Dependency on technology is becoming scary.

[TheBabyEater]

It's becoming more and more apparent to me that teenagers are hooked. Not to drugs, or alcohol, but to the latest technologies, texting, applications, and the internet. I think it's becoming a serious problem for the mental health of today's youth, and often older adults too. I literally see people start to feel withdrawal like symptoms if they don't get their daily dose of texting and Facebook.

I'm going to go way out there, and go ahead and let people attack me for saying this. But I think there are WAY too many people almost addicted to sites like TeenHelp. And I feel that it's becoming a really scary problem when people start choosing online help over professional help. Does professional help always work for everyone? No, but it's something to be considered. For some people, online help does wonders, that's why I contribute to TeenHelp in various ways, because I think it's a great site. I wouldn't donate $25 every few months if I didn't think otherwise. But I'm seeing some users choose internet over reality, especially on here.

Facebook is worse honestly. But I won't even get into that.


Am I the only person that feels technology is the latest drug? Surely I'm not perfect, I have the latest phone applications, I donate money to websites like this (when I could certainly use said money to eat), ext ext. But when TeenHelp is down for a day, I don't loose my mind, and if I should need to switch to a regular flip call-only phone, I think I'd survive perfect fine.

Technologies like texting and internet is becoming a dependency among us, and I feel that it would be a lot healthier if people would learn to stand independently more often.



And, prepare for the attacks

[ReluctantPegasister]

Hmm. I'm not sure if I agree with you on this issue. When telephones were first introduced, would people say, "We're becoming too dependent on these things! We should stick to letters and tin cans!"?

There's a difference between being "addicted" to something and simply making using of the latest technology.

[TheBabyEater]

Originally Posted by ReluctantPegasister

Hmm. I'm not sure if I agree with you on this issue. When telephones were first introduced, would people say, "We're becoming too dependent on these things! We should stick to letters and tin cans!"?

There's a difference between being "addicted" to something and simply making using of the latest technology.

I agree with that. My boyfriend and I had the conversation of at which point people take driving to excessive here in America. When it's below 40 degress and you have to walk a mile to get from Point A and Point B? We agreed that you should just drive. The technology is there, make good use of it. Don't catch a cold when you don't have to, right? But when it's nice out, and you only have a few blocks... go for a walk man.

[JKmadu619]

Addiction requires some form of pshyical dependancy caused by the substance.

We are not literally addicted.

I will admit though when I am for some reason cut off from my PC and gaming consoles I begin to become very stressed and as an offset of that stress can get headaches. I use my technology as a stress reliever in my spare time and without it the stress really bottles up.

I like technology and I think far too many people put money into junk studies about how video games make chidlren violent and how our phones are brainwashing us. It's a waste of time. Even if we are being brainwashed by technology I personally enjoy it, just as they enjoy being brainwashed by propoganda regarding the fact that computers are seceretly trying to build skynet.

- Justin

[LostTeen011]

I was going to post a thread saying something similar to what you said, but never got around to it. A few weeks ago, in my computer class we were presented with a powerpoint detailing what the class was about. One bullentin that caught my attention was "Computers have infiltrated our lives, so we don't know how to function without them."

That quote really scared me because it's so true! Everything we do just about uses some form of technology. I mean I wonder what would happen if there's some big internet crash/shutdown?..................Armageddon????

[Koharuchan]

I'm not really addicted to technology...I don't even have a facebook, and neither does my boyfriend for that matter. To be completely honest, the only sites I ever vist are teenhelp, deviantart, and gaia. I spend most of my online time here, because I like to help others. I also never text, only every once in a while if I just need to send a quick message, and my cell is an old flip phone.

My boyfriend has a touch phone, but it's old and doesn't do much. And he only uses it to talk to me, anyway. The only other technology he really uses other than his computer is his ps3. He loves video games. A LOT. However, he doesn't spend all day playing them.

