The Dangers of Digital Addiction

Nowadays, we are surrounded by digital machines like Smartphones, computers, laptops, and

many more smart gadgets for our day-to-day works. These digital machinery are no longer

treated as just gadgets rather they have become an essential part of our life. They are the

passport to a new virtual world of netizens where nobody cares about anybody as seriously as

in the real world. When dependency on these devices turns into an inevitable part of our life

and takes us away from the real world, we can term this situation as ‘Digital Addiction’.

According to the new research the conceptual definition is "Digital addiction referred to an

impulse control disorder that involves the obsessive use of digital devices, digital

technologies, and digital platforms, i.e. internet, video game, online platforms, mobile

devices, digital gadgets, and social network platform. It is an emerging domain of

Cyberpsychology which explore a problematic usage of digital media, device, and platforms

by being obsessive and excessive"(Singh & Singh, 2019). While wise use of digital gadgets can

solve many of our problems, yet devoting most of our time to the digital arena can bring us

unwarranted psychological disorders, affect our physical well-being, and hamper our social

relations.

Excessive use of digital gadgets can lead us to serious psychological disorders. These

disorders might be manifested in the form of Feeling Guilty, Anxiety, Stress, Agitation, and

Depression. Though digital addiction is not classified as a mental health disorder, it is

believed that it arouses the receptors in the brain that are responsible for the feeling of

pleasure. These types of pleasure come with a cost of social detachment and eventually, the

feeling of guilty follows with other psychological problems mentioned earlier. All these facts

ratified by Endert (2021) "These findings indicate that children’s problematic behavior

towards digital devices compares to other maladaptive behaviors (e.g. substance abuse,
pathological gambling) in terms of impulsive choice and point towards the key role self-

control seems to play in lowering a potential risk of digital addiction". These problems are

not all to be mentioned here, it also comes handy with some physiological concerns.

Digital addiction can be the cause of our physical health related to the eye, neck, waist, and

digestive system. Looking at the screens for a long period of time develops into blurred

vision; sitting in front of a digital device for hours leads to spondylitis, waist pain, and

deformities in the spinal cord; coming in contact with bacteria like e-coli through touching

surfaces of the devices cause serious digestive disorders. Besides that, sleeplessness and

malnutrition are two serious problems caused by digital addiction.

It can harm our social relations as we are not available for others when they need us. The

excessive use of digital devices delimits our activities in real life with minimal to non-

interaction with our social environment. This leads to poor and careless relationships with

friends and family. In addition to this we may become the victim or culprit of cyberbullying,

cyber-racism, and in some cases tends to develop the tendency of cyber-suicide. The

anonymity of these culprits or victims can make it quite dangerous, especially for young

users.

We are living in a world surrounded by digital devices, and avoiding these devices is out of

our imagination. We have made those to assist us in making our life easier by controlling

their usability. When they control us the problem begins with serious psychological,

physiological, and sociological implications. It is pertinent that most of the solutions come

handy from the problem itself. One of such advice says that, "Digital addiction is a

multifaceted problem. Therefore, it is significant to have a comprehensive understanding of

this phenomenon to overcome its adverse impacts. Several factors contribute to the onset of

addiction, including IT. We argue that IT as One of the factors that contribute to the
development of addiction can also have a contribution to the effort of combating digital

addiction" (Rahayu, 2020).Hence it is always advised to avoid digital addiction through

proper checks and balances so that it will not adversely affect our personal and social lives.

Reference:- 
Schulz van Endert, T. (2021). Addictive use of digital devices in young children:
Associations with delay discounting, self-control and academic performance. PLoS
ONE, 16(6), e0253058. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A666063791/AONE?
u=lirn17237&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=a515269b
Singh, A. K., & Singh, P. K. (2019). Digital Addiction: a conceptual overview. Library
Philosophy and Practice, NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622150384/AONE?
u=lirn17237&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=1c35035f
Rahayu, F. S., Nugroho, L. E., Ferdiana, R., & Setyohadi, D. B. (2020). Research Trend on

the Use of IT in Digital Addiction: An Investigation Using a Systematic Literature

Review. Future Internet, 12(10),1n+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A643395868/AONE?

u=lirn17237&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=ea9308fe