America’s addicted. The dependency on technology is more prevalent now more than ever.

Addiction is typically characterized as the dependency on drugs or alcohol. However, addiction comes in many forms. Gambling, food, video games, work, exercise, even sugar are all things that can become addictive. Addiction comes from the constant need of an object or substance, and recent studies show that America’s new addiction is something readily available everyday: Technology.

The use of the internet over the past 15 years has increased 1,000% according to The National Center for Biotechnology Information. With smart phones, tablets, computers, laptops, and even watches, people can now connected to and use the internet easier than ever before. An article by Nielsen, showed that, in 2016, people spent roughly 10 hours and 39 minutes a day consuming media.  

Just on their phones, the average person spends nearly three hours everyday connected to the internet says The New York Times. Adam Alter, an associate professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University who studies marketing and psychology, claims that humans have many behavioral addictions. Technology is one of them.

A behavioral addiction is an impulsive desire for a non-drug related behavior or substance despite its consequences. It is a search for something new, stimulating, and interesting according to PBS. People with addictions continually do what they are addicted to because it releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that makes people feel good. The release of dopamine is like a reward, teaching the brain to repeat the behavior, until it is rewired.  

Anything that people engage with compulsively can become addicting, Alter said. Long-term addiction to these things can create harmful social, physical, financial, and psychological effects. The feedback that can be received from technology is one of the main reasons it can become addicting.

“The main thing is that it gives us access to unpredictable rewards–you never know whether you’ll get lots of likes and shares and replies, or whether you’ll get very few.” Alter stated. According to him, people find the anticipation of a positive outcome appealing.

The need for virtual attention is causing problems for many who are addicted to it according to Scientific American. Behavioral addiction has the ability to change the dynamics of relationships, health, and even basic human interactions. By creating less face-to-face interactions, encouraging inactivity, or in some cases a surplus of activity, and demolishing basic social skills by replacing the real world with a virtual reality, technology becomes more damaging says Scientific American.

A PBS interview with Dr. Delaney Russet revealed that the MRI scans of children who play video games 20 hours a week resembles the brain of people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. However, with the changes and negative effects of technology, Russet does not believe that there needs to be ample panic, claiming that humans are resilient enough to spend time with technology. 

However, Alter believes that there are ways to minimize a technology addiction. Spending time everyday without technology, preferably off and away from you, going outside, talking to family and friends, and experiencing the world are all realistic ways to sever the technology addiction.

“That’s the best thing we can do right now: it’s hard to resist temptation, so the best thing you can do is to remove temptation completely.” says Alter