Addiction Free Essays

Introduction: In the current world, we have had various issues that have come out due to the technological development that has been experienced in the world during the previous century. The world has recorded tremendous technological development in the recent past and this has come up with various challenges despite the good aspects that have come with the developments. The advancement in technology has presented a new challenge in the name of technological addiction which needs to be categorized as a real disorder more like any other addiction disorders including drug addiction, gambling and alcohol. We will write a custom essay sample on Addiction or any similar topic only for you Order Now Technology addiction has become a major issue in the modern world which manifests itself in many ways including problematic use of the internet. This paper shall examine technology addiction as a real disorder which requires medical attention just like many other medical issues and not as a failure of character as it has been regarded for a long time. Technology Addiction: Technology addiction is not a new concept per se; television, radio, and telephones have been with us for a long period of time. Technology has resulted into various objects that have altered our behaviors in one way or another. Video games for instance have resulted into addictions where individuals spent more time playing the video games and would not want to abandon their acquired habits. Dr. Ivan Goldberg coined the ‘Internet Addiction Disorder’ in the year 1995 ensuing unending debate as to whether technology addiction could be regarded as a mental problem or not (Wells, 2007). Previously, it was thought that technology addiction was a domain that concerned young people. However, demographic surveys reveal that technology addiction is not a preserve of young individuals as it cuts across all ages and gender. Problematic internet use for instance is said to affect all age groups, social classes with no respect to race, education level, income level, and gender (Young, 1998). Due to the technological advancement and the way it has traversed the lives of many individuals in virtually all aspects of their lives, the people risks overexposure to the new advances regardless of age. Most individuals become addicted to the technology in various manners which includes the â€Å"cell phone, video games, PDAs and the internet† (LeClaire, 2009, para 1). Technology addiction has been overlooked by the respective medical professionals in the field of mental health which deals with mental problems including addiction. In the newly released manual, ‘The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, technology addiction was avoided and therefore not recognized as a mental disorder (Guy, 2008). Technology Addiction a real disorder: The surge in technological advancement has made various technological gadgets available for the people of all ages. Cell phones and computers have taken the world by storm and virtually anyone has access to these gadgets and many others. The technology that has come up may be misused or may affect the individual in a negative manner. Overuse of the technological gadgets like the computers and the cell phones may have negative impacts on the individuals (Parenting Teens Blog, 2008). Technology addiction is therefore a real problem that requires attention more like any other form of addiction. Technology addiction as reported in a survey on its effects on school children is disastrous. The research revealed that children are addicted to cell phones in various ways and that about 40 percent of these children admitted that the text messaging had impacted on their language use due to the internet slang thereby affecting their spelling negatively. Video games also impact negatively on the children as the research reveal that such children become anti-social. Such children were found to distance themselves and they are more likely to thrive in a fantasy. A child who is always playing an online game is likely of being docile and passive and become an aggressive individual. There are various types of technology addiction but the internet is the most profound. The impacts on the children are that such addiction has significance on the personality of the child (Parenting Teens Blog, 2008). Technology addiction is here with us and there is need for curative and preventive measures to be adopted to save the world from its bad consequences. In various parts of the world, some measures have been adopted to help deal with the problem and they include clinics which charges expensively for their programs which may last for a month and include exercising and reading of books. However, there is no regulation on how to deal with the problem due to the fact that technology addiction is yet to be officially accepted by the medical professionals (Guy, 2008). Conclusion: Technology addiction has to be looked at as a real disorder that if left unchecked shall affect the people in a bad way. Though there is need to let the children access technology since it holds the future of the world; boundaries needs to be established to safeguard the technology usage. This calls for the need to monitor the child’s accessibility to the internet and other technological devices. The young people who are left unchecked on their technology usage stand a high risk of identity theft. It must be noted that children might not realize the importance of keeping private information secret. If technology addiction is not recognized as a major problem in the society today, then humans stand to loose not only on the moral ground but social as well. Reference: Guy, G., (2008). Technology Addiction? Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://www.efa.org.au/2010/04/28/technology-addiction/. LeClaire, J., (2009). Personal Tech Addiction Snares Teens, Adults. Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://www.technewsworld.com/story/53102.html. Parenting Teens Blog, (2008). Teen Technology Addiction. Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://parentingteens.com/blog/460/teen-technology-addiction/. Wells, T., (2007). Addicted to Technology? Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Opinions/Addicted-to-Technology/ Young, K. S. (1998). Caught in the Net.   New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. How to cite Addiction, Essay examples Addiction Free Essays