I will agree that a lot of teens are way too hooked on technology, but not all of them are.

[TheBabyEater]

Originally Posted by JKmadu619

Addiction requires some form of pshyical dependancy caused by the substance.

We are not literally addicted.

I will admit though when I am for some reason cut off from my PC and gaming consoles I begin to become very stressed and as an offset of that stress can get headaches. I use my technology as a stress reliever in my spare time and without it the stress really bottles up.

I like technology and I think far too many people put money into junk studies about how video games make chidlren violent and how our phones are brainwashing us. It's a waste of time. Even if we are being brainwashed by technology I personally enjoy it, just as they enjoy being brainwashed by propoganda regarding the fact that computers are seceretly trying to build skynet.

- Justin

False, addiction isn't always physical, it can very easily be psychological. The dictionary defines addiction as quite literally "the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma."

And of course technology is a stress reliever, I never said it wasn't. I agree, I use my phone all the time for boredom and stress relieve, along with the internet and TeenHelp. But I'm talking about when it gets to the point that some teenagers are CAUSED stress when they CANT get on Facebook, that's when it's gone too far. I would be stressed if I couldn't play my guitar as well, but I would find other alternatives as a stress relief.
(that particular example assuming I could get back to a guitar, as playing guitar is my study at school and future profession lol)

However, I'm not even going to go into whether or not violent games make children violent, because that is a completely different area of study. That's based more on the malleability of children, not whether technology can be addicting.

Originally Posted by LostTeen011

That quote really scared me because it's so true! Everything we do just about uses some form of technology. I mean I wonder what would happen if there's some big internet crash/shutdown?..................Armageddon????

Y2K for example? People went crazy!!



EDIT:
I'm going to clarify to everyone that obviously not everyone is addicted to the internet, to games, or to their phone. I thought I made that clear when I gave myself as an example, but apparently not. My bad, but just because one person doesn't feel addicted to the internet, doesn't mean someone else is, and it certainly doesn't mean it's not possible. That's like saying "I can't drive a car, so no one can"

[JKmadu619]

TheBabyEater: An yet don't we all have stress when something doesn't work as it should? Of course it's stressful when facebook goes down. It's stressful whenever we expect something to work and it doesn't.

If you expected your friend to pick you up at 2 o'clock and they didn't it would be stressful. Does that mean that cars cause addiction? No. We simply love schedule.

- Justin

[TheBabyEater]

Originally Posted by JKmadu619

TheBabyEater: An yet don't we all have stress when something doesn't work as it should? Of course it's stressful when facebook goes down. It's stressful whenever we expect something to work and it doesn't.

If you expected your friend to pick you up at 2 o'clock and they didn't it would be stressful. Does that mean that cars cause addiction? No. We simply love schedule.

- Justin

I'm not saying stress is the problem, of course we're going to experience stress. The problem I'm seeing is excessive stress. If Facebook were to go down for a few days, imagine the chaos. Sure, many people would be annoyed and stressed, but many people would be up in arms, freaking out, saying statements like "How am I supposed to know what my friends are up to?" "How will I talk to people"

I know this, because I've heard it. I've literally seen people freaking out when their facebook doesn't load quick enough. That's beyond stress.

[JKmadu619]

TheBabyEater: I agree with the fact that if it were to go offline for the promised time of a few days some people would freak out. I agree that is unhealthy.

However regarding the loading: My internet speeds vary a lot. Like anywhere from 12mbps to 29mbps. When it works slowly it raises my blood pressure. Again though, rather than it being because of an addiction, rather just anger at the fact that things are not working as they should which is a totally different issue altogether.

Leave you Nazi ideals away from my technology.




...







- Justin

[TheBabyEater]

Originally Posted by JKmadu619

TheBabyEater: I agree with the fact that if it were to go offline for the promised time of a few days some people would freak out. I agree that is unhealthy.

