English 1301 

Misty Stovall

Mrs.Cowart

ENGL 1301-4601

01 October 2016

Technology and a New Addiction in Teenagers

            Adolescents use technology to communicate, for entertainment purposes, and in some schools it has become an essential part of the curriculum.  Dr. Vivek Agarwal MD, and Dr. Sujit Kumar Kar MD, who wrote the article, “Adolescent Use of Technology Has Become an Addiction”, examin the relationship between the use of technology in adolescents and how it may be leading to an addiction in the youth population.  Technology is used for making lives easier, and adolescents are using different types of technology on a daily basis.  New technology is being geared toward the adolescent population, making it more attractive and exciting to use.  In this article, Dr. Agarwal and Dr. Kar take a look at the adolescent population that have an addiction to technology, according to what the meaning of an addiction is and how it relates to the excessive use of technology and they type of behaviors that are seen.  Technology is advancing at amazing speeds and is making lives easier, with each new piece of technology that is being advertised making technology fun and attractive for teenagers, a new addiction has been seen.

            Technology is becoming popular and fashionable with adolescents today. A large group of teenagers have smartphones, do homework on computers, play games, and socialize online. Companies are advertising smartphones, laptops and other technologies toward the youth. Smart phones and other devices are becoming compatible with technology today and is used to play games, and socialize online. In the near future, schools may become paperless and all school work will be done on computers. The wide range of having these devices accessible among many socio-economic groups may contribute to the prevalence of addiction to the theses devices. Technology has become cheaper and is more easily accessible for many different groups of teenagers, and a new addiction to technology is coming forth and is being studied by experts.

             Individuals can become preoccupied with their mobile phones and find it hard to go without them, even for a little while.  When people are unable to pull themselves away from their smartphones or other devices, and may feel worried when they do not constantly have a cell phone with them at all times. Being immature, children and adolescents cannot recognize the adverse effects of always having to be preoccupied by a smart phone or some type of device for entertainment, that they cannot understand the effects of what excessively using these devices can have.  Individuals with an addiction to technology were unable to separate themselves from these devices or felt worried when they forgot them at home. Warning signs seen in the adolescent population with an addiction to these devices were bad coping mechanisms, and being irritable or desperate when not having their devices around to keep them preoccupied. 

            Adolescents seem to always be preoccupied with a cell phone, texting, Facebooking, or doing some other type of social networking on them.  It is common in today’s youth to have the newest and most up to date piece of technology.  Schools are also keeping up-to-date on the latest advancements with technology and are transitioning the classrooms from pen and paper to handing out laptops starting in middle school, for children to complete their classwork on.  The fashion industry is targeting the youth with fashionable accessories for the newest and latest cell phones, or laptops.  Younger generations are becoming more advanced than the older generation with the most current technology.  An addiction to technology is defined as “a habitual and compulsive way of indulgence with technology deviating from meeting the life’s different issues” (Agarwal and Kar 171).  There are no differences with an addiction to food, alcohol, or technology, an addiction can be to anything in excess and addiction to technology seems to be on the rise.

             The article clearly explains the relationship between excessive use of technology and the behaviors seen with an addiction. The types of behaviors that are seen with an addiction to technology were preoccupation with the internet, excessively using cell phones for things like social networking, checking emails or playing games and being unable to separate themselves from the devices or feeling worried when going without these devices.  Avoidance behaviors and poor coping skills contribute to the addiction with technology.  When adolescents are only communicating through text messaging or social networking and not getting the face-to-face interaction, there is a human connection that is lost.  Always being entertained by technology and not getting out and having social interaction leads to social isolation and depression. Parents may not be aware that they are promoting an addiction to technology by not setting limits on internet usage in the home.

            There is no exact definition for “internet addiction” that exists today. Psychiatrists have to look at the whole picture of what an addiction is and how it affects a person. There are certain types of behaviors seen with addictions to cell phones, or some other type of technology that is increasing with the adolescent population today. Researchers and mental health professionals are realizing the world today, where using technology is a part of everyday life.  The author concludes that “boundaries are needed to be drawn keeping in mind the new realities before diagnosing it be to a disorder” (Agarwal and Kar 173).   The authors are doctors in the Psychiatry Department at King George’s Medical University; they have used the textbook definition of what an addiction is and have related it to what they have seen in the adolescent population. An impairment of any kind should not be ignored, and limits need to be set by parents of adolescents when it comes to constantly using technology every day, instead of having personal social interaction.   

            Dr. Vivek Agarwal and Dr. Sujit Kar, have the knowledge and experience with addictive behaviors and have related it to what they are seeing in adolescents that are indicative of an addiction to technology. Adolescents are growing up in a world where technology is exploding and exceeding limits. A solution would be to set limits at home with the amount of time a child is allowed to spend on a cell phone or computer.  Getting adolescents interested in other types of activities to promote social growth and good coping skills is necessary.  Educating parents about the warning signs and dangers of technology addiction is very important when it comes to today’s youth. Counselors and psychiatrists that are trained in different types of addictive behaviors are looking at new norms when it comes to technology, and compare it to what is excessive and what helpful in using technology to complete everyday tasks.

Works Cited

Agarwal, Vivek and Kar,Sujit. “Technology Addiction in Adolescents.” J. Indiana Associates Child Adolescents Mental Health 11 (2015, July):170-174. EBSCOhost. Web 01 October  2015.