DIGITAL LIFE

Technology addiction has the same genesis as other addictions

It is not the technology that creates addicts, but they are people with some predisposition or illness of the psychiatric forum that become addicted to games, social networks, etc. This is the conclusion drawn from the conversation "Can we battle back against tech addiction", which took place at the Web Summit between Sairah Ashman (Wolff Olins), Dam Til Wykes (Kings College London) and Michael Acton Smith (Calm)."The internet and online games themselves are not an addition. What exists is a predisposition in certain people to addition, "explained Til Wykes, a professor of clinical psychology. He therefore considered that "they are not restrictive measures that will solve the problem. There is no uniformity of addiction to online games, for example. In Asian countries the issue is more worrying than in the West. "The creator of the Calm Meditation application, Michael Acton Smith, felt that "people, especially children, spend too much time outside the real world in the digital world, so it is important to find solutions that allow them to learn something positive. And that is our responsibility. "Fighting digital addiction through an application seems contradictory, but for this speaker there is no question. "Technology is not the problem, but the use we make of it is what matters. Using an application to meditate is as valid as finding another form of meditation. "Sairah Ashman's intervention focused on the data and the need for people to know how the data is being used. "Companies collect the data but are not using it to develop applications or content that help people in health and promote healthy habits."And here comes the question of whether digital companies, for example mobile phone manufacturers, should notify users of the time they spend holding onto the handsets. And there was no unanimity. If for Michael Acton Smith this could be a plus for the other two speakers it will not be that important."Just as an alcohol addict knows that he should not drink and does not stop doing it just because he is told not to do it, someone with a digital addiction will not stop using the technology just because he has been warned to be doing it excessive form, "concluded Til Wykes.In the end it will always depend on the will of each one to leave the addiction, seeking help for such. Whether digital or not.


Sapo