The use of technology today represents enormous communicative, creative and educational potential, however, its excessive use can entail risks and consequences, leading the person to become addicted to technology.
Addiction can affect any age, however, adolescents are especially vulnerable to it, because new generations are born with digital media, forming part of their daily life and development, being their main source of information, socialization and communication. Therefore, it is necessary to know the possible risks and consequences of excessive use, in order to prevent and treat addiction as quickly as possible.
Within technology addiction we can find addiction to video games, the Internet, social networks, nomophobia, etc. If you are interested in continuing to learn how they become addicted to technology, continue reading this Psychology-Online article where we will explain the Technology addiction: what it is, causes, symptoms, consequences and treatment.
Technology addiction: what is it?
When we think about addiction, we relate the concept to the consumption of a harmful substance that entails generating tolerance, dependence and abstinence, which arise from the person’s need to take that substance to be able to face a new day, thereby stopping the sensations of emotional and/or physical discomfort.
When we talk about addiction to technology we try to adapt these terms to the concept of technology, since what technological instruments lead to is the lost of control of the person’s behavior, where he is tries to alleviate their emotional discomfort through technologies systematically, turning them into a refuge and generating the need to access them in the face of discomfort.
In order to be considered an addictive behavior, the loss of control of the behavior must be present, over which the person cannot be without an element that generates addiction (social networks, Internet, video games,…), thereby generating dependence to these elements and causing feelings of anxiety, irritability, depression and despair when you cannot make use of them, appearing in this the concept of abstinence and needing more and more time to use it, thus increasing its tolerance.
Use of technology today
In recent decades, great progress has been made in ICT, information and communication technologies. There has been a exponential growth of these, increasing the diversity and specificity of the different devices and their uses, adding ease of access to them. These advances have allowed many benefits in our society, however they have required an adaptation of our daily habits, on which there must be an adaptation, which is not always healthy, because bad habits can be generated in the use of technology in today, being able to achieve a behavioral addiction towards them. So, the diversity and specialization they have achieved, as well as the possibility of accessing them from anywhere, have become the risk factors that most trigger their addiction.
Technology addiction is a very broad term. Therefore, we will explain some types of technology addictionthe most common, for example addiction to video games, the Internet, social networks and nomophobia.
video game addiction
It has already been accepted by the WHO (World Health Organization) as a disease. This is recognized as a non-toxic addiction that is part of the behavioral addictions, on which a behavior that cannot be controlled is established. The person generates a very intense dependence on the video game, where he loses track of time, losing control about the duration and frequency in which they play. Faced with this, when the person cannot play, anxious feelings, stress and alterations in eating and sleeping behavior may appear. Video games become the refuge of these people, seeking alternate realities, thereby causing a certain Social isolation and a loss of personal relationships.
Internet addiction
When we talk about addiction to online shopping, addiction to sex on the Internet or gambling on-line, we are talking about independent addictions that use the Internet as a medium to be able to access the addictive element more immediately and anonymously. It is not the Internet itself, but what they search for through it. However, there are people who generate a dependency on the concept of the Internet in general, due to the inexhaustible number of ways to communicate and the new possibilities that the Internet offers every day. The Internet is an instrument of interaction, work, information, leisure,… that can bring many advantages, however, people with Internet addiction remain absorbed in the network, changing their external reality for a virtual one. Faced with this, a abusive behavioral pattern of drug use Internet, thereby abandoning the activities that the person used to like, the search for information from other methods, personal relationships and neglecting the different obligations and responsibilities. The great diversity that the Internet offers (being able to listen to music, watch videos, search for information, visit social networks, download movies,…) is what generates its dependence, since it can satisfy any need that the person has.
Social networks addiction
Nowadays, social networks have changed the way people communicate. Each person uses social networks for different purposes such as talking with friends, meeting new people, spreading news, promoting a job, etc. Through correct use, they can contribute to a large number of benefits. However, social networks are increasingly being used to create false identities, showing what you think will be well seen by others, seeking constant approval. Over time, the need for validation from others It can lead to serious problems since the person becomes dependent on the opinions of others. For this reason, it has often been related to a low self-concept, which attempts are made to supplant with changes to one’s own identity shown on the Internet. In this addiction, the addictive component is based on the speed of response, the immediate reward and the interactivity that social networks compromise, which causes a distancing from real life, self-esteem problemsdifficulty of control and appearance of anxiety when they cannot be used.
Nomophobia
The term comes from “no-mobile-phone-phobia”. The meaning of nomophobia refers to the anxiety that a person suffers when they cannot use their mobile phone, invading them with feelings of lack of communication, either because the battery has run out, they have left their mobile phone at home, it has been broken, etc. . So we talk about a mobile phone dependence which has been related to a phobia due to the intense anxious and obsessive feelings that arise in the absence of the device and that disappear when the person has the phone again.
Technology addiction: symptoms
The symptoms of technology addiction categorized as physical symptoms are as follows:
- eye strain
- Hearing loss
- Back pain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Phantom vibration
- Dequervain syndrome
- Teenage insomnia
- Exclusive dependency
- Thumb rhizartosis
- Infertility
- Childhood and adolescent obesity
On the other hand, the symptoms of psychological technology addiction are the following:
- Isolation
- Disturbed and compulsive behavior
- Anxiety and irritability
- Communication problems
- Language impoverishment
- Sensitivity to comments, judgments and evaluations of others
- Poor school performance
- Depression
Technology addiction: causes
The origin of technology addiction tends to be similar to the beginning of substance use. The person, faced with emotional and physical discomfort, seeks refuge in technologies, to alleviate different situations such as painful events, social anxiety, life moments of stress, problems within the family, self-esteem problems,… Faced with this set of problems, the person looks for a new reality on the screen in new technologies. This process is normalized, because it is very different in the eyes of the population to seek refuge in a toxic substance than in a distraction such as a video game, which in the first instance is not harmful to our health. Added to all this is the immediate accessibility, lack of limits and the gratification of immediate rewardssuch as “likes” on social networks, which leads to the development of addictive behavior.
Technology addiction: consequences
The consequences derived from the abuse of new technologies can be very diverse, depending on physical and psychological symptoms, as we have seen previously. The consequences of technology addiction can range from health problems such as obesitysuch as psychological problems such as achieving a depression. However, one of the main repercussions of technology addictions is the Social isolation that they produce and absorption in a fictitious reality, which although it allows interactions to be established, these become colder and more distant, and can generate great feelings of loneliness and depression.
Technology addiction: treatment
The cornerstone of addiction treatment is based on understanding that the problem does not lie with the object of addiction, whether it be social networks or a substance, but with the person. Faced with this, the treatment must be adapted to each person and can be carried out both individually and in groups, with sessions that range between 12 and 16 months in duration. Treatment of technology addiction must cover all areas of the persontaking into account the family, their social, work or academic environment and their personal sphere.
In personal work it is important to work through a psychotherapy process on aspects such as self-esteem, acceptance of oneself, improvement in social skills and conflict resolution.
In relation to the family, it is of utmost importance that there is collaboration, although family involvement will be different depending on each case. In general, they tend to redistribute family responsibilities, work on communication and trust between different family members, establish control and limits regarding the use of the object of addiction, and propose strategies to use against addiction.
As these are addictions that tend to appear in adolescence or youth, the environment of friends is very important, given its influence. The problem is that many of the friendships are…