Addiction to gadgets: how does it arise and is it so terrible?

Smartphones, laptops, tablets and other smart devices have become the talk of the town – it seems that they are to blame for all sins: stress at work, the inability to refuse the Internet even during vacations, quarrels with children, traffic accidents … All this reminds of a story about a frog in slowly heated water: it didn’t feel like it was cooked. So we entered the era of the ubiquitous Internet, not yet fully realizing how attached we are to gadgets.

Two sides of the medal

Communication in social networks and instant messengers, online purchases and payments, Youtube, all-knowing search engines – in just ten years, all this has become an essential part of our everyday life. According to research by Nielsen, 55% of Russian and 56% of global consumers say they can no longer imagine their lives without mobile devices, while the majority (54% and 53% respectively) say they feel anxious when their device is not at hand. But at the same time, we think: are we too drawn in by virtual life? No wonder 77% of Russian Internet users consider it necessary to periodically take a break from it, and about half (47%), when choosing a vacation spot, would prefer a territory without access to the Network, according to VTsIOM.

In other words, we are ambivalent about smart and already indispensable assistants: we cannot do without them, and we feel that there is a threat in our close contact with them. Yes, and experts are sounding the alarm, convincing that excessive enthusiasm for the Internet nullifies all efforts to prevent stress, sleep disorders, weight gain or loneliness. We should be less likely to fall on our displays – only when it is really necessary! But the problem is that it is extremely difficult for us to resist the magnetic force of the smartphone.

Who attracts whom

Speaking of the increased addiction of modern man to smartphones and other electronic conveniences, we easily use the word “addiction”, as if putting this craving on a par with unhealthy addictions like alcoholism, drug addiction or gambling addiction. But from a medical point of view, this is incorrect, explains clinical psychologist, addiction specialist Denis Avtonomov: “Now a new version of the International Classification of Diseases MKB-11 is being prepared, but the issue of including addiction to smartphones and similar devices has not yet been seriously discussed. From the point of view of the expert community, there is no such disorder or disease.”

The clinical psychologist explains the attraction to smartphones by their availability, because they are always at hand. “It has been proven that we look at the phone more often when it is in front of us on the table than when it is in our pocket or in another room,” continues Denis Avtonomov. – Things have a valency, that is, the ability to attract, to offer themselves to us. A good metaphor for this phenomenon is the Pudding from Alice in Wonderland, calling: “Eat me!” The smartphone screen flashes, emits signals, and we are evolutionarily arranged in such a way that we respond to stimuli. It is a natural reaction to what is happening in the environment.”

But if we blame gadgets for taking us insidiously from real life to the virtual world, then we will make a substitution. “We think the problem is this little plastic box. But this is a mistake: we take the effect for the cause,” says Denis Avtonomov. “The alienation that is growing in modern society makes us turn our heads to our gadgets, and not vice versa.”

How do they change us?

Aren’t we becoming weaker, more helpless, or dumber by entrusting some of the functions to a third-party device? Our contemporary, who does not let go of the smartphone from his hands, and the person of the “pre-smartphone era” – are these people different? “I would say that they are different, but to a much lesser extent than opponents of such technologies sometimes imagine,” says cyberpsychologist Natalia Bogacheva. – Smartphones and other gadgets well illustrate the principle of “exteriorization” (bringing outside) of some functions of the psyche.

For example, we “entrusted” a part of our arbitrary memory to technological devices – there are fewer and fewer people who remember phone numbers, addresses, passwords, important dates. But by themselves, changes in the functioning of memory are not good and not bad – the psyche and brain adapt to the tasks that are set for them. And even if we really began to remember information much worse because of smartphones, at the same time we learned to search for it better and remember the ways of this search. And thus increased the efficiency of their activities.

Or let’s take another well-known claim to gadgets: glowing screens in the evening, excitement associated with correspondence or battles in social networks lead to sleep disturbances and can even indirectly contribute to neurosis and depression. “But the same gadgets can be used as a means of “external” control over one’s lifestyle, reminding about exercises, proper nutrition, and sleep patterns,” Natalia Bogacheva objects. – Critics of technology will say that by transferring “external control” to smartphones, we thereby worsen the development of volitional qualities and arbitrary regulation. Proponents will note that this develops good habits that will then work in the absence of technology.

It is possible that both are right. And as a result, we get the freedom of personal choice: in the end, only we ourselves decide how and why to use electronic “things”. True, we are unlikely to be able to abandon them completely and forever, remaining residents of the modern world.

When tomorrow comes

When will virtual worlds finally win? The issue becomes even more acute with the advent of virtual reality helmets (using Siri, Google Home and other special programs and devices), chat bots (virtual interlocutors or consultants for online purchases) or home assistant robots. Won’t the servant turn into a master in the foreseeable future, making decisions for us and knowing better how to satisfy our desires?

Natalia Bogacheva is skeptical about these fantasies. “Artificial intelligence in the full sense of the word (a machine that thinks like a person and is able to create something fundamentally new, going beyond the functions invested in it) is hardly possible in principle, and in this regard, the “rebellion of the machines” is unlikely to threaten us” , – she says and once again reminds us that we still have an active role in this process.

From the spontaneous and uncontrolled use of technology, it is necessary to move on to informing and developing skills for competent and conscious use. “Regardless of how we relate to gadgets and how we evaluate the effects that they have on the psyche, they will not disappear from everyday life, and to deny or somehow try to reduce their role, in my opinion, is completely useless,” concludes cyberpsychologist.

But what about now? Turn off your smartphone for an hour, a month, five minutes or… never? You decide.

The effect of screens on the brain

Scientific research in the field of neuroscience is just beginning, and therefore their results are sometimes contradictory. Here is what we know so far about the potential impact of digital technologies.

Memory modification

While our brains are still a “genetic constant,” culturally, they are adapting to the new era, says neuroscientist Lionel Naccache, author of Do You Speak Your Brain? We now treat our memory differently, he elaborates, referring to a 2011 American experiment: when we need to find information, instead of using memory, we start looking for a smartphone or any other device that contains the necessary information. We also become more scattered.

Three factors interfere with focus: multitasking, a constant stream of information, and frequent calls and notifications during work. All this negatively affects the efficiency of thinking, the ability to consistently perform tasks and the assimilation of knowledge. But some neuroscientists also note the positive impact of video games. For example, the German neuroscientist Simone Kühn found that teenagers who played Super Mario developed parts of the brain associated with memory, orientation in space, and psychomotor functions.

Failures in the reward system

An unquenchable craving for “likes” on social media, the desire to score as many points as possible in games, can lead to malfunctions in the reward system – the neural network that makes us repeat actions that cause the production of dopamine (the hormone of pleasure). But the effect of “digital high” stops immediately after the reduction of “screen time”. In addition, comorbidity is typical for digital addiction (the presence of several disorders or deviations related to each other): it is usually accompanied by other psychological disorders, including social phobia and depression. Therefore, it can be assumed that attachment to smartphones is more a result than a source of psychological discomfort.

Sleep Disorders

The brightness of screens, frame rates per second, varying lighting, and image instability affect our circadian rhythms. The blue glow of LED screens slows down the secretion of melatonin, which regulates sleep and appetite, and is also responsible for the stability of the immune system. Spending too much time in front of a screen can lead to nervous breakdowns, high blood pressure, and irregular heart rhythms. But, according to research from The Dana Foundation, to minimize all these consequences, it is enough to put your smartphones an hour before bedtime. The secret is to use them only when necessary.