There are many facets of addiction, for example: Technology has changed our lifestyle, communication, entertainment and work. Advancement in technology has helped businesses as well as individuals to elevate new heights. However, the society is seeing an equal rise in addiction to the technology at a faster pace. Complaints are pouring in from parents, teachers, students and individuals. Parents are finding it difficult to control their children as they are way too busy with different electronic gadgets. Mobile phones, video games, internet, television, tablets and notebooks are keeping a human being busy in the virtual world. I can't say that I am not a part of the trend of having to check my cell phone constantly, check my Facebook account almost every thirty minutes. Though technology changed our lives for better living, it is also showing adverse effects on the other side. I have seen where some kids spend from five to ten hours a day playing video games.
Technology addiction is new and is far more addictive then gambling or drug addiction. There has been a heated dispute whether there is a need to consider avid use of technology in every aspect of life and the addiction it is causing. The craving for the use of technology has termed different categories in the addiction. A human system has been designed in such a way that it is rewarded each time it receives what is craves for. During this stage, brain releases dopamine, which is neurotransmitter and fills in the craving. For example a survey done like ICMPA and Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change with 1000 participents showed that it was impossible for them stay away from any kind of media for twenty four hours.
on the different
Quality suffers
The magic word these days is multitasking. The internet truly enables people at home or at work to talk with someone over the phone or through any communications systems available while doing something else at the same time. But in my own expieriences it takes alot to concentrate on one task at a time, this would include driving and texting, talking with a person and trying to generate a report, any project I set out to do seems to always overlap into another. I was literally stretching myself to thin, all the while I was'nt being efficient and the quality of work generated suffered. I accomplished alot of projects in a short period of time but it also affected my focus on the quality of work as well as my ability to communicate with others.When you multitask your focus is actually in fragments. This may make you miss the essence of communication – making a meaningful connection.
I feel that we are in a time where the need for electronic devices is a necessity, like an added limb for us to conduct our daily business, as well as a way to entertain ourselves. But just like anything else it can be used in excess. This effects the lives of many in our society today. For me I am one to use the resource as little as I need to. I was hesitant to rely on the electronic devices being used today. As for the children in today's society, It can be benifical in the long run and can also have it's draw backs, only time will tell. Being in the A&D counselling field of study I took note of the article stating that "Technology addiction is new and is far more addictive then gambling or drug addiction".
A little insight from a recent website visit:
"It's like a food addiction," Young explains. "You have to learn to live with food."
Because video game addicts can't avoid computers, they have to learn to use
them responsibly. Bakker says that means no gaming. As for limiting game time
to an hour a day, he compares that to "an alcoholic saying he's only going to
drink beer."
Bakker says the toughest part of treating video game addicts is that "it's a
little bit more difficult to show somebody they're in trouble. Nobody's ever
been put in jail for being under the influence of [a game]."
According to the Center for On-Line Addiction, warning signs for video game addiction include:
- Playing for increasing amounts of time
- Thinking about gaming during other activities
- Gaming to escape from real-life problems, anxiety, or depression
- Lying to friends and family to conceal gaming
- Feeling irritable when trying to cut down on gaming
"Video Game Addiction." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.
I learned that the video game addiction has treatment facilities just like any other addiction.
#1 in Trends." TrendHunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Aug. 2013
http://addictions.answers.com/symptoms-of-addiction/the-different-types-of-addiction
http://importanceoftech.com/dangers-of-technology-addiction
http://importanceoftech.com/impact-of-technology-on-communication#ixzz2b7rnF0Ft
http://importanceoftech.com/dangers-of-technology-addiction#ixzz2b7quTr37.
http://importanceoftech.com/dangers-of-technology-addiction#ixzz2b8TvhI20
Where as I agree with most of what you are saying in your blog it seems to me, as a parent, they are studying symptoms rather than the disease. I grew up with tech, certainly not what is available now but exponentially more than my parents did, as with my children did with me. That being said, I know of problems with kids playing games or texting, Facebook, etc... Those things didn't happen so much with my kids because the rules and the household operated differently. Did I wake up and catch one of my boys on a game at 1am? Yes, but the subsequent punishment that followed persuaded him to view the games timeline in a different manner. Same with the phones, They had a phone they had to earn, and keep earning. It was a privilege not a way of life that you had to have. So I said all of this to ask, how can a parent sit by while a child withers away their time on a game? I also took exception to tech being "far more addicting" than substance abuse. Last I checked, you cannot die from withdrawals of texting or gaming but you can from withdrawals with substance abuse.
ReplyDeleteI would also wonder where they collected their information from. How they came up with suitable candidates to make such a statement. Are they talking about the sheer numbers of people that depend upon technology in their everyday lives?
In conclusion, I do agree there is a problem with tech and addictions but my personal belief is that there are more problems to focus in on than their online presence.
I totally agree that we need to limit our electronic intake. It's also a little ironic that we are blogging for our English class. My primary concern with the over-use of electronics is the lack of need to memorize anything. If someone asks you a question you can easily find the answer on your phone by asking Siri, Goggling it or sending a text to Cha-Cha. I believe that good general conversation topics have slowly started to disappear. Now it seems like we're deciding which celebrities we should send to South Dakota.
ReplyDeleteWe as adults, and parents, have over the years relinquished our authority to technology. Our children have observed this trend and have figured out that to both promote and perpetuate this trend, all they need to do is to be more tech savvy than Mom & Dad!
ReplyDeleteWe cannot rein in the monster until we reconcile ourselves to the fact that we have employed in our homes, a new babysitter, and her name is Technology.
She is so good at what she does that we, the parents, have found ourselves marching to her drumbeat. Unless we can admit to ourselves that we have been licked but through no ones fault but our own, we can sit in the window and watch Technology work on our children and ourselves. The first step to rehabilitation I was told, is acknowledging that you have a problem. We adults, have a problem and before we storm Tommy's room and sweep all the gadgets out in the trash, we may want to do a spring cleaning of our own addictions first.
Wow that's a great way of looking at the topic, I have difficulties accepting my own reliance on these items, but like anything today I need to keep up with this ever changing world of ours. Thanks for the comment, I especially like the babysitter concept.
DeleteOf course our gadgets can serve us well as well as bad. I look around and almost everyone is using their device for something. It can be frustrating for sure.. For example how about social life in that case ? How are you suppose to notice someone is interested in you , if all the person does, is looking down on phone or tablet or whatever. How will you meet someone and have an eye contact ? if you walk on the street you see few that barely see where they are going ..so it hurts socially and helps as well .. Although, online friends are easy to make but how about in real life? Online friends, are not the same as in person . So, this is just one side to the story.
ReplyDeleteSo true in that we have become so desensitized by the use of electronic devices, our face to face communication with others lessens the emotional and physical bonding that make up our human nature.
DeleteFirst off, that picture of the dad trying to pry his son away is priceless. I agree that a technology addiction is just as dangerous, if not more than alcohol addiction. People often think that there should be no limit to the pleasures in life. It's good that you pointed out moderation. The side effects are very different, alcohol causes immediate repercussion, while most people overlook the long term side effects of technology. I would suggest including the lack of treatment available today for a technology addiction in your next blog. There has been a steady increase in children with attention problems, and less real human connection. It can drive people apart just as much as any addiction. To have people disconnected from reality will bring major consequences. It already has, even I don't know who you are.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how someone, who is afflicted with a technology based addition, would be treated? I'm not too familiar with the process of addiction therapy, but I would think that the person would have to cut ties to there old drug life. How would you cut ties to technology? it's everywhere.
ReplyDelete