Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302
What is Addiction to Technology?

Addiction can be defined as a dependence on an object or substance that can strongly

influences ones quality of life. Most people would associate addiction to drugs or alcohol,

however there are addictions that include technology. Like every other addiction, addiction to

technology has multiple sign and symptoms. Addiction to technology can be associated with

signs that include isolation from society, loss of interest in environment, and irritability when

unable to reach the device. The symptoms on physical and mental health include anxiety,

depression, and being more prone to infections. With all of these facts, addiction to technology

has not gained acknowledgement from society, and caution to not falling into addiction has been

pushed aside, when it needs to be recognized.

One of the many things that addiction may cause, is the incapability to interact or think of

anything other than what the individual is dependent on. A study in University of Maryland

allowed students to go without technology for twenty-four hours, and as a result many students

appeared to feel alone and secluded from society. This is because the individual excluded all

interactions with others, and relied on communication through technology rather than focusing

on their real-life relationships. Due to the fact that technology has taken the real life essence to

connecting with surroundings, people are not aware of their addiction or have not taken heed in

protecting themselves.

How does the addiction of technology begin? Addiction can be created by the high levels

of endorphins that are released when one sees a text, email, like or comment. Dopamine are
Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302
hormones that makes people feel pleasure. This high level of dopamine can be seen in drugs that

people take such as, heroine, morphine, and cocaine. High dopamine levels are what people tend

to look forward to when using devices, leading them to attempt to reach such levels of happiness

when using technology. This all starts off with two systems of the "wanting" (dopamine) and

the "liking" (opioid) [which] are complementary (Wise, 4). The wanting system makes the

individual to action by using technology, and the liking system makes them feel content and stop

using the device. However, if the seeking part isn't turned off for a little while, then the addiction

will come into play in a continuous loop of attempting to achieve high levels of dopamine. This

demonstrates the effects to being addicted to technology comes from the same ideal of being

addicted to certain drugs. Even with this fact, not many actions have been placed in protecting

society from this trap.

Addiction to technology has been diagnosed as an actual mental illness in the Diagnostic

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In fact, In 2006, researchers at Stanford University

School of Medicine conducted a telephone survey that found that one out of eight Americans

have at least one possible sign of problematic Internet use (Addiction, 3). There are treatments

that include the individual to, undergo a 72-hour detox of the Internet and digital devices

and then technology is slowly reintroduced with a behavioral modification plan (Addiction, 5).

Even though addiction to technology is a unhealthy condition, developing treatments has not

been successful because people do not believe or see the importance in shielding one another

from this illness.

Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302
This all shows that just like many other conditions, addiction to technology has a cause,

signs and symptoms, and a treatment, which justifies it as a legitimate disease .Addiction can

come in many forms. Society will focus on the most obvious forms of addiction, while the most

subtle form of addiction is very prominent in individuals. As people acknowledge alcohol and

drug addiction, the obsession of technology is taking over many humans. The lack of knowledge

that people have on addiction to technology does not justify that it is not an actual disease that

completely take over ones life. What is addiction? Addiction can be defined as a dependence on

an object or substance that can strongly influences ones quality of life. This quality of life can

include things ranging from relationships to lack of knowledge on surroundings, and most of

society can agree that technology has impacted their lives on both standards.

Work Cited Page:

Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302
Wilson, Robert, Samantha Smithstein, Loretta . Breuning, and Susan Weinschenk. "Why We're

All Addicted to Texts, Twitter and Google." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar.

2017.

"Technology Addiction Treatment | Effective Treatment." Addiction.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02

Kleinman, Zoe. "Are We Addicted to Technology?" BBC News. BBC, 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 02

Mar. 2017. Mar. 2017.

"Signs and Symptoms of Cell Phone Addiction." Cell Phone Addiction Signs and Symptoms.

N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.