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DICTION
If you are in a public place reading this article, I invite you to take a look around to see how many children’s heads are bowed toward the light of a screen (phone, tablet, or other). Chances are it’s quite a few thanks to the digital age we live in.
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he truth is, screens play a part in shaping our children’s lives at home and at school, and they will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. While screens have benefits (access to greater global knowledge and educational resources being shared in real-time, just to name a few) they, like all other aspects of life, should be used in moderation. BEHAVIORAL ADDICTION VS SUBSTANCE ADDICTION Some may have heard, and even used, the phrase “screen addiction.” For those who haven’t, this phrase has been used to identify a rapidly growing phenomenon observable among all populations but highly noticeable in young adults, teens, tweens, and children. According to studies from the nonprofit group Common Sense Media, our children average the following screen times by age per day: + (13-19 years) average roughly 9 hours + (10-12 years) average roughly 6 hours + (0 to 8 years) average roughly 2.5 hours Does this mean a teen spending nearly a third of their day, or a tween spending nearly a fourth of their day in front of a screen is addicted? Not necessarily. To understand why use does not equate addiction, it is important to understand the difference between behavioral addiction and physical addiction. Behavioral addiction such as “screen addiction” is similar to physical addiction such as to alcohol, meth, or heroin, except that when it comes to behavior, the addiction is to the feeling the user gets from interaction rather than physical need. Even though “screen addiction” is not physical, the lack of screen interaction can cause similar reactions of intense emotional and negative behavioral responses when the screen is absent or taken away. This is because the same is true for all addiction - the source of the addiction becomes the greatest priority. This priority can be greater than life needs such as sleeping, eating, continued on page 9
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YC MAGAZINE
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MARCH–MAY 2020
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