Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Are Interactive Computing Devices Addictive?
This question came from two things noticed by Slashdot reader dryriver:
"Myself and just about every other kid I was friends with in the 1980s were definitely addicted to computers when we were young, and stayed that way until we reached college."
"There is increasing concern about everybody from young kids to people 60+ staring into smartphone, tablet computer and laptop screens for hours and hours every day and not partaking in other activities they used to before the "glowing screen" hooked them."
His question: Are interactive computing devices, whether networked or not, addictive in nature? What kind of applications appear to be the most addictive? (AAA games? Casual games? Social media? Texting?) And could the addiction have something to do with "Neuroplasticity", the fact that doing an activity over and over again each day that you place great importance in, and pay great attention to, can actually rewire the neurons in your brain?
Nicholas Carr once argued that "We're training ourselves, through repetition, to be facile skimmers, scanners, and message-processors -- important skills, to be sure -- but, perpetually distracted and interrupted, we're not training ourselves in the quieter, more attentive modes of thought." Slashdot readers seem uniquely qualified to address this, so leave your own attentive thoughts in the comments. Are interactive computing devices addictive?
"Myself and just about every other kid I was friends with in the 1980s were definitely addicted to computers when we were young, and stayed that way until we reached college."
"There is increasing concern about everybody from young kids to people 60+ staring into smartphone, tablet computer and laptop screens for hours and hours every day and not partaking in other activities they used to before the "glowing screen" hooked them."
His question: Are interactive computing devices, whether networked or not, addictive in nature? What kind of applications appear to be the most addictive? (AAA games? Casual games? Social media? Texting?) And could the addiction have something to do with "Neuroplasticity", the fact that doing an activity over and over again each day that you place great importance in, and pay great attention to, can actually rewire the neurons in your brain?
Nicholas Carr once argued that "We're training ourselves, through repetition, to be facile skimmers, scanners, and message-processors -- important skills, to be sure -- but, perpetually distracted and interrupted, we're not training ourselves in the quieter, more attentive modes of thought." Slashdot readers seem uniquely qualified to address this, so leave your own attentive thoughts in the comments. Are interactive computing devices addictive?
Every day, i find myself spending 8 hours sitting in a bizarre grey cube doing what people who are called my "bosses" tell me to do. Mostly it involves typing things into a black box, which then shows me markings on a screen, after which i type more things into the black box.
Twice a month i receive "credits" in an "account" - essentially i am just making a number go up in a database. Much like a gamer.
If you count travel and lunch time, i spend 50 hours a week doing this activity. I'm starting to get worried. At this "Workplace" we are not supposed to talk about sex, drugs, racism, or anything controversial. There are cameras watching us all day long and recording our keystrokes. It can get a bit weird after a while. I wonder if I have joined a cult?
But mostly, when I tried to stop "doing work", i was told that I had to move out of my apartment, stop driving my car, and stop buying food! This "work habit" had gotten way out of control - i couldn't live without it.
I don't know if there is a solution, but I wish someone could help me. Even my psychologist asked me for "money" when I tried to talk to her about it! ! ! Crazy.
He is just board.
Well, I hope his favorite chair at least has good lumber support
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil