Technology addiction: evaluation and diagnosis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25118/2236-918X-6-1-3Keywords:
Technology addiction, video games, social networks, smartphones, wearablesAbstract
In a world increasingly influenced by technology, new doubts emerge about the role played by new technologies in our lives and about the possible negative consequences involved. Technology addiction is considered to be present when the individual is unable to control the use of technology even when such use is having negative impacts in major areas of life (interpersonal relationships, academic/work performance, physical health, etc.). It isa global phenomenon, which seems to affect about 6% of the population and can have very heterogeneous presentations. The most relevant subtypes of technology addiction in clinical practice are: video gaming addiction, social networking addiction, and smartphone addiction. Psychiatric comorbidities are present in most cases. In addition to a comprehensive evaluation focused on diagnosis, attentive listening to the specificities of the games and social networks used by the patients, as well as to the motivations for their use, can also provide relevant information for patient care.
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