Digital addiction: A new ‘disease’ on the rise
Addiction to video games is not yet an official disorder but it soon will be. In the new edition of the DSM 5 (the manual that categorises psychiatric disorders) it will be called Internet Gaming Disorder. Those with this disorder: compulsively play computer or video games online while ignoring other interests, experience clinically significant impairment or distress as a result of excessive internetgaming, experience a significant negative impact on their academic or work performance due to the amount of time they spend playing online video or computer games and experience symptoms of withdrawal if they are not able to access online games.
When we generally hear the word addiction what springs to our mind is the excessive use of drugs and alcohol. But researchers now realise that behaviours too can mimic most of the signs of an addiction to a chemical. One difference is that when an internet game is taken away there are no physical but mental withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety or sadness. Internet Gaming Disorder does not include other behaviours related to the internet or digital devices.
An increasing numbers of teens and adults are spending excessive time browsing their digital devices. In any gathering whether it be a board meeting, a lecture or even a family get-together, a number of participants busily interact with their smartphones, tablets or laptops rather than with other members of the group. Are these digital interactions useful or harmful to our mental and social wellbeing?
In 1971, psychologist Michael Zeiler was experimenting with white pigeons. The pigeons were trained to peck on a button to obtain food pellets. Some got a food pellet every time they pecked whereas other pigeons got pellets only some of the time. Which group do you think pecked more vigorously? Surprisingly, the intermittently rewarded pigeons pecked twice as energetically. Such is the power of intermittent positive reinforcement.
Dopamine is a chemical secreted by our brain’s reward centre. Food, water and sex stimulate the reward centre and the resulting dopamine creates a pleasurable sensation. From an evolutionary point of view this is useful and ensures the survival of our species. Unfortunately, addictive substances such as alcohol and tobacco stimulate the same centre and sustains their use. Some behaviours such as playing internet games or digital interactions have a similar effect on our reward systems even though it is less intense.
Adam Alter is a professor of marketing and psychology and author of Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. It was in 2009 that Facebook introduced the ‘Like’ button. Alter writes, “It’s hard to exaggerate how much the “like” button changed the psychology of Facebook use. What had begun as a passive way to track your friends’ lives was now deeply interactive, and with exactly the sort of unpredictable feedback that motivated Zeiler’s pigeons.”
But surely you might be thinking do not apps like Facebook help us connect more often with our friends and improve our social interactions. Facebook states their mission as ‘giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.’ A laudable goal indeed but do users actually achieve this goal or is there a different side to the story?
“Man,” said Aristotle, “is by nature a social animal.” He went on to say that a person who is socially isolated “is either a beast or a god.” Only recently have we discovered the biology behind ancient philosophy. Matthew Lieberman, a social psychologist in his book Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect outlines many studies which convincingly demonstrate that our brains are hard wired for facilitating social contact. Loss of social contact triggers the same system as physical pain. An interesting experiment showed that painkillers reduced pain due to social loss.
To return to the question whether contact through Facebook or other digital media increases or harms social contact, the evidence at first may seem contradictory. Some studies have shown that social media increases wellbeing whereas others have shown the opposite. How do we explain this paradox? Closer examination of these studies show that though limited use of social media may lead to some increase of happiness, extended use replaces or reduces your real-world relationships and is detrimental to wellbeing. You have only 24 hours in a day and the more time you spend on digital interaction the less time you have for offline communications. The little boosts you receive in liking a friend’s post do not compensate for the loss of actual face time with a friend.
Why are real world interactions so much more beneficial than online interactions? Face to face meetings require our brains to process a multitude of information such as body posture, eye contact, facial expressions and tone of voice. A Facebook ‘like’ is a poor substitute for such a rich real world greeting. Why then would people trade offline for digital communications? We humans are naturally biased to take the easy path. We would rather text a friend than visit him or her.
I have just deleted my Facebook app from my iPad and Smartphone. No, I am not giving up on it but will now have to manually log from my computer, and that prevents me from aimless browsing. I will also not be ticking likes on every post. Friends, please don’t get offended but call for a more meaningful social interaction.
| Digital declutter the only answer What can we do about this increasing dependence on digital communication which is adversely affecting our social wellbeing? Cal Newport in his latest book published this month Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World suggests a radical solution. Cal is not a technophobe. He is an associate professor of computer science at George Town University USA. According to him minor tweaks to our digital habits are not sufficient for change. We need to do a digital declutter. Here are his suggestions which may seem a bit radical.For a thirty-day period stop using all digital media other than the minimum required to keep you from getting sacked from your job or divorced from your spouse. During this break rediscover and explore other activities you find satisfying and meaningful. At the end of the month reintroduce the technologies but only those that best serve what you value in your life. Be very specific and selective in how you are going to use each item. I suggest you read Cal’s book for ideas on how to shape your digital minimalistic lifestyle into a meaningful and socially rich life. | |