digital addiction essay

Essay on Digital Addiction

Students are often asked to write an essay on Digital Addiction in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Digital Addiction

Understanding digital addiction.

Digital addiction is a modern problem where people can’t stop using digital devices like phones, computers, or video games. It’s like an uncontrollable urge to use these devices even when it’s not necessary. This addiction is becoming a big issue, especially among children and teenagers.

Causes of Digital Addiction

Many things can cause digital addiction. For example, social media platforms are designed to keep you engaged for long periods. Video games can also be addictive because they provide a sense of achievement. Even educational apps can lead to addiction if used excessively.

Effects of Digital Addiction

Digital addiction can cause many problems. It can affect your health, like causing eye strain or sleep problems. It can also affect your studies or work because you spend too much time on digital devices. Additionally, it can lead to social isolation as you may prefer digital interaction over real-life socializing.

Overcoming Digital Addiction

Overcoming digital addiction requires self-control and discipline. It’s important to set limits on the use of digital devices. Engaging in physical activities, reading books, or spending time with family can also help. If the addiction is severe, professional help may be needed.

Prevention is Better

Avoiding digital addiction is better than trying to overcome it. It’s important to use digital devices wisely. Parents and teachers can play a crucial role in educating children about the responsible use of technology. Remember, technology is a tool, not a master.

250 Words Essay on Digital Addiction

Digital addiction means spending too much time using gadgets like smartphones, computers, or tablets. It is like a habit that is tough to break. People who are addicted to digital devices find it hard to stay away from them, even when they are not needed.

Effects on Health

Digital addiction can lead to health issues. Looking at screens for long hours can hurt your eyes. It can also make you feel tired and can affect your sleep. Besides, it can lead to a lack of physical activity, which may result in weight gain and other health problems.

Impact on Social Life

People who are addicted to digital devices often spend less time with their family and friends. They may prefer to stay alone with their devices. This can make them feel lonely and can affect their social skills.

Ways to Overcome

To overcome digital addiction, it is important to limit the use of digital devices. Setting a specific time for using these devices can be helpful. It is also beneficial to spend more time doing outdoor activities and hobbies. This can distract your mind from the urge to use digital devices.

Digital addiction is a serious issue that can affect your health and social life. It is essential to recognize this problem and take steps to overcome it. By limiting the use of digital devices and engaging in other activities, you can lead a healthier and happier life.

500 Words Essay on Digital Addiction

What is digital addiction.

Digital addiction is a modern age problem where a person becomes overly attached to digital devices like smartphones, computers, tablets, or video games. This addiction can affect a person’s daily life and can interfere with their studies, work, and relationships.

Types of Digital Addiction

There are different types of digital addiction. Social media addiction is one of them where a person spends too much time on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Another type is video game addiction where a person spends most of their time playing video games. Internet addiction is also a type of digital addiction where a person cannot stop surfing the web.

Signs of Digital Addiction

There are several signs of digital addiction. If a person is spending too much time on digital devices and neglecting their daily activities, it is a clear sign. Feeling restless or upset when not using digital devices, lying about the time spent on these devices, and failing to cut down the usage are other signs of digital addiction.

Digital addiction can have serious effects on a person’s life. It can affect their physical health as they might not get enough exercise or sleep. It can also affect their mental health as it can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. In addition, it can affect their social life as they might prefer to spend time on digital devices rather than interacting with people.

How to Overcome Digital Addiction

Overcoming digital addiction can be challenging but it is possible. One of the effective ways is to set limits on the time spent on digital devices. It is also important to take regular breaks from these devices. Engaging in other activities like reading, playing sports, or spending time with friends and family can also help.

Digital addiction is a serious issue that can affect a person’s life in many ways. It is important to recognize the signs and take steps to overcome it. Remember, digital devices are tools to help us, not control us. Let’s use them wisely and lead a balanced and healthy life.

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Digital addiction: how technology keeps us hooked

Associate Professor in Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University

Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Bournemouth University

Principal Academic in Psychology, Bournemouth University

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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The World Health Organisation is to include “gaming disorder” , the inability to stop gaming, into the International Classification of Diseases. By doing so, the WHO is recognising the serious and growing problem of digital addiction. The problem has also been acknowledged by Google, which recently announced that it will begin focusing on “Digital Well-being” .

Although there is a growing recognition of the problem, users are still not aware of exactly how digital technology is designed to facilitate addiction. We’re part of a research team that focuses on digital addiction and here are some of the techniques and mechanisms that digital media use to keep you hooked.

