Addiction to new technologies

How many times have we been taking a drink in a bar, when one of our friends have he been ignoring the conversation because he was looking some in Internet through his Smartphone? Everybody have lived some similar experience. Smartphone and social networks like Twitter or Facebook, and also other apps like WhatsApp or Telegram offer to user the possibility to be online with many virtual friends, and get an identity more secure and reaffirmed. Also, this people feels more popular, because they see that over time, they have more and more virtual friends. Consequently, esteem of these people grows quickly and the worst instance, it can give a false identity and the loss of the personal contact.

Teenager people is the most affected by this phenomenon, because Smartphone have many apps easy to use. Also, there are others features that attracts the teen like a quick answer, interaction, reward… But there is sensitive people that could suffer this degree if they use so much their smartphones.

What kind of people do suffer this degree?

Normally, people who suffers this degree, have some personality features (high impulsivity, dysphoria or intolerance to pleasurable stimuli), and they looks for strong emotions relevant to break some rule. If these people suffer depression, ADHD o social phobia, they will can have more possibility to increase the addict behaviour. In this degree, is very important the context, because the social isolation, increase the harmful behaviour too. Likewise, if they are a shy people and they have low esteem, increase the probability to have an addict behaviour too.

When there is a bad use to Smartphone? We can say that one person does a bad use to the smartphone when there is dependence in the user to his phone. This dependence bring about in the addict anxiety and petulance if the user don´t have his phone in his hand. Also, this affects in the social activities in the live. In the worst instance, can have social exclusion, misunderstandings and other negatives impact.  

A research in United Kingdom by Ofcom in 2011, the 15% of the teenager told that they read less than before, the 34% used the Smartphone when they ate, a 40% used it when people woke up, and a 65% users told that they used their phone when they was with other people.

The user´s behaviour has other singular feature: over time, this becomes it automatic. Also, these people show strong emotions and they have little cognitive control about the mistakes or the success of the decision. The addict people look for an immediate reward, and also, ignore the negatives impact that it can happen to long-term.

In prevention, the professional must teach to teenager about do a good use to the Smartphone, through an appropriate planning in the hour hand about the assignment which must do daily. Other prevention technique is in take off the time which one person is online with his phone (half past and hour the labor days; and increase one or two hours more the week-ends). Is very important that the teenager people know that they don´t give personal data, and compromising photography, because can be dangerous to their personal privacy. Last, parent must have a control about the most used pages by the teenager, and promote hobbies like sport or the reading.

Despite the treatment dividing in three parts, this focuses to relearn behavioural control.

In first time, to  short-term, the professional intervenes to stimulus-control techniques. In this case, the addict person have to meet the schedule, avoid risk areas and decreasing his time online to the phone.

In second hand, the therapist continues with a maintenance therapy, where is very important the relapse prevention. Is very important knows where can have risk situations, and learn appropriate responses because if the addict people do it, then they will face better. The search show that when a person has been one or two years out of the addiction, the probability of relapse decreases so much.

Last, long term, the psychology interview in other troubles like anxiety, depression, or relationship problems. For this, the professional teach to the patient new lifestyles that will do the person get other gratifications.