By Giorgos Panoutsopoulos, Spyros Papanikolaou & Dimitris Prapas

Addiction to technology is also known as Internet Addiction Disorder, Compulsive Internet Use, Problematic Internet Use, and iDisorder. While it is not recognized as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it is becoming increasingly common. Some studies suggest that as many as 38 percent of people in the United States and Europe may suffer from tech dependence.

How does technology affect our brains?

When it comes to shaping our brains our environment plays a big role.

In fact it’s the “thinking” in response to our environmental experiences and interaction with our world that actually shapes our brains. You may have even observed children trying to swipe or pinch-enlarge a picture in a magazine.

So in short, the answer to the question, does technology change our bodies and our brains, is yes, technology affects our memory, our attention, what we focus on and our sleep cycles.

Causes Of Technology Addiction In Teens

A technology addiction can occur for a variety of reasons:

• A history of mental health disorders can cause any type of addiction including technology and teenagers Internet addiction.
• Low self esteem is always a cause for addictions. People who are shy or have poor self esteem may find it easy to connect with others on the Internet where anonymity is possible.
• Shyness and social anxiety: People who are very shy or have difficulty in communicating with other people can have a tendency on the internet as a way of escape. For these people, the internet is transformed into a safe harbour where they can spend time without face-to-face communication. Shy people can express themselves better in the online world, reveal their personalities and express themselves with an identity that is independent of reality.
• Depression: In some cases, depression can lead people to internet and technology addiction. The fun time spent on the internet can make people forget their sorrow temporarily. People who spend more time on the internet and technology to avoid problems constantly turn into technology addicts.

Types of technology addiction:

• Game addiction
• Social media addiction
• Shopping addiction
• Addiction to auction and chance games

How Can You Prevent Technology Addiction?

• Give yourself time limits
• Turn off notifications
•  Don’t allow streaks
• Use other rewards

Notifications Keep Bringing You Back

When you are ready to free yourself of distractions and put your technology down, applications start sending you notifications. The siren call of a notification light blinking on your phone is extremely powerful.

While it may be nearly impossible to remove technology from our lives completely, there are ways we can limit its effect on our brains if we are aware of the reasons we keep coming back to it. Knowledge about the tactics used to keep us involved with each application will go a long way to helping live without the powerful addiction of technology.

Sources:

https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/mental-health/technology-dependence/

https://mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/news-and-events/news-archive/how-does-technology-affect-our-brains

https://www.momjunction.com/articles/teens-technology-and-internet-addiction_00382302/#teens-and-technology

https://www.mentalup.co/blog/causes-losses-and-prevention-of-technology-addiction

https://useboomerang.com/2018/01/02/prevent-technology-addiction/