Essay about Digital Addiction

The people of my generation have everything on our phones and computers completely to our disposal from the age of 2. An infant can open an iPhone and play games before being able to read a book. It’s hard for teachers to compete with Instagram and Netflix during class. Debating that technology limits and hinders us from our full potential socially and intellectually. Spending so much time on phones can affect behavior negatively after hours of being focused on games and social media.

Commonly, parents raise children with technology to keep them busy or distracted. Whether it is reading stories or watching YouTube on an iPad, the child is becoming. A parent giving a child their phone so they will not through a tantrum in the store is instilling negative reinforcement starting addiction at an early age. For example, a four-year-old boy was in the store with his mother who was on the phone. The little boy wanted to play a game and when his mother said, “no” he began to scream and cry until the mother gave him the phone (we are the family).

With teenagers, it’s harder to control how much time they spend on their phones and track what they are doing without getting any backlash for not giving them any privacy. Social media could be used as something that helps for the better or makes someone a victim of a cyber-bully. A Girl named Bethany Mowda started being bullied at the age of 14. Instead of suffering in silence she started a

YouTube channel telling her stories and became a voice to anyone going through the same problem. She became named as one of Times Most influential teens. Others like use social media for sexting and communication with strangers. When she started to get bullied and shamed she did not look up or reach out to anyone for help. She became depressed and thought of committing suicide (Kids and Technology, abc digital addiction).

Throughout the day you see many people with their head buried mainly in their phones walking down the street or sitting in a coffee-house. The average person spends over 4 hours on their phone a day. One of the reasons for the impulse to check your phone the company designed. A Google employee discussed that they design products to keep us interested. Such as when you get an email you phone dings. The companies like to find ways to make people addicted to their product. Just like the joke every time a new iPhone comes out your current phone begins to have problem (USA Today).

Video games today are very graphic and close to life, but more exciting than our lives. Kids sometimes see videos games as an outlet and escape to a virtual world that keeps their minds off the environment they are in like a neighborhood of violence. Even controlling their emotions about problems within the home. A boy named Josh was very smart and good with technology. He built his own video game by hand and was instantly addicted. He was very irritable. He did not have many friends to talk to and appeared very insecure. Instead of trying to build self-confidence, Josh stayed in his room isolating him away from his parents and anyone able to help him without realizing his addiction (abc digital addiction).

Children’s fascination violent video is an issue should be dealt at a young age. A study was published in the JAMA Pediatrics, a journal about the aggression in kids who play violent video games. Children growing up in a dangerous environment around guns and lethal weapons may get a feeling that it is normal to have fights. Someone raised around violence may feel it is a normal way to let go of any anger. A child who has seen someone use a gun in a negative manner may not realize the wrong in what is happening and do not understand the negative consequences. Playing games like Grand Theft Auto may move kids to do what the game does in real life(healthline).

They may become obsessed with violence and want to move onto a better high which is real life. An example of this type of behavior is often referred to the Sandy Hook school shooting massacre where 28 lives were lost. Some attorneys may use video games as a defense of insanity considering that young underdeveloped minds are easily influenced, but nobody’s been acquitted for this reason.

Luckily, there are solutions to help people manage their time playing video games and helping anyone who has become addicted. The result of therapy is very promising. Therapy is a good method for anyone who has become an addict. An important step of recovering is to give up the object their addicted to. People who decide to rehabilitate from their addiction to technology can go through withdrawal symptoms. Admitting you have an addiction is a hard concept to process. Talking to someone about the feelings you are experiencing and how to cope can help.

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