of the Internet, in part, comes from its ability to dissociate you from real life and to become a digital drug by impacting dopamine levels in your brain.
Recovering from Internet and Screen Addiction
You cannot change anything in your life unless you have honest self-appraisal and feedback. The problem with addiction is that often, self cannot accurately see self, and people have a great capacity for denial and self-deception when engaging in addictive behaviors that impact their brain reward centers.
Recovery always begins with honest self-evaluation, often with some objective data to help you accurately see what you’re doing online. With substance as well as behavioral addiction, there are well-established methods for assessing overuse and life impacts from an addiction. However, there is no simple answer for how much is too much, nor is there an easy fix. As I note throughout this book, addiction is complex and involves mind, body, and spirit — impacting many aspects of your functioning; that said, everyone has a different bottom line where they can no longer ignore the fact that their screen addiction is hurting their life in some way. The following sections introduce two options for recovery: self-help and professional help.
Exploring self-help options
Self-help options (covered in Chapter 12) have always been a substantive part of any addiction recovery and treatment plan. The most well-known is Alcoholics Anonymous, but there are 12-step and recovery/support programs for nearly every addiction; there are even specific support groups for pornography and sex addiction, including Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous, and Sexaholics Anonymous. There are also many support and self-help groups for Internet and technology addiction. Groups like Game Quitters, OLG-Anon (On-Line Gamers Anonymous), and others that focus on video gaming and other forms of screen use can be useful, but beware that many of these groups are themselves online. Some might argue that this defeats the purpose, but my experience suggests that some help is always better than no help, even if it’s online. (COVID also gave us new reliance on the utility of telemedicine mental health and addiction treatment.)
Self-help books and resources can be invaluable in making desired changes in any behavior or addiction. When I first started my work in Internet addiction in the late 1990s, only one self-help book (Caught in the Net, published in 1998 by Dr. Kimberly Young) was available, and my book Virtual Addiction was the second, published in 1999. Now, literally dozens of books and resources have been written, and a great deal of medical and scientific research has been conducted on the subject. We know a lot more about this new addiction than we did 25 years ago (see Chapter 12 for more on self-help strategies).
Getting professional help
Sometimes self-help and support groups aren’t enough to make the changes you need in your life. Breaking an addiction can be hard, and any behavior change can sometimes be made easier with professional help. My recommendation would be to find a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist who has experience in addiction and addiction medicine, preferably with a background in Internet, video game, or screen addiction. Don’t be afraid to ask questions regarding their experience (and expertise) in this area, and be wary of any doctor or therapist who underplays the issue and tells you it isn’t a real problem.
Raising Tech-Healthy Children
At least two generations have now been raised on Internet and screen technologies. I wish I could unequivocally say that this been a good thing. The Internet and digital screens are unquestionably a great innovation and have changed the world in many positive ways, but there have been some negative changes as well. There are clear brain and behavioral changes from excessive screen use. It seems the Internet can change the way you think, or at times make thinking less important. It also impacts your ability to delay gratification and may impact social and empathy development, and there is growing evidence to suggest that today’s youth have developed mental health problems from excessive smartphone, screen, and social media use.
However, perhaps the biggest issue with children and teens is the incredible amount of time they spend on their devices and the way it impacts their real-time social interactions, physical activity, and relationships. This life imbalance is palpable and can cause real issues in overall health and well-being. This is not to say that everyone who uses Internet and screen technologies needs treatment or even has a problem, but some of the data is certainly a cause for concern.
Balancing Technology with Real-Time Living
Anything in excess can produce negative health issues, and the Internet and screen technologies are no exception. Health issues relating to screen use have been well established and may involve reduced and poor sleep, increased stress and elevated cortisol, repetitive motion injury, and neck and back problems. There have been reports of thumb, finger, and upper-back problems from excessive screen use, as well as eye strain and difficulties focusing. Some reports of more serious medical issues include elevated blood pressure, blood clots, weight gain from sedentary behavior, and heart rate issues from dehydration; in extreme cases, people have died.
Health is in large part determined by balance in your life; screens and all the content you endlessly consume online may interfere with that balance. But balance is key. It can be hard to maintain because it involves conscious choices, but it is necessary for healthy living. After treating hundreds of patients with Internet and video game use issues and having used the technology