However regarding the loading: My internet speeds vary a lot. Like anywhere from 12mbps to 29mbps. When it works slowly it raises my blood pressure. Again though, rather than it being because of an addiction, rather just anger at the fact that things are not working as they should which is a totally different issue altogether.

Leave you Nazi ideals away from my technology.




...







- Justin

I literally lol'd

When it comes to something loading slowly, that is grey area. Surely it would raise everyone's blood pressure a bit, it's annoying to have to wait for something. I don't know if that alone would convey whether or not someone is actually addicted.

Unless you're the kid I know that starts screaming when their Facebook app doesn't load. Then you've got a problem.

[Brandon]

I think that being hooked to something is a bad thing, but I think it's one of the best things for the economy. Porn thrives because people are hooked on it. Car maintenance shops thrives off of people being hooked to driving places, because if you don't drive your car as much, you potentially use less gas, less and less maintenance. Basically, while people get hooked with addictions, other people get hooked up with jobs. Either way, it's a lose/win or win/lose situation, in my opinion. You're doing your country a favor by getting hooked. Is it really necessary to travel 15 miles over the speed limit when you'll to your destination X amount of times faster than you would if you were riding a bicycle? It's not necessary, but people do it...and they're supporting the government by giving police officers jobs. Against the government? Fuck the laws! Then again...you're still supporting it down the road. Despite the consequences of technology, technology isn't responsible for the results. Just like you choose to snort cocaine, you choose what you do. Technology is used to make our lives more effective; it's not a bad thing. As far as I can tell, technology is a wonderful thing...however, how people use it is where society starts to fuck up. We are our own addictions. The truth is that we love life when it is simple. Humans naturally don't like dealing with complex things. I think that people would rather live a simple life unhealthy than live a complex life healthy. Back then, people didn't have much of an option because the technology wasn't created like it is being created today...but now that we have the technology, I bet even George Washington himself would love to be addicted to text messages and Facebook. "About to go to America...shit is gonna be epic." "Saw some brown people...I'm scared as hell."

[Loving Linux Penguin]

I'm not sure what to say to this one.

Here's the thing: people become dependent on MANY things in our lives. If bus or train service were down in my area, a lot of people would be pretty lost because their main source of transportation would be gone--they would be unsure of how to get around. Now, I don't think that means they are ADDICTED to riding the subway, I think that means that the subway is a resource that they take advantage of, and when it is gone, they go "how am I supposed to go to (name of a place)?".

The same goes for a site like TeenHelp. I will openly admit it--TH is the place where I spend most of my free time (and some of my supposed-to-be-non-free time...lol) and when the site is down, I get disappointed and bored. Why? Because it is a site that I take advantage of not only to occupy myself in my free time, but to do something USEFUL and of VALUE during that free time. Now, if you want to argue that I'm addicted to the site, fine, go ahead. HOWEVER, can anybody tell me why it is unhealthy to be addicted to helping other people?

If a particular coffee shop closes down, and that coffee shop was a common gathering place for many people in the town, they may become upset, aggravated, and stressed, and probably go "where will we all get together for coffee now?". Were they addicted to meeting in the coffee shop? No. They were using the coffee shop as a resource, as what it's meant to be--a place for people to sit and have coffee!

Becoming reliant on something ≠ addiction, at least not in all cases.

[Dream]

Yep, I'm dependent. I became painfully aware of that fact when I was living without electricity in Africa.

It is easier to quit if you have people around who care about you and who you can enjoy doing things with; otherwise, it will be like a craving. I would literally crave playing video games when I was laying around in the blackouts.

I don't plan to do anything about it except to never put online interaction above human interaction if the opportunity arises. I gave up a couple of friends because they wouldn't agree to come hang out in person and only spoke to me online (when we lived in the same city). I will accept online interaction as a substitute for nothing, but I wont accept it as a substitute for human interaction. I'm currently kind of in a long distance relationship, and that is how I'm operating.

