influence on day to day functioning of some fans in a 6 month follow-up. In sum, we found parallels between criteria used to diagnose traditional forms of addiction or dependence and some people's attachment to a phenomenon in popular culture.

• Addiction
• dependence
• withdrawal
• craving
• depression