Are we addicted to technology?
“I check my Instagram account every hour — I put the GPS “just in case” before leaving, even for a route I know — My son plays video games during hours, is it dangerous?” Have you already heard those sentences? If yes, you probably heard also about “addiction” to technology. This short article is inspired from a really interesting podcast episode on Build For Tomorrow by Jason Feifer, called “You are not addicted to technology” (05.27.2021).
Indeed, the term addiction is very strong to talk about an overconsumption of technology (social media, video games…), several times a day. To be clear, the term “addiction” is sexy for the media, but has no scientific value. Addiction is defined by medicine: one is addicted to a substance (e.g. drugs, alcohol). Looking at social media every 5 minutes, playing video games for hours… These are not substances (even if some “personal development influencers” play on the words to say that the pleasure provided creates a substance, the dopamine).
Actually, we should use words like “overuse”, “habit” or “choice” instead of addiction (but they are not sexy enough to criticise tech industry !). Because yes, playing video games is a choice. and became a habit. As checking social media, or our GPS for every trips… or for more “traditional” behaviors : watching TV for hours.
How social sciences theories can explain alternatively “addiction” to technology?
What is a habit?
A “habit” should consider as a repeated behavior which became automatic (Lally et al., 2009, Gardner & Rebar, 2019). Automatic because habits are learned behaviors that repeat past responses. There is no behavioral intention to do when there is a habit (Wood & Neal, 2007). A habit differs from a routine, which is defined as “a regular procedure, a fixed sequence in a performance”. A routine is anchored in time, in a sequence of actions (Southerton, 2012).
Why we needs competence and autonomy with technology?
So why these habits with technology? Take the case of video games: think about a teenager who struggles to have good grades at school, he or she endures his teachers’ remarks all day long, must think about building his future in a world that is rapidly changing and of which he or she does not have all the knowledge. Bad day… After school, at home, plays video games : he or she can choose in which “world” to play, receives badges, trophies by taking on many challenges. Thanks to video games, the teenager feels competent and can connect and interact with others in complete autonomy.
In the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of Ryan and Deci (2000), individuals are motivated to perform an activity according to three psychological needs that they seek to satisfy:
- the need for competence, to be able to solve problems
- the need for autonomy, to be able to exercise control over one’s life
- the need for social relations, to be able to interact and establish relationships
Don’t worry about the consequences of playing video games for your teenager. Ask yourself why he or she wants to play them so badly? Do they need to feel competent? Have more autonomy? More social interaction? And for parents who still anxious about violent video games and violent behavior in real life, read this article from Halbrook, O’Donnell & Msetfi (2019) :
“the relationship between violent video games and aggression depends greatly on individual and sociocontextual variables outside of game play”. (Halbrook, O’Donnell & Msetfi, 2019)
How can we focus for hours on technology?
For social media, they distract us. We get bored in class, at work, not stimulated enough and end up grabbing our smartphone to check Instagram, Twitter, TikTok for 1–2 minutes — which sometimes becomes 1–2 hours. Social media create a flow state. Let’s explain Flow Theory developed by Csikszentmihalyi (1997).
Absorbed by an activity, you are actively concentrated on it because your field of consciousness is reduced, you lose awareness of time and your perceptions are filtered, only the activity counts. This concentration on a single activity creates a feeling of control you can feel in a state of flow. You are in a state of flow if the level of challenge is adapted to your level of competence. As the individual’s skills evolve, the difficulty must gradually increase with your skills. When the difficulty is too low, the individual gets bored. When the difficulty is too high, the individual feels anxiety related to his perceived incompetence.
Actually, technology don’t harm or creates depression. They are used as an answer to social anxiety, boredom… So using technology is just a question of choice and its our responsibility. But with this framing, we are not helpless and some people can’t sell us their solution (remember those famous “personal development” influencer to be more productive, more successful…).
So don’t blame technology if you overuse it, try to change your habits!
Sources:
Gardner, B., & Rebar, A. L. (2019). Habit formation and behavior change. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology.
Halbrook, Y. J., O’Donnell, A. T., & Msetfi, R. M. (2019). When and how video games can be good: A review of the positive effects of video games on well-being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(6), 1096–1104.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1), 68.
Southerton, D. (2013). Habits, routines and temporalities of consumption: From individual behaviours to the reproduction of everyday practices. Time & Society, 22(3), 335–355.
Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2007). A new look at habits and the habit-goal interface. Psychological review, 114(4), 843.