[Le bonheur*]

I think we depend way too much on the internet. I'm one of those people so I take "me days" where I refuse to touch my phone or laptop. Unless, of course, I need it for school.

[TheBabyEater]

Originally Posted by Brandon

I think that being hooked to something is a bad thing, but I think it's one of the best things for the economy. Porn thrives because people are hooked on it. Car maintenance shops thrives off of people being hooked to driving places, because if you don't drive your car as much, you potentially use less gas, less and less maintenance. Basically, while people get hooked with addictions, other people get hooked up with jobs. Either way, it's a lose/win or win/lose situation, in my opinion. You're doing your country a favor by getting hooked. Is it really necessary to travel 15 miles over the speed limit when you'll to your destination X amount of times faster than you would if you were riding a bicycle? It's not necessary, but people do it...and they're supporting the government by giving police officers jobs. Against the government? Fuck the laws! Then again...you're still supporting it down the road. Despite the consequences of technology, technology isn't responsible for the results. Just like you choose to snort cocaine, you choose what you do. Technology is used to make our lives more effective; it's not a bad thing. As far as I can tell, technology is a wonderful thing...however, how people use it is where society starts to fuck up. We are our own addictions. The truth is that we love life when it is simple. Humans naturally don't like dealing with complex things. I think that people would rather live a simple life unhealthy than live a complex life healthy. Back then, people didn't have much of an option because the technology wasn't created like it is being created today...but now that we have the technology, I bet even George Washington himself would love to be addicted to text messages and Facebook. "About to go to America...shit is gonna be epic." "Saw some brown people...I'm scared as hell."

I'm short on time, so this'll probably be shorter than it could be. But while I suppose being hooked on things is great for the government is all fine and dandy, I feel like the mental instability of the vast majority of a new generation is a bit bigger of a concern in my mind.

Obviously technology isn't the blame here, it's the people. I'm not really sure of what a solution would be, certainly not getting rid of, or slowing down the progress of technology. Technology and innovation is good. I'll be the first to admit that. The only solution I see would be teaching our kids to go outside and play out their frustrations, instead of teaching them that they need to talk it out every single time. (don't get me wrong, talking works GREAT for a lot of people, but not everyone. I see a lot of people get worse when talking it out, they just know no other solution)

And... I don't really see what George Washington has to do with this. Of course he'd be hooked on technology too, he's no God. Soo.... Point.. unnecessary? Of course people would prefer a simple life, I would too. The problem is how far is too far.

Originally Posted by Loving Linux Penguin

Becoming reliant on something ≠ addiction, at least not in all cases.

And this next point being to many of you. I feel like you're not understanding where I'm coming from. As I've stated repeatedly, I'm all for technology, and I'm all for it making our lives simpler. I'm all for advances, using it, and making it a habit. As I've said technology and innovation is an amazing thing. But, when I see people literally screaming and crying because they can't get on the internet, that is a problem. Have I ever seen someone scream and cry over a coffee shop being closed? Well, no. I haven't had many chances to, but still no. Have I seen people (especially here and on Facebook) have a nervous breakdown if their internet goes out for a few days? Yes. People these days seriously cannot go for a day without the internet, and that is a problem. The internet is a great thing, it makes life simpler. It makes life easier. But do we need it to survive? No. Should we? No. Should we be able to spend a day without TeenHelp? Yes. We should be able to go outside and see friends, we should be able to find distractions from the many problems we all face, and we should be able to have a life outside of our technology.

Some of you don't see to realize I'm not talking about people who use technology as a habit. That is fine. Being frustrated without Facebook, totally normal. When there is a major change in our life, of course we're going to be upset. When you start having a breakdown because Facebook and TeenHelp is gone? Problem.

[ShimmeringFaerie]

I think the issue with the topic, Marissa, is that most of us haven't seen people reacting the way you describe. I, personally, have never seen someone have a nervous breakdown because Facebook was down. If I did, then I would say that that person needed help. But you make it sound like a decent percentage of teenagers are addicted to the internet, and I just don't see that. Perhaps for some reason you are just surrounded with people who have an unhealthy connection with the internet, but that they don't accurately represent the population?