Compulsive checking

Digital technologies, such as social networks, online shopping, and games, use a set of persuasive and motivational techniques to keep users returning. These include “scarcity” (a snap or status is only temporarily available, encouraging you to get online quickly); “social proof” (20,000 users retweeted an article so you should go online and read it); “personalisation” (your news feed is designed to filter and display news based on your interest); and “reciprocity” (invite more friends to get extra points, and once your friends are part of the network it becomes much more difficult for you or them to leave).

Technology is designed to utilise the basic human need to feel a sense of belonging and connection with others. So, a fear of missing out, commonly known as FoMO, is at the heart of many features of social media design.

Groups and forums in social media promote active participation. Notifications and “presence features” keep people notified of each others’ availability and activities in real-time so that some start to become compulsive checkers. This includes “two ticks” on instant messaging tools, such as Whatsapp. Users can see whether their message has been delivered and read. This creates pressure on each person to respond quickly to the other.

The concepts of reward and infotainment, material which is both entertaining and informative, are also crucial for “addictive” designs. In social networks, it is said that “no news is not good news”. So, their design strives always to provide content and prevent disappointment. The seconds of anticipation for the “pull to refresh” mechanism on smartphone apps, such as Twitter, is similar to pulling the lever of a slot machine and waiting for the win.

Most of the features mentioned above have roots in our non-tech world. Social networking sites have not created any new or fundamentally different styles of interaction between humans. Instead they have vastly amplified the speed and ease with which these interactions can occur, taking them to a higher speed, and scale.

Addiction and awareness

People using digital media do exhibit symptoms of behavioural addiction . These include salience, conflict, and mood modification when they check their online profiles regularly. Often people feel the need to engage with digital devices even if it is inappropriate or dangerous for them to do so. If disconnected or unable to interact as desired, they become preoccupied with missing opportunities to engage with their online social networks.

According to the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom, 15m UK internet users (around 34% of all internet users) have tried a “digital detox” . After being offline, 33% of participants reported feeling an increase in productivity, 27% felt a sense of liberation, and 25% enjoyed life more. But the report also highlighted that 16% of participants experienced the fear of missing out, 15% felt lost and 14% “cut-off”. These figures suggest that people want to spend less time online, but they may need help to do so.

At the moment, tools that enable people to be in control of their online experience, presence and online interaction remain very primitive. There seem to be unwritten expectations for users to adhere to social norms of cyberspace once they accept participation.

But unlike other mediums for addiction, such as alcohol, technology can play a role in making its usage more informed and conscious. It is possible to detect whether someone is using a phone or social network in an anxious, uncontrolled manner. Similar to online gambling, users should have available help if they wish. This could be a self-exclusion and lock-out scheme. Users can allow software to alert them when their usage pattern indicates risk.

The borderline between software which is legitimately immersive and software which can be seen as “exploitation-ware” remains an open question. Transparency of digital persuasion design and education about critical digital literacy could be potential solutions.

• Social media

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Internet Addiction

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

More a popular idea than a scientifically valid concept, internet addiction is the belief that people can become so dependent on using their mobile phones or other electronic devices that they lose control of their own behavior and suffer negative consequences. The harm is alleged to stem both from direct involvement with the device—something that has never been proven—and from the abandonment of other activities, such as studying, face-to-face socializing, or sleep.

• What Is Internet Addiction?
• Signs of Excessive Internet Use
• Internet Use and Mental Health
• What to Do About Internet Addiction

There is much debate in the scientific community about whether excessive internet use can be classified as a true addiction. In an addiction to substances such as drugs or alcohol , consumption ceases being pleasurable but continues and is difficult to escape even as the likelihood of harm to the body and life mounts. In the case of internet use, there is no clear point at which being online becomes non-pleasurable for most individuals. In part for this reason, behavioral "addictions," including using the internet, remain controversial: Experts debate where the line should be drawn between passionate absorption in any activity—say, devoting a lot of time to playing the cello or reading books—and being stuck in a rut of compulsivity that stops being useful and detrimentally affects other areas of life.

In preparing the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , psychiatrists and other experts debated whether to include internet addiction. They decided that there was not enough scientific evidence to support inclusion at this time, although the DSM-5 does recognize Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition warranting further study.

Most often, the word “addiction” is used in the colloquial sense. Common Sense Media finds that 59 percent of parents “feel” their kids are addicted to their mobile devices—just as 27 percent of the parents feel that they themselves are. Sixty-nine percent of parents say they check their own devices at least hourly, as do 78 percent of teens. Spending a lot of time on the internet is increasingly considered normal behavior, especially for adolescents. Much of their social activity has simply moved online. Like any new technology, the computer has changed the way everyone lives, learns, and communicates. It is possible to be online far too much, even though this does not constitute a true addiction in the eyes of most clinicians. 

