Technology Addiction - Treatment, Symptoms and Causes

Technology addiction otherwise known as Internet addiction, Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) or Internet Use Disorder (IUD) is a recent phenomenon. The term “Internet Addiction Disorder” was coined by psychiatrist Ivan Goldberg in 1995; the same year in which Kimberly Young, PsyD, established the Centre for Internet Addiction and created the first treatment plan for technology addiction. Technology addiction or IAD is a serious predicament where the plagued individual seems to lose the ability to control the use of various types of technology such as – smartphones, tablets, the Internet and in particular social networking sites like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram – which interferes with his daily activities and personal relationships. Albeit, technology addiction hasn’t been accepted as a recognised mental disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), it has been on the radar of health specialists since the late 20th century.

Using technology isn’t bad at all, at times it can be rewarding even when you learn something new or get in touch with an old friend. However, technology becomes a massive problem when it starts taking precedence over your real life. Why does one get addicted to technology in the first place?

• We live in a tech-savvy world whose existence seems to be dependent on the Internet. This makes technology in the contemporary era essential and therefore fosters technology addiction in those predisposed with addictive personalities. For instance: an individual with gambling addiction will spend hours playing online poker and similarly one with a shopping addiction will be hooked onto online shopping forums such Amazon or ebay.

• People who are shy or socially awkward find it less intimidating to talk to people on social media as they don’t have to face them in reality thereby creating a tendency for Internet addiction. Technology such as smartphones and the Internet provides a forum for such people to meet new people and make relationships as they can carefully control how they are perceived by others.

• Depression is also known to be a contributing factor towards technology addiction. The reasoning is simple – just as some people turn to alcohol, smoking and/or drugs to numb the pain when depressed; some people find relief by using technology. The Internet and being online becomes their surviving coping mechanism.

• It is not surprising that peer pressure results in technology addiction. As one sees one’s friends and family members spend a significant amount of time using technology (such as playing Dungeons and Dragons or shopping online), that kind of behaviour seems more socially acceptable and is therefore more engaged in.

Technology addiction can manifest itself in both physical and emotional ways; following are some of its symptoms.

• Feelings of euphoria when using your smartphone or being online

• Avoidance of work

• Inability to stick to your schedule due to excessive use of the Internet

• Avoidance of friends and family in real life because you prioritise your virtual reality friends more than you do them

• Irregular sleeping patterns or skimping on sleep  

• Getting irritable or upset when you can’t use your smartphone or access the Internet

• Feeling a sense of boredom with daily routine tasks

• Avoiding participating in activities which were enjoyable and pleasurable to you because you utilise all that time on your laptop or smartphone

• Physical symptoms may include – weight gain or loss, headaches, redness or dryness of eyes, insomnia and neck or backaches.

The pertinent question to be asked at this juncture is the kind of treatment that is available to mitigate technology addiction.

• Some medical experts believe that curbing the underlying anxiety or depression that manifests into IAD will take care of the problem. In support of this many studies have shown that the use of antidepressants has reduced the amount of time spent on the Internet.

• Other treatment option includes increased physical activities which increase the serotonin levels (neurotransmitter responsible for mood balance) in your body which reduces your dependency on the Internet.

• Individual or group therapy and art therapy is also deemed to be useful.

• Psychological treatments such as Dialectical Behavioural Training (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Training (CBT) have been devised to help with IAD.

They say prevention is better than cure. There are ways in which technology addiction can be prevented especially in children and teenagers whose young minds are still impressionable.

• Ensuring that the total amount of screen-time doesn’t exceed the age-group recommendations.

• Scheduling a daily dosage of use of technological devices and planning physical activities such as exercising to limit the use of the Internet.

• Practice “tech-free” times during meals and bedtime.

We need to understand that Internet addiction is like any other addiction such as drug or alcohol addiction. Therefore it is not surprising that people who suffer from IAD also undergo withdrawal symptoms. Research studies show that after reducing Internet use, the negative mood of these individuals tends to be on the rise – they become more anxious and irritable. This “comedown” from being offline is similar to what drug or smoke addicts experience once they are off drugs or cigarettes.