[Nostalgia]

I spend nearly all of my time on TH why ? Heres the answer - TH has people on here who understand me more than my family do. TH is an outlet for me , a way of coping. Yet I also have counselling at a centre near to where I live. But TH as always been here , its here pretty much day and night (apart from when it goes down). Maybe I am addicted to the internet, maybe I'm not. The internet is great youtube is brilliant too. I have at times put TH before seeing my friends but that does not exactly mean I'm addicted it just means that sometimes I would rather spend time on TH talking and spending time with people who actually understand me rather than spending my time with people who don't understand me.

As for facebook I hardly use that site. I can quite honestly and openly say I would not be bothered if facebook shut down.

[TheBabyEater]

Perhaps I'm giving Facebook as the example too often, because I know if I replace it with TeenHelp, a site where I do honestly see a lot of people get very upset if it's down, I'll just get bashed for putting down the "worlds best site"

[Loving Linux Penguin]

I think though people have a genuine right to be pretty upset when the site goes down...after all it does serve as the support system and hang-out spot for many people. Should people be 100% reliant on a website as a support system? ideally, no. BUT, for some, it's all they have, so can you really blame them for being pretty upset when it's not available to them?

[TheBabyEater]

I can, yes, because what happens if TeenHelp goes down for good, god forbid? I can understand being upset, no shit, I'd be upset too if I really needed TeenHelp at the time, but a lot of times people flip a shit when they don't even really need TeenHelp at the time. People shouldn't NEED any one thing, they should have an array of different support systems, isn't that what we should be teaching people here? That's what the alternatives list is for afterall.

[Loving Linux Penguin]

^Of course it is, but one has to get to the point that they have extended their support system before it can be extensive. They aren't going to go from TH only to a healthy support system overnight.

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by TheBabyEater

I'm short on time, so this'll probably be shorter than it could be. But while I suppose being hooked on things is great for the government is all fine and dandy, I feel like the mental instability of the vast majority of a new generation is a bit bigger of a concern in my mind.

I don't think there's anything to be concerned about, because I think that's how most people feel when we're old enough to experience a change in society. I think that every older generation will feel somewhat concerned about newer generations. I'm sure I could find people who felt that our generation is becoming mentally unstable. When cell phones became popular, I'm sure some people thought...you know...I don't understand why that woman is talking on her cell phone while driving...that's dangerous...why is that woman talking on her cell phone when she could be socializing with her family? Why do people insist on talking for several hours on the phone when you can do X and Y? Of course we're going to feel weird when something about society changes.

And... I don't really see what George Washington has to do with this. Of course he'd be hooked on technology too, he's no God. Soo.... Point.. unnecessary? Of course people would prefer a simple life, I would too. The problem is how far is too far.

What I'm saying is that, logically, anyone would probably choose to use technology in their life provided they knew enough about it, and I don't think that how far is too far is something that we can't really measure in general. We may say that...oh, a car that drives itself...that's just promoting laziness, while someone else may say...hey, I can sleep the whole car ride and not have to do a thing! Or people using TeenHelp a lot...that's showing signs of addiction...while they may say...hey, I'm helping people out and feeling good about myself therefore limiting my chance of committing suicide and being able to cope with my life struggles more better. Stuff like that. I don't think we can really determine what is too far for OTHER PEOPLE...just for ourselves.

[JKmadu619]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF5SB...feature=relmfu

This is hilarious and related to the topic at hand here.

- Justin

[TheBabyEater]

Oh gosh, some of you aren't quite getting what I'm saying. I'm not saying technology or change is bad, as I've repeated multiple times, it's awesome and good and I'm all for innovation for new technologies. Of course anyone, including "George Washington God Himself" would choose technology over having to work.

