Question

write an article on digital obsessions of the world

Answer 1

my first reaction was that he had a weak bladder or an upset stomach. It was only later that I discovered he was suffering from Digital Addiction Disorder (DAD) or, in layman’s terms, the inability to stop looking at one’s iPhone or iPad. The workshop was a reflective one and I had requested that electronic equipment was not to be used in class. But Phil, physically unable to wait for a coffee break, was driven to leave the room whenever he felt compelled to check and respond to whatever messages were coming in.


In talking to him, I learned that Phil spent an extraordinary amount of time social networking, online gaming and visiting online bidding sites. What’s more, he was also addicted to watching YouTube video clips. When asked why he spent so much time on the internet, Phil noted that “being connected” had a relaxing effect on him. But, like many DAD sufferers, Phil’s excessive computer use had become uncontrollable and seriously interfered with his daily life.


Digital dependence


In many ways, the symptoms of DAD resemble impulse-control disorders or even obsessive-compulsive disorders. Though prevalent in society, and emerging as a problematic phenomenon, DAD still needs a considerable amount of research. Studies of this disorder fail to agree whether DAD is a disorder in its own right or a symptom of other underlying conditions such as an obsessive-compulsive or impulse-control disorder. Whatever it’s called, DAD presents a compulsive behaviour pattern that can completely take over the addict’s life.


Although the idea of an internet addiction is controversial and has not yet been officially recognised as a mental disorder, it is becoming a significant health threat, and the time has come to recognise it as a separate and distinct behavioural addiction. Surveys in the U.S. and Europe have noted alarming prevalence rates, ranging between 1.5 percent and 8.2 percent of the general population. 

The estimates are even higher in Asia where 30 percent or more of the population are experiencing problematic internet use. (The wide variable differences in percentages can be explained by the fact that, as yet, there are no standardised criteria for measuring this addiction.) As a caveat, it should be noted that using the internet intensively does not mean that you are an addict or that you suffer from DAD. It only becomes a real disorder when it begins to seriously interfere with healthy functioning in your daily life.


Healthy functioning is based on the premise of balance. A digital addiction is comparable to addictions such as food or drugs in its obsessive nature. As is the case with all addictions, they influence the brain – both in the connections between the cells and in the brain areas that control attention, executive control and emotional processing. It triggers the release of dopamine, providing a temporary “high” on which addicts become dependent. 

Levels of dopamine and serotonin (another neural transmitter that helps to regulate mood) vary from person to person and we may hypothesise that people with a digital addiction have fewer dopamine receptors in certain areas of the brain or other kinds of impairment of dopamine functioning. Consequently, they have difficulty experiencing normal levels of pleasure in activities that most people would find rewarding.


To increase pleasure, DAD-prone individuals seek a greater than average engagement in digital activities that stimulate an increase in dopamine release, effectively giving them more rewards but also creating a state of dependency.