Where is your smartphone right now?
Do you know someone who can never be more than an arm’s length away from their smartphone? Was that person born before or after 2000? It’s easy to assume the person must be a teenager, but that’s not necessarily so. I know a lot of adults just as attached and I’ll bet you do too. Maybe you’re even the attached adult! Adults often point a finger at young people for their almost-subconscious attachment to their devices, but adults are role-modeling for them all the time. I’ve been thinking about this since Common Sense Media released its latest research brief titled, “Technology Addiction: Concern, Controversy and Finding Balance”.
The report explores the dark side of technology use; the always-on, always-connected, always-needy attachment we have to our digital devices. I’m generally a proponent of the 50/50 approach when it comes to technology. It’s ok to use, even occasionally overuse, as long as it’s balanced with non-technology use; real life, face-to-face exchanges and smell-the-flowers experiences. But I can’t ignore the growing reality that more and more of the people I see every day seem permanently digitally connected. Are they addicted?
Here’s a few moments from my technology-filled life:
-During a three-hour, evening course I teach, I gave my students a fifteen-minute break after an hour to grab some food, go to the bathroom, whatever. Almost every student remained in their seat and picked up their smartphone…for the entire break. The room remained library-quiet. (see photo below)
-During a recent lunch with someone*, our conversation was interrupted no less than nine times by texts received and sent by people who wanted that person's attention, while we were trying to share stories and talk. This was neither acknowledged, nor met with an apology. (*no names used since I’m not out to humiliate anyone-- and we all know this isn't a unique situation.)
-In a survey given to my students at the start of last semester, I asked, “When you go to sleep, where is your phone?” 87% said “within a few feet of my pillow” and 10% said “under my pillow”!
-During a family dinner for a religious holiday, my sister remarked to my fifteen-year old daughter how amazed she was that my daughter hadn’t so much as glanced at her phone the entire time. “I try to put it away sometimes,” she shared. My sister was amazed that my daughter was able to put it aside, let alone that she wanted to.
I talk to my students often about my own attachment to my devices. I want them to understand that when I remind them not to open any social media apps during class, it’s because I’ve found myself checking my own social media when in a meeting or conference call. It’s not that I'm uninterested or bored; it’s just that it’s so easy to check…just for a moment…just to see…just in case something important has been posted. Not looking requires real discipline. Even for adults.
So although the Common Sense Media brief focuses on teens and tweens, adults beware-- this is really about us too.
The brief contains six Key Findings:
1. Internet addiction is potentially serious and needs clarification and additional study for people to understand the impact on children’s physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development.
2. Our digital lifestyles, which include frequent multitasking, may be harming our ability to remain focused.
3. Media and technology use is a source of tension for many families
4. Problematic media use may be related to lower empathy and social well-being.
5. Technology may facilitate new ways of expressing typical adolescent developmental needs, such as the need for connection and validation from peer groups
6. Embracing a balanced approach to media and technology, and supporting adult role-modeling, is recommended to prevent problematic media use
It’s important to note that this brief does not contain original research. The authors reviewed 180 source materials, a hefty amount to be sure, but the data is really providing synthesis and evaluation, not new data. It’s also worth noting that although the authors use the data to comment on children, they admit that “much of the research reviewed was conducted with college students and adult populations”, not children. They further state it is, “appropriate to treat findings with caution, as research on adults may not always generalize to younger populations”. Unfortunately, that is just one sentence of caution against an entire forty-four page report discussing components of technology addiction precisely for children; tweens and teens. The brief also states “It is also worth noting that much of the research to date is correlational, making it difficult to know whether problematic use is actually causing negative outcomes.”
The authors read and evaluated a significant number of source materials from both US and global sources, but I have concerns with some of that source material and its ability to provide data that could lead to the Key Findings stated in the brief. (Note that a few of these points are noted in the brief as well.)
For example:
*In some of the measurements, Internet addiction is measured through something called the Internet Addiction Test, modeled after a similar gambling addiction test, assuming the two addictions share some traits. But this assumption has not yet been studied.
*Many of the studies referenced within the sources are from pre-2006, before widespread smartphone adoption.
*Most of the neuroimaging studies used to show the difference between the brains of addicts and the brains of non-addicts were conducted in Asia. Interpretation of these studies could include cultural differences.
*Data from sources outside the US may include interpretations based on that country’s perspective on media use and could lead to increased stress levels for gamers or users.
*The research shows that the concern is not with all technology, but mainly with excessive gaming, a recognized malady by the American Psychiatric Association called “Internet Gaming Disorder”.
Certainly, addiction to anything isn’t positive, but even if a young person’s use is more like overuse than addiction, isn’t that still a problem? In fact, the brief acknowledges this early on stating the difficulty in labeling addictive actions and focusing much of the report on “problematic media use” instead.
How should we understand healthy engagement with media versus unhealthy engagement with media? I like how CSM frames that core question, “What are the human costs of this “always connected” lifestyle?” Just stopping isn’t the goal. The goal is making smart choices.
Some words come up every time there’s a discussion about problematic use, in this report and others. These words can help us understand when to be most concerned about overuse of media and technology.
Preoccupation. Withdrawal. Tolerance. Unstoppable. Apathetic. Deception. Escape.
Our use of media and technology is most problematic when…
…we’re pre-occupied with a particular form of media
…we’re withdrawing from other activities
…our tolerance for the media activity is leading us to spend more time, money…
…we can’t stop doing the activity even when we want to
…we’re apathetic about other activities
…we’re deceiving others about how much or when we engage in the activity
…we use this activity as an escape from other responsibilities
I think the strongest part of the report is the section on “Finding Balance”. There are excellent suggestions for considering our own media and technology use and helping the young people in our lives consider their use. I think this could be a useful discussion tool for parents and educators-- but also for friends. We (adults) need to help young people find a comfortable way to open up the conversation with their friends; to create their own rules for media use when they’re together in person and when they’re together virtually. And we adults need to do the same.
Remember that lunch I mentioned earlier? The one with the anonymous person who texted during our lunch?
I never said anything.
I couldn’t think of a way to bring it up without offending the person.
Next time.