The problem is, how much is too much? When you can't survive anymore because technology breaks, when you have no other outlet for help other than the internet, that's incredibly unhealthy and borderline dangerous. I never once said that using something a lot means they're addicted, that's called Habit. I most definitely fall into the Habit category, being someone who is on Live Help at least an hour a day, someone with aver 1,500 posts, and someone who actually gives MONEY to TeenHelp. Obviously, I support TH, obviously coming on here has become a habit for me.

I'm talking about the times when something like TH goes down, and their whole world seems to fall apart.

[Digilodger]

Originally Posted by TheBabyEater

The problem is, how much is too much? When you can't survive anymore because technology breaks, when you have no other outlet for help other than the internet, that's incredibly unhealthy and borderline dangerous. I never once said that using something a lot means they're addicted, that's called Habit. I most definitely fall into the Habit category, being someone who is on Live Help at least an hour a day, someone with aver 1,500 posts, and someone who actually gives MONEY to TeenHelp. Obviously, I support TH, obviously coming on here has become a habit for me.

I'm talking about the times when something like TH goes down, and their whole world seems to fall apart.

I wouldn't call that "dependency on technology"; I would call it the "ZOMG me ish lonely" syndrome . . . or maybe the "dependency on socializing without others."

People seek help online rather than from a professional because they lack money; that's understandable totally. We aren't always healthy and most of us aren't wealthy. This isn't dependency on technology; it's really just a matter of needy.

(Sorry, the guy next to me is playing a rap song and it's getting into my head, in a bad way.)


Addicted to social networks like TeenHelp and Facebook is not dependency on technology either; it's just the typical 13- or 14-year-old kids' obsession with being social and popular. If they've got many "friends," then they're popular, which is cool. Anyway, that isn't dependency on technology; that's lack of self-esteem and dependency on others' view on them.


============================

Take myself for an example:

My life is surrounded by technology. I use computer at home, at school, AND at work. That's about 12 to 14 hours on the computer a day. I've also got my phone, my car, etc. Heck, even my wrist watch itself is a combo of a secret USB flash drive, a secret camera, a secret sound/voice recorder, and a watch (obviously, since it's a wrist watch; it's also water-proof).

Am I dependent on technology? Heck yes, it's over half of my life; it's how I make a living. Without technology, I would be out of work; I would be a beggar on the street. Not just me either, without technology, most of us would be out of work because companies and stores nowadays are all dependent on technology.


============================

But would I be devastated if I cannot access the internet for a few days? No, of course not.

For example, even without the internet, I can still fire up Photoshop or GIMP and brush up on my photo-manipulation skills; I can launch Notepad++ (NOT notepad, notepad++ is a different program) and line up a few simple codes for practice.

Even without my computer, I can still check on my chess skills with my chess set and run over my martial art skills. (Chess and martial art are my two most passionate hobbies, unfortunately I cannot make a living out of either of them. )


============================

Again, yeah, dependency on technology is definitely becoming scary. Without technology, the world is doomed, so to speak. You're right! In today's world, we can't survive long without technology; nothing would function. No, this isn't a habit; this IS a dependency.

However, what you're describing is not dependency on technology. It's just young teenagers being, well, being young and stupid, like most of us once were . . . in one way or another.

[Nostalgia]

I have things in place - I have a counsellor who I can contact any time if I need to (not that I do) but that is not the point. But TH is my main support network, Yes I have other things in place theres karate, theres work , theres the counselling place, and theres TH. Yes most evenings I do reley on TH . TH is there and its where I feel safe. Also It's easier to talk online, this site is the one place I feel my safest. When TH goes down I do feel lost, I do get a little angry but I think I speak for most TH'ers here and say that many of us do get like that when it goes down, why ? Because for many of us TH is a place of safety where we know that there always someone to talk to, someone to distract us, someone to properly understand us. For many of us TH is important is. But Importance and addiction are not the same.