Stop Calling Young People Tech Addicts!
Posted by anastasia on 08-04-2009
This morning I stumbled across this piece of disturbing news out of China, which alleged that a 15-year-old was beaten to death in a rehab camp for internet addicts. While we [thankfully] don’t have government-run camps for teenage “internet addicts” here in the States, I am increasingly disturbed by how casually the word addiction is thrown around when discussing teens’ media habits.
I have yet to see an episode of A&E’s disturbing series “Intervention,” where a family staged an intervention with a young web or video game junkie, and if you watch the series or have known addicts personally, you know addiction ruins lives. Yes, in very extreme cases like the World of Warcraft players who literally haven’t gotten out of their chair for days, I believe that you could classify some people as “addicted” to a certain game or technology. Reading different definitions of addiction, it’s easy to see how it has been broadened to encompass any type of compulsive behavior (eating, shopping, gambling, sex, etc.) as potentially being an addiction. For example, according to the medical definition on this site, if you experience three of the criteria listed, you may have an addiction.
But is teenagers’ desire to text their friends 24/7, check their Facebook messages or even play a new game for several hours an addiction? I remember speaking on a panel where someone made the analogy of kids who were so excited about the new Harry Potter book, they literally holed themselves up in their room for hours reading. Were these kids reading “addicts”? Teenagers’ heavy use of technology certainly might be irritating, especially to parents who would prefer to see their kids engaged in more physical, offline activities. But we also have to remember that the desire to stay connected to friends at all times is a natural part of adolescence and tapers off as we grow older, get jobs, start our own families, etc.
The problem is that once we begin using this label, even casually, it carries the social stigma of being labeled an “addict” as well as potential treatment models that may be highly inappropriate (China’s being the most extreme). Can you imagine teen texters sitting in a 12-step group being forced to talk about being powerless over their desire to respond to their BFF’s messages? I’m not denying that too much tech may be an issue for some teens (hurting grades, impacting their physical and mental health) that parents and mental health professionals should be addressing. But can we do it without using the label of addiction?
Categorized under: Totally Wired, Web
August 4th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I couldn’t agree more, Anastasia. The word “addiction” should be used sparingly, especially for more or less benign behavior that’s considered the social norm among teens. Besides, round-the-clock socializing sure seems more productive, with more opportunities for personal growth, than some pre-Internet teen obsessions that used to fill the time (I’m looking at you, dear Tetris).
August 5th, 2009 at 4:34 am
The meaning of the word Addiction in my own has degraded alot in a sense. Drug addiction, Alcohol addiction. all this is still considered serious.
However apart from these rather grave and serious uses, the word no longer holds the stigma it once did. I have often witnessed and participated in conversations where friends call each other addicts of some sort or another. I myself have been titled a Facebook Addict, Mxit addict(popular cellphone IM interface) and take these titles without any form of negative stigma.
Where am I getting with thiss you ask…well it is rather simple. do not try to remove a term which has ingrained itself in the very fabric of our current social situation but do change the way you use it. If you must describe someones usage of a certain software/hardware then rather than label it an addiction as some kind of horrible affliction rather say it jokingly. You’d be surprised how many brownie points you can gain with the youth if you use the “lingo” correctly.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:51 am
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