Addiction to Technology

"Whether it was comics, telephones, movies, radio, television, video games, or the internet, it has always been assumed the media have captivated the younger generation with a level of passive engagement that is close to addiction" (Feinstein, 2009). 

 

Reader Question: There is research that suggests that teens can become addicted to video games and the internet, causing them to neglect their health, school work, and social life. How can parents tell when their teens interest has become an addiction, and what can parents do to help teens keep keep a balanced approach?

Impact of technology on teenagers lives:

• Video games require reflexive reactions - not reflective responses. Games stimulate the amygdala and neutralize the frontal lobes. Teens who engage in excessive violent video play have under active frontal lobes during and long after the game has been unplugged.
• Watching violent movies and playing violent video games may impact copycat violence in individuals. This means they could potentially repeat what interactions they are viewing on their screens.
• Students who play video games instead of reading or interacting with their environment show halting in brain development. Playing video games shows activity in the brain areas of vision and movement, whereas doing arithmetic, even simple arithmetic stimulated brain activity in both the the left and right hemispheres of the frontal lobe - the areas most associated with learning, memory, and emotion.

Signs of addiction:

• Clues that adolescents are in technology trouble can be found when they break family rules limiting the amount of technology use or sneak around to use it.
• Choosing video games and instant messaging over getting together with friends in real life, doing homework, sleeping, or become furious when asked to stop.

What can parents do:

• Identify which activities are problems and which are not. Eliminating all technology is not the solution. 
• Set reasonable limits on computer and television time and ask for your teen's input about these limits.
• Eliminate the violent video games, particularly for the young adolescent.

 Interesting facts:

• Ninety percent of teens play video games regularly.
• Only five hours per week of playing violent video games will show brain activity with aggressive thoughts. 

Reference:
Feinstein, S. (2009). Inside the Teenage Brain: Parenting a Work in Progress. Lanham, Maryland, United States: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

In response to a reader question
~Kim