Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302
ID: 1586019

What is Addiction to Technology?

(I)What is addiction? Addiction can be defined as a dependence on an object or substance

that can strongly influences ones quality of life (I like how you introduced with a definition of

the main topic of your essay!). 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 technology. (Tells exactly what your essay will be about!) The symptoms on

physical and mental health include anxiety, depression, and being more prone to infections.

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

(maybe include a citation for this?) 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.

How does the addiction of technology begin? (more questions as introductory sentences,

nice!) Addiction can be created by the high level of endorphins that are released when one sees a

text, email, like or comment. Dopamine are 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.
Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302
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. (Very nice sentence!)

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

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Good citation!). 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). In

fact 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).

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
Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302
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. (Good

concluding sentence, ties it all together and brings the readers attention back to the main

point.)

Strength: a lot of descriptive words and helpful definitions to help clarify for the readers
Work on: There was a little bit of repetition with the addiction definition, so maybe take

out one or two of the definition. Overall, your essay was good!
Sarah Abobaker

Persuasive Essay

2/23/17

English 1302

Work Cited Page:

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.