Essay on Media Addiction

Studies show that you can be addicted to your phone, tablet, or computer. You can be so addicted you can be on it all day. It can take over your brain, and it is like if you are addicted to drugs such as cocaine. You can't stop, you buy more devices that have screens.

Addiction is everywhere, from celebrity tabloids, to television, and possibly to a family member or close friend. There is alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling addiction; the effects of such are devastating. The purpose of this paper is to address some of the different forms of addiction and types of addictive behaviors.

Addiction can be separated into three categories: mind (neurological), body (physical), and spirit (psychological). Within in this breakdown addiction can possibly be explained and properly understood.

Many people become addicted to many forms of entertainment especially technology and can serve the same purpose as drugs do. There are many forms of entertainment like technology, going to workout, hanging out with friends, etc. Sometimes these forms of entertainment can cause someone to become addicted or it can be dangerous. It could cause you to become sick or go insane.

Technology has impacted and influenced how people function and devote their time immensely. With the creation of smartphones, computers, and social networks, people have adopted them into their lives and use them daily, which creates a dependence on these devices. An immoderate dependence upon technology is a state that humanity has come to in today’s age that permits people to believe that they essentially cannot function without it. The fear of not having one’s cellphone or being in a position where one’s cellphone cannot be used, whether it be because of a dead battery or having no signal, is known as nomophobia. This phobia can be described as a cell phone separation anxiety. Even though technology

This article will guide me through my research because it gives a vast perspective into the addictive world. It explains the issues of internet addiction, how it's emerging as a global concern, also how and why the internet has been integrated in our everyday lives.

Flaws in this networking activates symptoms that are psychological, social, spiritual, and biological in nature. Addiction is described as the inability to abstain, poor behavioral restraint, physical or psychological cravings, and impairment with insight to significant problems or interpersonal relationships. Addiction is a progressive disease that left untreated results in disability, institutions, or death. The top ten most prevalent addictions in the U.S. according to NCBI (national center for biotechnology

Addictions are strongholds and bondages that are more often than not difficult to overcome. The addiction holds a person’s well-being captive which result in unusual behavioral patterns. According to Gabor Maté and Arold Langeveld “addiction means be to a slave” relatively speaking when a person is addicted in reality they are a slave to the stimuli. Furthermore the outcome of addiction will result in behavioral patterns that will satisfy the addiction.

Addiction can come from a variety of different issues. As discussed in lecture notes, “Addiction may be associated with a variety of psychological, sociological, or physiological issues. For example, addiction may be associated with loss, depression or stress, with poverty, or with growing up in an “addiction-friendly” environment.” (Hodgen, n.d.). Anything can trigger an addictive behavior no matter how small or too big.

Addiction of any variety is detrimental to the happiness of not only the addict, but it also encompasses all those around them, and technology addiction is no different. Alex Lickerman (2010), former director of primary care and the current assistant vice president for Student Health and Counseling Services at the University of Chicago, wrote “like any addiction, the real cost, for those of us who are truly addicted, is to the number and quality of our relationships with others.” (Lickerman, 2010, n.p.) Addicts tend to neglect and hurt the people around them. The addict’s drive to get their vice overshadows all other needs. This drive or need causes the addict to enter a downward spiral that will negatively affect them or in rare instances

Forty-three percent people can’t receive treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. Most people do not understand the struggle that comes with addiction. In the Film, Addiction, HBO follows real-life stories, relapses, and recovery of people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. The film shows that for people not going through addiction they just say, “why cannot they just stop?” Or they believe a person has to hit “rock bottom” before a person battling addiction wants to get help.

Many people around the world are addicted to something whether they are aware of it or not. The dictionary definition of addiction is the following - “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.” There are two types of addiction that Psychologist Fisher talks about in his research article. One is behavioral addiction such as sex, internet, and overeating which are just a few examples. On the other side of the spectrum, you have substance abuse which includes but is not limited to cocaine, heroin, meth, alcohol abuse and so on. Throughout this essay, I will be comparing and contrasting studies conducted about behavioral addiction and substance abuse.

Today’s kids spend an astounding 300% more time in front of a screen than in 1995, a fact given by Rawhide.org. This statistic alone gives people a reason to question the amount of dependency the human race has put on screen technology, as well as if screen technology has come too far. In my opinion, screen technology and human dependency on technology have both come too far and will soon cause us more harm than good.

Addiction is all around us. It may be that cup of coffee in the morning for the caffeine stimulation, the cigarette that is smoked for the nicotine, or an alcoholic drink used to relieve a stressful day or situation. For some, the addiction may not be to a substance, but to compulsive behaviors such as gambling, playing video games, or shopping. Consequences to addictions can impact an addict’s physical or mental state. Addiction can also have detrimental impact on the people that surround them. Watching a relationship fall apart because a person has an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or another addictive behavior is a sad thing to happen to anyone. Unfortunately, those with addictions usually won’t admit they even

As asked by the English alternative rock band Muse in their famous song “Screenager,” “Who’s so phoney and always surrounded?” This song perfectly depicts the effects of technology on America. People are engulfed by different types of technology everywhere they go and even carry around technology such as phones, laptops, and iPods. These items may seem like a blessing, but they are potentially dividing America. Every day, eight to eighteen-year-olds watch four and a half hours of TV, listen to two and a half hours of music, use the computer for an hour and a half, and spend two and a half hours on their cell phones, two hours for texting and one half hour for talking. This adds up to eleven hours dedicated on the media per day (Crawford).