Addiction? Addiction – the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit- forming to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. The American Psychiatric Association does not recognize internet addiction as a disorder. In 2009, ReSTART became the first internet and gaming addiction center in the US.

US College Students Addicted to Technology A study done by University of Maryland which asked 200 students to give up all media for 24 hours found that many students showed signs of withdrawal, craving and anxiety as well as the inability to function well without certain technologies. These symptoms are similar to alcohol and drug addictions.

Components of Internet Addiction Excessive time online – most addicts spend a lot of time online, often lose track of time and forget to meet basic needs like eating or sleeping. Tolerance – the need to spend extra time online to feel satisfied. Negative Consequences – the use of internet or technology has negatively affected quality of life. Some examples are poor school work or work performance, social isolation and arguments about time online. Withdrawal – feeling depressed or angry when you cannot be online.

Children Children tend to be more ‘addicted’ to the internet than adults. 8 – 18 year olds spend 7 hours and 38 minutes a day (53 hours a week) using internet, video games, cellphones and TV. In the past 5 years there has been drastic increases in the number of students with cellphones(39-66%) and iPods(18- 76%). Young people spend more time on their cellphones playing games, listening to music and watching TV(49 min/day) then they do talking on the phone (33 min/day)

Top online activities for children Social networking (22 min/day) Playing internet games (17 min/day) Video websites (15 min/day) Communicating (1 hour 35 min/day)

Parents role? 3 in 10 young people say they have rules on how much time they can spend watching TV, video games or on the computer. Children with restrictions on internet use consume about 3 hours less media per day than those with no rules. 47% of heavy media users say they usually get fair or poor grades compared to 23% of light media users. Is putting a time limit the best way/ only way to prevent children from spending too much time online?

Video game addiction study A study conducted by Iowa St. University researchers states that 8.5% of American children aged 8-18 who play video games show multiple signs of behavioral addiction. Some symptoms include: escaping problems through playing, skipping homework to spend more time playing, lying about length of time playing, stealing games or money, increasing amounts of time and money on video games, irritability or restlessness when time playing is decreased. Children considered pathological gamers have trouble paying attention in class and are twice as likely to report ADD or ADHD.

Interesting facts 88% of the nation’s youth (ages 8-18) play video games. Teen males play about 18 hours per week while teen females play about 8 hours a week. U.S. video game sales generated 10.5 million in From 2005 to 2009, video game entertainment software annual growth rate was greater than 10% while the entire U.S. economy grew at a rate less than 2%.

Gamers gone mad

Video games and violence Some people believe that violent video games have a negative influence on children but there is no proof to validate that. Violent crimes by youth has decreased dramatically since the early 90’s, while the number of kids playing violent video games has increased significantly. We would expect to see the opposite of that if video game violence was linked to youth violence.

Video games and education Educators are increasingly trying to use video games as a way to engage students and make learning more fun. Video games offer a unique experience that allows information to be more applicable instead of being memorized and repeated. How can video games can be used as an effective learning tool for future generations?

Cellphones key to teens social life? 4 out of 5 teens carry a cellphone. 57% of teens say that their cellphone is the “key to their social life” Teens say that cellphones tell the second most about their social status (#1 is clothing) 42% of teens can text with their eyes closed 62% of parents take away their teen’s cellphones as punishment 64% of parents look at their child’s cellphone messages

Texting 47% of teens say their lives would be worsened without texting (females more so than males 54% - 40%) 14% of teens send between texts a day ( texts per month) Top reasons to text (according to teens): 1. Multitasking 2. Speed 3. Avoid verbal communication 4. It’s fun

Facebook / Social Networking Facebook is now 7 years old and there is no reason to doubt it will be around for a long time. Social networking has its positive features but along with this power comes responsibility. Privacy Moral Disconnection Self-Identification Socialization Anything else?

Are these things addictive? It’s really your opinion. I think that if you do something so much that it affects other parts of your life then it’s an addiction. Do you think you are addicted to any of these things? Why?

More questions How can parents influence their children to spend less time on the internet and more time participating in real life activities? Do you think these activities have been harmful to you? If so, what have you done about it?