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Most of us have binged here and there — staying up late to catch episodes of “Game of Thrones,” scouring travel sites to inform our decisions about where to stay or eat within our budget, reaching for our phones when our bodies sense that we will have a minute or more of unoccupied mind time.
A 2014 Pew Internet Project collected almost 2,000 experts who estimated that screen based technology will become as seamlessly a part of our daily rituals as electricity by 2025. Our health, education and entertainment systems will become personalized, while our personal security, depth of relationships and ethics may be compromised.
Charlie Matlock, 12, plays an educational computer game. Even educational programs can be addicting.
Our use is increasing. In 2008, the typical teen and adult logged more than seven hours a day and more than 50 hours a week in front of a TV, computer or cell phone screen, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
In 2013, Nielsen estimated we spend almost 11 hours a day with a gadget of some kind. Compare that with how many “un gadget” hours we spend with each other, and it’s easy to see where relationship problems may be rising as well.
Just because the trend is common, does not mean it is normal.
It is too easy for teenagers to slip into screen coma during the summer months. Happy and active youths turn into zombie like creatures with little urges to do anything that involves leaving the house.
Brain studies confirm that once engaged, the brain subconsciously finds it difficult to
disengage from such a pleasing experience.
Sometimes adults suffer screen addiction as well, although men appear to be at greater risk. Stanford researchers studied the brain activity of men and women while playing video games. The region of the brain associated with reward and addiction was more active in men than in women.
Signs of addiction include:
» Choosing video games over social interaction
» Weight gain
» Underachievement in school or chores
» Playing first thing in the morning
» Aggression when games are removed
» Lack of pleasure in activities that were fun in the past