Internet content creators leverage the ways in which the brain works to rally consumers '  attention . One simple example: A perceived threat activates your fight-or-flight response, a part of the brain known as the Reticular Activating System mobilizes the body for action. So online content exploits potential dangers—violence, natural disaster, disease, etc.—to attract and hold your attention.  

Problematic or excessive internet use can indeed pose a serious problem. It can displace such important needs as sleep, homework, and exercise, often a source of friction between parents and teens. It can have negative effects on real-life relationships. 

The idea of internet addiction is a particular concern among parents, who worry about the harmful effects of screen time and often argue about device use with their children. According to a 2019 survey conducted by Common Sense Media, children aged 8 to 12 now spend 5 hours a day on digital devices, while teens clock more than 7 hours—not including schoolwork. Teen screen time is slowly ticking upward, and most teens take their phones to bed with them.

Whether classified as an addiction or not, heavy use of technology can be detrimental. It can impair focus, resulting in poor performance at school or work. Excessive internet consumption also makes it more difficult for people to communicate normally or to regulate their emotions. They spend less time on non-internet-related activities at the cost of relationships with friends, family, and significant others.

One way to assess whether you’re using the internet too much is to ask yourself if your basics needs (or your child’s, if they are the concern) are being met. Do you sleep enough, eat healthy, get enough exercise, enjoy the outdoors, and spend time socializing in-person? The real harm of screen time may lie in missed opportunities for growth and connection.

Excessive screen time can be particularly harmful to a developing brain: It decreases focus and attention span while increasing the need for more constant stimulation and instant gratification. Those who use the internet excessively may feel anxious if their access to their device gets restricted. They tend to be more impulsive and struggle to recognize facial and nonverbal cues in real life.

Internet use becomes a problem when people start substituting online connections for real, physical relationships. The effects of technology on relationships include increased isolation and loneliness . Defaulting to online communication also denies us the opportunity to hear someone’s voice and read their facial cues in-person; it can also lead to poorer outcomes and miscommunication. Experts recommend that we save the important conversations for when we can be face-to-face for just this reason.   

Online content has been designed to elicit specific “checking habits,” which can result in distraction and poor performance at school or work. Constantly checking your smartphone or another device can also lead to relationship-sabotaging behaviors, like phubbing (snubbing loved ones for the instant gratification of checking the internet on your device). As more time is spent online, less is devoted to the natural pleasures of everyday life.  

Excessive use of the internet is known to negatively impact a person’s mental health. It has been associated with mental health issues, such as loneliness, depression , anxiety , and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Research suggests that people are likely to use the internet more as an emotional crutch to cope with negative feelings instead of addressing them in proactive and healthy ways.

This is a subject of debate at present. While internet addiction is not in the DSM-V, it is clearly a behavior that negatively impacts mental health and cognition for many, and many struggle to cut back on their time online. The term "addiction" is often used as a shorthand for, “My child spends a lot of time on social media , texting friends, or playing video games, and I’m worried how it will affect his or her future development and success.” At the same time, many people label it a behavioral addiction, engaging reward circuitry seen in other problematic behaviors such as gambling.

Time online is also sometimes used as an escape from boredom or relief from loneliness or other unpleasantness. Occasionally, excessive screen time masks a state of depression or anxiety. In such cases, digital engagement becomes an attempt to remedy the feelings of distress caused by true mental health disorders that could likely benefit from professional or other attention.

Given how much people rely on technology to complete everyday tasks, from online schooling to paying bills to ordering food to keeping in touch with loved ones who are far away, it isn’t feasible to stop using the internet altogether. In most cases, the goal should be to reduce the time spent online. Many of those who’ve struggled to balance internet use with other activities recommend such simple “digital detox” measures as leaving devices in the kitchen or any other room but the bedroom at night. Cognitive behavioral therapy can also help address addiction-like behaviors, like constant checking habits. 

Amidst growing concerns about the increased amount of time people are spending online, the “digital detox” has become a popular way to cope. A digital detox involves temporarily abstaining from using devices, like computers and smartphones. Someone may go on a digital detox in order to re-engage with a passion or activity, focus more on in-person interactions, or break free of a pattern of compulsive or excessive use. Digital detoxes also allow more time for self-care that a person may have been neglecting in order to stay plugged into the internet, which can lead to lower stress levels and better sleep.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. You may want to digitally detox if you notice that you’re experiencing sleep disruptions due to staying up late or waking up early to be on a device, if the internet is making you feel depressed, or if the constant need to be connected causes you stress. Other signs may include feeling anxious if you can’t locate your phone, having FOMO ( fear of missing out) if you’re not checking the internet or social media, struggling to focus without (or due to) constant checking behaviors, etc.

