joining me is doctor David Greenfield he's the founder and director of the
Center for Internet and technology
addiction located in West Hartford Connecticut is a psychologist treating
patients worldwide for technology addiction
a doctor greenfield really great to have you this is an into issue of particular
interest to people in my age group so I think that might be useful first to just
start out with how are we defining
technology addiction well
you know there to really real components in what I call a generation D which
would be anyone in 25 to 30
I'm there and these are people that have grown up with digital
an Internet technology and addiction really means that you have to me some
pretty serious medical criteria there has to be some degree
withdrawal when you're not using it some degree of tolerance music meaning that
you using and more and more
and there has to be more importantly some military is a really negative facts
your life that is causing arm like to your relationship's legal hell
financial status marriage work
I means academic performance
if you don't have one of those or you know where that combination you're
probably not addicted
you and and only a small percentage
based on my research in my work and i'm saying somewhere in the four to six
percent range really meet their criteria
the rest the bus are heavy users are abusers and I think most of us are
guilty in that
okay so then let's figure out a little bit more
about that so some people who we we said we were going to be doing this interview
with you the road and they said listen my behavior is
that at work as part of my job I'm on my computer and I'm on my
my mobile phone and I'm on email basically throughout the day
when I'm not at work I'm kinda expected to not be too far out of reach
and when I go to a movie for two hours and I have to shut my phone off
I'm definitely wondering and thinking do I have email
is there something there there may not be a very specific
negative affect its associated but they say I definitely feel
what I guess you would qualify as withdrawal what does that sound like to
you
that sounds like somebody that I would classify as a heavy user
earner user and it's somebody you
who their technology has
I has reinforce them to classically a thirsty a
the phone win expected
hits the dopamine from positive messages and texts and tweets
so another worth our phones especially how smart phones because we carry them
with us everywhere we go
in a sense are are Giants slot machines
or not die if I machines response lunchy stop what they're doing
be a third going out these positive reinforcements in the form of
communications
or information that we find pleasurable sometimes there
a pacts or her and email that is something you
positive when that happens the brains secrete dopamine which is a pleasure
neurotransmitter
which is the same neurotransmitter that secreted when you do
drugs or alcohol at Saks do other pleasurable activities
what happens is the the Easton
buzzes and things that phoned us to let us know that there's a message
become conditioned with the expectation that there may be something there for us
to looking at so it's sort of like to thank
I i cant knowing that there's a Christmas package under the tree and it
hasn't been opened yet
and you just can't wait to open it a problem with that is
that it said that he is habit-forming and and
technology in some senses controlling you
instead are you controlling yet it no longer it's cool
your the tool for it as opposed to it being at school for you
there are some discussions about so-called
addictive personalities are our personalities that
a that that biologically tend more to become
addicted to whatever it could be drugs that could be gambling it could be
exercise whatever it may be
yeah do you find number one that that's if you consider that
that line of thinking valid this technology addiction
ball under that same umbrella where there are certain people who just by
their very nature
are more likely to become addicted to technology
I'm well the answer is yes and no there really is no such thing as a biological
or psychological
predispose percent for injection
up now that being said there are certainly people who come from families
where there are lots of addictions that have a higher likelihood of becoming
addicted
but that's probably because the being exposed environmentally
to that type its to addictive behavior
growing up I is started
IRT goes somewhat complicated because generation DG this group of people
you know 25-30 in under have a different relationship with technology than anyone
else
they tree technology like my generation which read:
poster is in bed in their culture
in their social life in the way the socialized in
their daily living the phone is not really communication devices
partners série is another farming is if integrated into their lives in such a
way that
arm you would be very hard for them
some live with our so ask your question
iron its mucho mas to your question
I to will so I think we follow that there's not
its its there's a different framework may be for people have a certain age
that wouldn't necessarily fall under this paradigm
yeah this is a group that like for instance
you know I'm I see people I hit for our meeting of
literally from all over the country and then and elsewhere in the world
and you know we've got sixty to 70 kids that are you think that are gaining too
much you know
uniform too much whenever on that's different than an issue of somebody who
is
overusing their their phone
a little too much to check facebook although Mr
thank for instance Facebook is not something that I felt people
tell the parents to get their hands of a because Facebook is where kids hang out
they hang out virtually they hang out in Cyprus
it that's their
social network and also texting
and tweeting and the technologies are digital
communication are really in this generation's
differentiation points from previous generation so it's like
is it's like generation these language
should we eat yet said it's loosely speaking
in its you it's the way you guys can act and relate
so summer that is normative and someone is
integrated into the social structure this generation
and for me to tell us the parent Arnold you should never
be on Facebook would be like me saying we like it should never go out hang out
as friends
on the other hand if the spending eight or ten hours a day on Facebook
and not doing school work that whole different in stock yeah and then that
even goes beyond the specific issue of technology addiction because we know
a lot of the negative affective kinda living your life through your Facebook
friends status updates and it shows Rep
less satisfaction with your own life and and the idea that everyone else is doing
more and better things than you
I'm curious with your personal kind of technology usage
a huff on talking to you on an aged the
campground few ciskei with my smart phone next to me
with you know but I mean I mean it more in terms of you know frequency in are
you checking mail all the time on a mobile phone no
our I think it's a fair question I mean I got interested in
you know the doctor my I'm addiction are just so my background as a doctor
within the area detection so I was interested in this
area begin with but I also have a background in technology and electronics
some back in and need nineties when the internet 30 heat up
I actually noticed my spending an excessive amount of time on my hands
back when we had iowa
and you know which you probably don't remember for you were spending a lot of
time online but you are really getting that much done because the internet was
so slow
yeah and it was so slow I also I'm thinking I thought what am I don't like
and there was not content even talk
you know we're talking about hey in its infancy
yeah so I but never last with some very compelling and that's really what got me
curious about this something about the interface
the medium up the internet itself well you access it on a tablet or smartphone
or laptop or computer
that makes it very dated and they're certain qualities
like disinhibition or dissociation for instance
everybody loses loses track a up time and space when iran's
technology so that is well likens it to it
what I call a digital drug it has the capacity to offer a mood in
consciousness
and so to answer your question about me ya
much absolutely susceptible to it and I have to manage it
and when I give his I'm I force myself to leave my phone
at home or of force myself to leave it in the car if I'm going into E
were of force myself to pushed myself
offline consciously if you don't consciously do it
your carry that stuff with you everywhere you go and you will become
enslaved by
all right we've been speaking with doctor David Greenfield he's the founder
and director of the Center for Internet and technology addiction in West
Hartford Connecticut
doctor greenfield thanks so much for joining us very interesting