Do You Use Digital Technology Wisely? (part 1)

Jenni is hooked on a video game. “I’m playing it for eight hours a day now,” she says, “and it’s become a real problem.”

Dennis tried to go seven days without his electronic devices and Internet access. He lasted just 40 hours.

Jenni and Dennis are not teenagers. Jenni, a mother of four, is 40 years old. Dennis is 49.

DO YOU use digital technology? * Many would answer yes, and for good reason. Electronic devices play a prominent and useful role in employment, social life, and entertainment.

However, like Jenni and Dennis, many people seem overly attached to some uses of technology. For example, 20-year-old Nicole says: “I hate to say it, but my cell phone and I are best buddies. I make sure it’s close by at all times. I go crazy if I’m in an area with no cell coverage, and after half an hour, I can’t wait to be able to check my messages again. It’s a little ridiculous!”

Some people even check a device for messages and updates through the night. They may experience withdrawal symptoms when they are separated from their digital companion. Some researchers describe this type of behavior as an addiction—whether to digital technology in general or more specifically to the Internet or a particular device, such as a smartphone. Others hesitate to use the term “addiction” and prefer to describe such behavior as problematic, compulsive, or obsessive.

Regardless of what it is called, unwise use of digital technology can be a problem. In some cases, it has created a barrier between family members. For example, a 20-year-old girl laments: “My father doesn’t know about anything going on in my life anymore. He sits in the living room and writes e-mails while he is talking to me. He can’t put his phone down. My dad probably cares about me, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem that he does.”