Unlike other detoxes where the goal is to abstain completely, digital detoxes are more flexible and tailored to the individual. It may not be possible due to work or personal obligations to shut your devices off entirely for long periods of time. If it’s time for a digital detox , there are some strategies you can try: Block off non-screen time during the day and/or night, set a “digital curfew” for using devices at night or on weekends, specify digital-free spaces in your home (e.g., the bedroom or dinner table), and use the additional time in fulfilling ways (e.g., socialize, rekindle old interests, volunteer, etc.).

Use the internet and social media with purpose; set time limits on your unstructured use to avoid going down long and unfulfilling rabbit holes. Take advantage of the extra free time you suddenly have. Spend more time socializing in-person and volunteer. Rekindle old interests or take up a new hobby. Go outside. Pay more attention to how you are feeling, both physically and emotionally.

Dating apps are designed to help people find dates and develop long-term relationships. But they are also designed to keep users involved with the app.

Encouraging young adults to tell their stories may help heal the sense of disconnection technology and the pandemic have created.

Smartphones bridge global connections yet chip away at the essence, and the joy, of face-to-face interactions.

In a new study, teens report finding more benefits than harms online, yet they admit to feeling “happy” and “peaceful” when away from their smartphones.

Today, more teens are at peace and happier when they are detached from their devices. Here are 5 ways to help parents create a smartphone contract to manage screen time.

Personal Perspective: How the internet influences understanding mental illness.

Take charge of your unhealthy smartphone use.

"Infinite" video games are designed to keep you hooked. Switching to "finite" games could help you find balance in your life.

One of these addiction game-changers could save a loved one’s life. Or your own.

Most parenting blogs recommend setting a two-hour-per-day time limit on all screens for minors. Is that what's best for your children?

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Digital Addiction

Many have argued that digital technologies such as smartphones and social media are addictive. We develop an economic model of digital addiction and estimate it using a randomized experiment. Temporary incentives to reduce social media use have persistent effects, suggesting social media are habit forming. Allowing people to set limits on their future screen time substantially reduces use, suggesting self-control problems. Additional evidence suggests people are inattentive to habit formation and partially unaware of self-control problems. Looking at these facts through the lens of our model suggests that self-control problems cause 31 percent of social media use.

We thank Dan Acland, Matthew Levy, Peter Maxted, Matthew Rabin, Dmitry Taubinsky, and seminar participants at the Behavioral Economics Annual Meeting, the Berkeley-Chicago Behavioral Economics Workshop, Bocconi, Boston University, Chicago Harris, Columbia Business School, Cornell, Di Tella University, the Federal Trade Commission Microeconomics Conference, Harvard, HBS, London Business School, London School of Economics, the Marketplace Innovation Workshop, Microsoft Research, MIT, the National Association for Business Economics Tech Economics Conference, the New York City Media Seminar, the New York Fed, NYU, Paris School of Economics, Princeton, Stanford Institute for Theoretical Economics, Trinity College Dublin, University of British Columbia, University College London, USC, Wharton, and Yale for helpful comments. We thank Michael Butler, Zong Huang, Zane Kashner, Uyseok Lee, Ana Carolina Paixao de Queiroz, Houda Nait El Barj, Bora Ozaltun, Ahmad Rahman, Andres Rodriguez, Eric Tang, and Sherry Yan for exceptional research assistance. We thank Chris Karr and Audacious Software for dedicated work on the Phone Dashboard app. We are grateful to the Sloan Foundation for generous support. The study was approved by Institutional Review Boards at Stanford (eProtocol #50759) and NYU (IRB-FY2020-3618). This experiment was registered in the American Economic Association Registry for randomized control trials; the pre-analysis plan is available from https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/5796. Replication files and survey instruments are available from https://sites.google.com/site/allcott/research. Disclosures: Gentzkow does paid consulting work for Amazon, has done litigation consulting for clients including Facebook, and has been a member of the Toulouse Network for Information Technology, a research group funded by Microsoft. Both Allcott and Gentzkow are unpaid members of Facebook’s 2020 Election Research Project. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Digital Addiction: Increased Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression

• Erik Peper San Francisco State University
• Richard Harvey San Francisco State University

Author Biographies

Erik peper, san francisco state university, richard harvey, san francisco state university.

