ByDarko Savic
How can we protect the kids from tech addiction if they need it to fit in with their peers?
2 years ago
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ChallengeAohona Datta Aug 27, 2020
how do you know you are addicted to the screen?
Image credit: Grzegorz Walczak
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Necessity
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Is technology addiction real? Can we self-diagnose?
Addiction to the screen may not be listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but, we may have a problem!
Some simple ideas to evaluate our over-dependence on technology:
- Fix a certain time during the day (for example: 7pm-9pm) when you keep your laptop and mobile phones switched off. Record how many days in a week, you actually did that!
- If you manage to maintain point 1. for a week, then, you can begin to make notes about your activities during the no-internet no-gadget period.
- Make notes about your mood during that period. Are you irritable, calm or fidgeting!
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Creative contributions
typical addiction behavior
As you suggest, I think that by analyzing your own behavior you can easily see if you are actually addicted or not.
Some indicative examples:
- Checking the screen even if not needed (the equivalent of opening the fridge even when you don't need anything from it)
- Feeling anxious if you forgot the phone (or any other screen device) at home, even if you didn't need it
- Finding excuses to look at a screen, such as knowing what time it is even if you do not need this information/ you already know the time
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Once a week have a screen-free day
If you can afford it, designate a specific day of the week to be your offline day. No phone, no tv, no computer, no digital watch, no screens of any kind. If you drive a Tesla, tough luck - walk it off that day. A perfect day to hang out with family and friends. If they pull out a phone, walk away:)
What would be an appropriate name for such a day? These come to mind:
- Screen-free day
- No screen day
- Analog day
- Offline day
Thoughts?
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Aohona Datta4 years ago
I vote for Analog day :)
I support this : If they pull out a phone, walk away !
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Diognosis & Treatment of Screen Addiction
Biological predispositions to Internet Addiction Disorder can also contribute to this disorder. If you have this disorder, the levels of dopamine and serotonin can be low relative to the general population. This chemical deficiency may cause you to participate in more behaviors to achieve the same pleasurable response compared to individuals who do not have addictive behaviors on the Internet. In order to achieve this gratification, individuals will participate in more activity to the general public, raising their chances of becoming addicted.
The first step in treatment is the recognition that a problem exists. If you do not believe you have a problem, you are not likely to seek treatment. One of the overarching problems with the Internet is that there is often no accountability and no limits. You are hidden behind a screen – and some things that you may say or do online are things you would never do in person.
There is a debate in the literature on whether treatment is necessary in the first place. Some believe that Internet Addiction Disorder to be a “fad illness” and suggests that it usually resolves itself on its own. Studies have shown that self-corrective behavior can be achieved and successful. Corrective behaviors include software that controls the Internet use and types of sites that can be visited – with the majority of professionals in agreement that total abstinence from the computer is not an effective method of correction.
Some professionals argue that medications are effective in the treatment of Internet Addiction Disorder – because if you are suffering from this condition, it is likely that you are also suffering from an underlying condition of anxiety and depression. It is generally thought that if you treat the anxiety or depression, Internet Addiction may resolve in step with this treatment approach.
References
1: Chesley N. Blurring boundaries? Linking technology use, spillover, individual distress, and family satisfaction. J Marriage Fam 2005;67:1237-1248.
2: Rosell MC, Sánchez-Carbonell X, Jordana CG, Fargues MB. El adolescente ante las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación: internet, móvil y videojuegos. Papeles del Psicólogo. 2007;28:196-204.
3: Chóliz M, Pinto L, Phansalkar SS, et al. Mobile-phone addiction in adolescence: the test of mobile phone dependence (TMD). Prog Health Sci. 2012;7:650. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00650
4: Sahin S, Ozdemir K, Unsal A, Temiz N. Evaluation of mobile phone addiction level and sleep quality in university students. Pak J Med Sci 2013;29:913-918.
5: Aggarwal KK. Twenty-six percent doctors suffer from severe mobile phone-induced anxiety: excessive use of mobile phone can be injurious to your health. Indian J Clin Pract 2013;24:7-9.
6: Ali M, Asim M, Danish SH, Ahmad F, Iqbal A, Hasan SD. Frequency of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis and its association with SMS texting. Muscles Ligaments Tendons J 2014;4:74-78.
7: Lin YH, Lin SH, Li P, Huang WL, Chen CY. Prevalent hallucinations during medical internships: phantom vibration and ringing syndromes. PLoS One. 2013;8(5):e65152. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065152.
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General comments
Darko Savic4 years ago
For those of us who work online, this quote is fitting: "It is difficult to get a person to understand something when their salary depends upon them not understanding it!"