"Digital addiction": why the way children use devices is more important than the amount of time they spend

Although the World Health Organization recognized the problems associated with digital gaming as a mental pathology, the name does not include addiction to social networks or non-gaming applications. Still, the emerging phenomenon of "digital addiction" represents a widespread real and potential problem that challenges easy solutions or prevention strategies.

According to recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, ( JAMA ), the relationship between device exposure and adolescent health could follow an "inverted U" pattern, that is, that very high exposure and very low exposure could be associated with poor mental health outcomes compared to moderate amounts of use.

The scientific consensus suggests that addictions arise from a combination of a genetic predisposition and repeated exposure to a specific substrate. In the case of digital addiction, exposure is ubiquitous, inevitable, and in some cases the use of digital devices is mandatory; some schools use tablets in classrooms and others require children to use computers to do their homework.

"All activity can be fertile ground for addiction, and electronic devices do not escape this possibility. Obviously today they constitute a means of communication and peer relationship, and not just a means but a scenario itself. At this point we must review the hierarchy that this virtual space has, since being virtual is no less real, "said in dialogue with Infobae Diego Luparello, psychoanalyst and former president of the Senate of analysts in training of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association.

Children and "screens"

The amorphous nature of the term "screen time" is just one of the challenges parents face in trying to guide their children in a digital age that bears no resemblance to theirs (Shutterstock) The amorphous nature of the term "screen time" is just one of the challenges parents face in trying to guide their children in a digital age that bears no resemblance to theirs (Shutterstock) "Children's use of devices varies from useful and healthy to compulsive and addictive," said Dimitri A. Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at the Seattle Children's Research Institute and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington. "I think the phenomenon of technology addiction is quite real."

However, for the specialist, the definition of the word "screen" has evolved considerably to the point that it is almost a meaningless construction. Christakis's work separates the consumption of digital media by rhythm and violence, and thus discovered that watching violent entertainment in the first years of life is strongly associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders.

While scientists have looked at the link between displays and attention issues before, the effects are difficult to understand. Some say the media simply replaces the most beneficial activities. Others argue that children become insensitive to their speed or violence and thus crave even more.

"Is the world of apps and that cellular device that has adhered to the body of human beings throughout the world harmful to children? The risk of saying something like this is to demonize objects. Thirty years ago, similar ideas were made regarding of TV and the damage that this device produced in children who spent hours hypnotized in front of the screen. TV then, like today's cell phones are not bad per se , the problem lies in the relationship established with objects, in other words, the place that these objects come to occupy in the lives of children, "said Agustina Fernández, a psychoanalyst, member of the same association and a specialist in adolescents.

Modern technology design is skillful and purposefully programmed with the kind of variable rewards that keep humans engaged (Shutterstock) Modern technology design is skillful and purposefully programmed with the kind of variable rewards that keep humans engaged (Shutterstock) For Dr. Ellen Selkie, an assistant professor of adolescent medicine at the University of Michigan, who researches teens' use of social media, "It's like food, it's something we all need because of the way that companies, because of the labor market, and for teenagers it's the way they socialize. "

"With younger children," he said, "there is evidence supporting limitations in the amount of screen time; with older children, the situation is more complicated. The question is, with a teenager who always seems to be on his phone, Is that really an addiction or is it the scene where their friends are today? Because the normal behavior of teenagers is always to want to talk to their friends. "

According to Selkie, just as there are healthy and unhealthy ways to eat, there are daily decisions about the use of technology that add to the main decisions about health. Paradoxically, she argued that there are times when a child's lack of screen time can also be a cause for concern.

Technology as "an environment" where all kinds of activities are carried out: from work to entertainment and social life

Social media, for example, isolates some teens, while deepening real-life friendships for others, depending on how they are used (Shutterstock) Social media, for example, isolates some teens, while deepening real-life friendships for others, depending on how they are used (Shutterstock) For Maximiliano Martínez Donaire, psychoanalyst and former scientific secretary of the APA Senate, "there is something in the style of encouragement and a source of perception and enjoyment of this phenomenon that generates that someone can spend many hours without moving interacting with a screen. The matter It is not in the digital or on the screen itself, but in the use that is made of it. "

"And when we talk about children," he continued, "use must be regulated by adults. They are the ones who have to provide the tools to children so that they can learn to manage and regulate their sources of enjoyment and pleasure. Digital becomes addictive is because there, adults could not provide the necessary tools for the boy to regulate himself, "he said.

Today virtual, digital and social networks are a space that is inhabited. Where the subjects carry out a lot of entertainment, work, leisure and social activities. It is logical that at some point children also begin to inhabit them in the same sense, finding in them a source of social bond with their friends and peers, a source of encouragement and research.

Some experts believe that the main problem in calling problematic technology a clinical "addiction" is that it locates the disease or problem within the individual, rather than in the digital environment that is shaping their behavior, often through methods who are intentionally exploitative or subconscious.

"A young man who seeks to isolate himself, for example, will find a space on the phone to do so, the same as he would do in his room, or with other means at his disposal. That is, the behavior of isolation is the symptom and the digital tool is the medium, "explained Luparello.

It also depends on the content and context. Violent video games will have a different impact on younger kids than family movie night (Shutterstock) It also depends on the content and context. Violent video games will have a different impact on younger kids than family movie night (Shutterstock) However, according to the Canadian Pediatric Society , parents should be more concerned with the way their school-age children and adolescents use digital devices than the total amount of time they are fascinated by screens.

The group of pediatricians continues to encourage parents to minimize screen time, but it failed to impose a ceiling on its first digital media guidelines for older children in the era of smartphones and social media. The CPS argued that it would be "very difficult" to set time limits for technology and screen time that can be harmful in some circumstances and beneficial in others.

The CPS guideline defines "moderate" use as two to four hours a day. The new guidelines apply to children up to 5 years old and adolescents up to 19 years old. Two years ago, the same organization published guidelines for younger children that did not advise screen time for children under the age of 2, and no more than one hour a day for children between the ages of 2 and 5.

As parents navigate a difficult set of parameters, Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that "provides education and advocacy for families to promote safe technologies and media for children," offers a wealth of advice that can help. to establish guidelines. A starting point is to demand that the phones be turned off for dinner or on family outings, and parents, of course, should think carefully about their own use of the devices and the examples they give.