Blog
How involved are you with technology ? Unfortunately, we are seeing a new ‘disease’ impacting our health with stress that requires treatment like any other. Find out if you have a tech addiction!
Tech Addiction Stats:
- 60% of students admitted to being “very” or “quite” addicted to the Internet
- 50% addicted to their mobile phones
- Students spent an average of 1-2 hours/day on social network sites
- 41% of those playing on-line video games do so to escape
- Television adoption is almost universal – 98% have a television in the home
- 72% of children have access to a computer at home
- 67% of children own a video game system (24% own a portable video game system)
- 42% of children have a television in their bedroom
- 29% of children have a video player in their bedroom
- 80% of households have a video player
- 68% of households have speed internet
Could you spend an entire weekend (Friday night to Monday morning) without ANY technology?
Tech addicts use excuses:
- my business needs me at all times
- 24 hour on-call for family emergencies
- I have to know what is going on in the world
- It is my social lifeline
- I can keep my finances current
- My phone is my friend
- I would be lost without it (emotional addiction)
- I can’t spell without it
Some areas where you might find addiction to technology are:
- Problematic Internet Use (PIU)
- Video Games Addiction
- Online Gambling
- Problematic texting and cell phone use
- Cybersex Addiction
- Cyber relationships
- Television Addiction
- Instant messaging (IM) addiction
Addiction means that you find yourself unable to go without for even a weekend.
According to Tao et al. (2009), the following are eight symptoms of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD): (Yes! Now a medical disease!)
- Preoccupation or strong desire to use the internet
- Withdrawal is followed by anxiety, irritability and boredom
- Tolerance refers to the need for more to achieve satisfaction
- Difficulty to control the desire, or discontinue use
- Disregard for the harmful consequences of continued use
- Social communications and interests are lost in lieu of time on the internet
- Alleviation of negative emotions by using the internet to escape
- Hiding use from friends and relatives through deception and dishonesty
Although these symptoms are stated for the internet, they hold true for all other aspects of technology, like cell-phones, video games, instant messaging and television.
Medical Symptoms
- anxiety, depression and panic attacks
- feel withdrawal symptoms and panic
- suppression of negative emotions
Symptoms of Over and long lasting exposure to negative electromagnetic frequencies emitted by most technologies
- skin itch/rash/flushing/burning, and/or tingling
- confusion/poor concentration, and/or memory loss
- fatigue and weakness
- headache
- chest pain and heart problems
Less commonly reported symptoms include:
- nausea
- panic attacks
- insomnia
- seizures
- ear pain/ringing in the ears
- feeling a vibration
- paralysis
- dizziness
The freedom, knowledge and instant information that the internet gives can be an amazing tool, and being able to keep in touch easily with loved ones and business associates is also wonderful when used with discipline and in moderation.
TAKE THE TEST AND PROVE YOU AREN’T ADDICTED
Not addicted you say? Good for you! Now take the test and go without it all …your internet, cell phone, I-pad, television, and even the microwave (unhealthy on so many levels) for an entire weekend. The first question I usually get is “What will I do?” What do you suppose your Grandparents did without all this technology? And after all, I am only requesting one weekend. Read…enjoy the nature that surrounds you…go for walks…play with your children…remember board games? Talk to each other…just simply breathe deeply and RELAX!
Cures for the Tech Addict
- delegate – cut the tether holding you to your technology
- time management – stop micro managing and trust others more
- perfectionists cannot succeed – you are human and humans cannot be perfect
- schedule – schedule specific times for technology and away from it and stick to it
- be active – TV is a passive activity that numbs you and causes you to become less productive
- gaming, social media etc reduces our natural, instinctive social interaction cues through isolation and thus stunts our ability to positively interact so visit friends
You will find that after a few of these, your stress levels decline, your tolerance increases, your depression and panic attacks subside and you might just find yourself happier, smiling more and pleased with life. You will be free to absorb the beauty, joy and love that surround you but from which you were blinded by technology addiction.
Here is an interesting quiz you can take that will also assess your addiction to the internet: http://counsellingresource.com/lib/quizzes/net-addiction-testing/internet-addiction/
Tags : anxiety hypnosis, IAD, internet addiction, PIU, relaxation hypnosis, stress relief, student help, technology addiction, technology addiction in kids