ISSUES
: The Internet of Things
Chapter 1: Digital issues
13
Getting your fix: technology addiction
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
‘I
nternet addiction disorder’
(IAD) is coming to be
recognised widely by the
medical profession andgovernments
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, Professor of
Psychology in Swansea University’s
College of Human and Health
Sciences.
“The signs are very similar to other
activities, such as gambling. People
spend increasing amounts of time
on the net, social media and so on
– more time than they want to – and
find themselves brushing off friends
and family. This starts to impact their
lives in a negative way.” Another
sign is disrupted sleep: studies have
shown people are waking up to
check Facebook in the middle of the
night.
“There is some evidence to suggest
the addiction has a negative impact
on health,” Prof. Reed says. “We
don’t understand this properly
yet, but it’s something to do with
a lack of face-to-face interaction,
which is known to boost your
immune system. If you are spending
increased amounts of time online on
a solitary pursuit, then you don’t see
that immunity boost effect.
“Technology addiction can be
associated with increases in
depression and social isolation
and, in part, that is because a lot of
people who are technology addicted
have an unmet need. That might be
for social contact and they think the
net is going to give it to them; but it
doesn’t. So they get more and more
depressed and socially isolated, and
it becomes a vicious circle.”
The person credited with being
the first to see the emergence of
technology addiction is psychologist
Dr Kimberly Young, who began to
study the topic as long ago as 1995
and wrote in 1998 a book called
Caught in the Net
. She has founded
netaddiction.com and the Center for
Internet Addiction Recovery. She
compares online addiction to drugs
or alcohol, because the Internet
provides addicts with the same
kind of ‘high’ and they become
dependent on it to feel normal.
How big a problem is it?
“In Europe and North America,
prevalence looks like somewhere
around four or 5% of the younger
population (16 to 30),” Prof. Reed
says. “In Asia, you might triple that
figure. We don’t know why that is the
case.
“Internet addicts often know there
is a problem but, as with most
addictions, it is very difficult to own
up to; there is still a bit of shame
about it. We have demonstrated
ourselves withdrawal effects (a study
last year by Swansea and Milan
University was the first to show this).
When addicts come offline, they get
negative mood swings, increased
levels of depression and increased
impulsivity.
“We have also found a wide range
of physiological effects. When I first
started talking about this, I used to
say it was a bit like being addicted to
ecstasy. I now think that was wrong;
it’s more like heroin in the sense
that the physiological effects you
get from withdrawal are somewhat
similar to other sedatives.
“With sedatives, once you stop
taking them, opposite kinds of
effects occur; your blood pressure
goes up and you become tense. And
that is what we are seeing with the
net.”
Some countries, notably South
Korea, are considering passing
legislation to try to control harmful
use of technology, for example by
limiting advertising. A separate bill
proposes to take 1% of the gaming
industry’s revenue to create a fund
to curb addiction. While the bill
has found favour with the likes of
parents, religious leaders and the
medical profession, it has alarmed
the Internet industry and enraged
gamers. A lawpassed in 2011 already
bans gaming between midnight and
dawn for anyone under age 16, but
is being appealed at South Korea's
Constitutional Court.
One notorious case that took place
in Korea in 2010 was the death of
a baby girl from malnutrition, said
to be the result of obsessive use of
the Internet by the parents. The man
was sentenced to two years in jail.
This, and other events, prompted
the government to study the subject
of Internet game addiction and its
latest survey reported that 2% of
Koreans aged ten to 19 – around
125,000 people – needed treatment
for excessive gaming or addiction.
This in a country where games are
broadcast live on TV to audiences of
millions.
Other countries, like China,
Australia, Singapore and Japan,
have also sounded similar warnings
that Internet addiction represents a
significant health threat.
Evidence is also growing that
technology addiction is affecting the
brain. For example, apaper published
in the scientific journal
PLOS One
