He says the evidence is clear, but we're not ready to face it. And he also has treated many teens who are so wrapped up in video games that they don't even get up to use the bathroom. There are brain-imaging studies of the effects of screen time, he says. When I ask him about the term 'addiction' he doesn't miss a beat. Nicholas Kardaras is the author of the 2016 book Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids. The World Health Organization has, by contrast, listed 'gaming disorder' as a disorder due to an addictive behavior in the next edition of the International Classification of Diseases, an internationally used diagnostic manual.ĭr. This omission is important not only because it shapes therapists' and doctors' understanding of their patients but because without an official DSM code, it is harder to bill insurers for treatment of a specific issue. The closest it comes is something called 'Internet Gaming Disorder,' and that is listed as a condition for further study, not an official diagnosis. That's the bible of the psychiatric profession in the United States. 'Technology addiction' doesn't appear in the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the DSM-V, published in 2013. Michael Bishop, who runs Summerland, which he calls 'a summer camp for screen overuse' for teens. 'There is a fairly even split in the scientific community about whether 'tech addiction' is a real thing,' says Dr. Still, while the debate rages on, some doctors and technologists are focusing on solutions. And if they don't happen to have one out, it is certainly tucked away in a pocket or bag.īut are we truly addicted to technology? And what about our kids? It's a scary question, and a big one for scientists right now. Chances are, most of the other people in your line of sight are staring at their phones or other devices.

Addictive drums 2 causing blue screen