Technology Addiction
Since the emergence of the internet and smartphones, research is showing an increase in the number of people struggling with an addiction to technology.
It’s not uncommon for both youth and adults to feel a need to constantly be “plugged in” to social media and the internet, but this often leads to a fear of missing out, and fear of being left out in young people.
Coupled with the neurological changes that take place in the brain while being online, technology addiction can be added to the list of behavioral addictions.
Sandstone Care assesses and treats technology addiction in both its teen and young adult treatment centers.
Here are Craig Knippenberg’s nine signs a a teen or young adult might be addicted.
It is difficult to determine how many teens and young adults suffer from technology addiction, but a 2012 study found that 4.4% of European adolescents had what researchers termed “pathological internet use” and approximately 14% displayed what they called “maladaptive internet use.”
Other studies have found that approximately 10% of people’s internet use interferes with their work, family or social life.
To complicate things further, the developers of technology like video games and social media are actively trying to create products that tap into our addictive tendencies, talking openly about creating a “compulsion loop.”
On a neurological level, technology addiction operates similarly to chemical addictions, in that expectation followed by reward leads the brain to release dopamine and other feel-good chemicals.
This reward might be winning a level of a video game, or getting “likes” on a picture.
Over time, a person begins to crave this dopamine release and often requires increasing stimulus to get the same effect.
While chemical addictions often have a magnified effect by blocking the re-uptake of these feel-good chemicals so that they stay in the brain longer and more powerfully, researchers are finding that the inconsistent rewards often associated with behavioral addictions like gambling and video games also increase the flood of dopamine.
(i.e., taking a hit of marijuana will consistently yield a “reward” in the brain, while a person doesn’t know when they will beat a video game level or get a “like.” This not-knowing increases the intensity of the physiological response to reward.)
Here are nine practical strategies you can use with your child reduce gaming addiction:
Our commitment to our clients’ lasting success and recovery helps us continually exceed licensing standards of care throughout the industry.
Simple ways to help your teen look up from their phone:
More research needs to be done on the long-term effects of technology addiction on adolescents’ development.
However, we do know that adolescents’ brains are developing into their mid-20s, pruning away “pathways” in the brain that are unused, and strengthening the “pathways” that are used frequently. This means that our habits in adolescence actually change our brains.
Based on what we know about other addictions, wiring the brain strongly for the expectation and reward of technology likely sets teens up to be more susceptible to these compulsive loops later in life.
Additionally, adolescence is an important time to build social skills and form identity. Substituting online for real-life interaction, complete with body language and subtle cues, may impact teens’ social and emotional development.
Sleep is vital for teens and young adults. Sometimes, technology can impact their sleep cycles and increase technology addiction. Use the 6 ways to help your child get a good night’s rest.
Technology addiction falls into the category of compulsive behavior that it is difficult or impossible to simply abstain from, like food or sex addictions.
Thus, treatment for technology addiction involves educating teens and young adults about what is happening in their brains and bodies, recognizing the consequences of their compulsion, helping them to set limits and interrupt the compulsive cycle, and find alternatives.
Sandstone Care integrates treatment of technology addiction into its programs by treating is as a cooccurring mental health disorder. As referenced, technology addiction is often present with other disorders including anxiety, depression, trauma, or substance use.
So taking a holistic and comprehensive treatment approach is important in order to help achieve sustainable recovery.
Some of the treatment modalities that Sandstone Care uses include:
Recovery from technology addiction is possible, and we are here to help! Not sure if your loved one has a video game, screen, or internet addiction? Wondering if you might have a problem?
While Sandstone Care is unable to treat standalone technology addiction, in most cases, technology addiction appears in conjunction with other mental health disorders.
Sandstone Care assesses and treats technology addiction at our adolescent and young adult treatment centers.
Using a variety of different treatment modalities, our clinicians at both Cascade Canyon Teen Residential and our Day Treatment programs help guide clients as they begin to recognize and overcome their technology addiction.
Individual therapy, group process, cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy are all tools that aid in this process.
Our virtual IOP program offers the same programming that we offer in person, all online – this is ideal for those who live too far to drive to an addiction center, have transportation issues, or have health concerns that make in-person treatment challenging.
Sandstone Care aims to drive positive lasting change in real people. We understand that you have a life, so we offer a more personal experience than you would find anywhere else.
We are age-specific, not gender-specific. We focus on the unique circumstances that teens and young adults face.
We only use treatment interventions that have been scientifically proven to provide consistent, lasting recovery.
You are not a number, that’s why we provide a comfortable setting where your voice can be heard.
No one person is the same, and neither is their recovery journey. Your treatment program will be tailored to your unique needs.
We want clients to get the most out of life, which means doing their best in the classroom or at their job.
Recovery involves the entire family, so we provide support for the whole family system.
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