General Article Getting your fix: technology addiction

Topic Selected: Internet
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In today’s world, technology is a vital fix for many kinds of problem. But, increasingly, it is becoming another kind of fix – and problem – for probably millions of people worldwide. Technology brings with it a powerful addiction.

By David Boothroyd

 

‘Internet addiction disorder’ (IAD) is coming to be recognised widely by the medical profession and governments as a serious problem to the extent that one version, relating to gaming, is listed in the latest version of the psychiatrists’ Bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM. Meanwhile, the US Academy of Paediatrics has published guidelines regarding children and use of the Internet.

Gaming is seen as the prime culprit, but Internet – or, more generally, technology – addiction can involve several other kinds of content supplied by today’s digital technologies on various devices; for example, social media and pornography. Many academics are now studying the problem, one of them being Phil Reed, Profe...

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