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Understanding and Addressing Digital Addiction

Carolanne Bamford-Beattie

Drowning in digital dopamine? How to foster a healthier relationship with technology

In today’s rapidly evolving digital age, technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. From smartphones to social media platforms, we are constantly connected to a virtual world that offers endless opportunities for communication, entertainment, and information. However, the ubiquitous presence of our devices also brings along its share of challenges, one of the most pressing being the issue of technology addiction.

Defining Technology Addiction

Technology addiction , also known as digital addiction, refers to the compulsive and excessive use of digital devices and online platforms, leading to negative consequences on an individual’s physical, psychological, and social well-being. Digital addiction can manifest in several ways, depending on the type of digital activity individuals engage in excessively. Some common forms of digital addiction include:

• Social Media Addiction: Obsessive use of social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, often driven by a desire for validation, social connection, or fear of missing out (FOMO).  
• Gaming Addiction: Compulsive playing of video games, whether on console, PC, or mobile devices, leading to neglect of responsibilities, withdrawal from real-life activities, and adverse effects on mental and physical health.  
• Internet Addiction: Excessive use of the internet for various purposes, including web browsing, streaming media, online shopping, gambling, or pornography consumption, resulting in time distortion, isolation, and negative consequences on personal relationships and productivity.

Are Digital Addictions drowning us in dopamine?

The causes of digital and technology addictions go deeper than sticky social media algorithms. Personal, mental and environmental factors can all play a role in developing an overreliance on technological devices.

Psychological Factors:

People suffering from existing mental health conditions or stresses, including anxiety and depression, may be more susceptible   to digital addiction as a coping mechanism or means of escapism. This can lead to a spiral of continuous technology use that makes a person feel more anxious and, in turn, more reliant on their devices.

Social Influences:

Peer pressure and cultural expectations can influence individuals’ digital behaviors, leading to the adoption of addictive patterns , such as excessive social media use to fit in or maintain social connections.

Environmental Triggers:

Access to digital devices and the internet, coupled with the omnipresence of technology in modern society, makes technology addiction an easy trap to fall into. Factors such as  accessibility, unlimited content sources, gamification techniques and powerful algorithms can fuel addictive behaviors and reinforce compulsive usage patterns.

What are some of the effects of digital addiction?

Spending too much time using technology has a holistic impact on a person’s health and wellbeing, having an effect on mind and body.

Physical Effects

Digital addiction can have significant consequences on an individual’s physical health , as  prolonged and sedentary screen time (especially when combined with poor lifestyle habits) can impact the body in a number of ways:

• Eye Strain: Extended periods of staring at digital screens can lead to eye strain, dry eyes, blurred vision, and headaches, collectively known as computer vision syndrome (CVS).  
• Sleep Disorders: Excessive exposure to blue light emitted by digital screens, particularly before bedtime, can disrupt the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, leading to insomnia, poor sleep quality, and daytime fatigue.  
• Posture Problems: Prolonged sitting and improper ergonomic setups while using digital devices can contribute to musculoskeletal issues, such as neck pain, back pain, and repetitive strain injuries (RSIs).

Psychological Effects

The psychological impact of digital addiction extends beyond physical discomfort, affecting individuals’ mental well-being and even their cognitive functioning.

• Anxiety and Depression: Excessive use of social media and digital devices has been linked to heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression , stemming from comparison with others, cyberbullying, and feelings of inadequacy.
• Problems with attention: Constant exposure to digital stimuli, such as notifications, alerts, and multitasking across multiple screens, can impair attention span, concentration, and cognitive performance. Researchers have found that children who spend more time than peers in front of screens are more likely to display behaviors that meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD.

Social Effects

Digital addiction can also take a toll on individuals’ relationships and overall social well-being.

• Relationship Strain: Excessive digital usage can disrupt relationships, leading to conflicts with family members, friends, and romantic partners, as individuals prioritize online interactions over face-to-face communication and quality time spent together.  
• Social Isolation: Paradoxically, while digital technology offers opportunities for connectivity, prolonged digital addiction can result in social withdrawal, loneliness, and feelings of isolation, as individuals become increasingly absorbed in virtual interactions at the expense of real-life social connections.  
• Decreased Productivity: Digital addiction often leads to procrastination, distraction, and diminished productivity in academic, professional, and personal pursuits, as individuals struggle to manage their digital usage and maintain focus on important tasks.

Recognizing Digital Addiction

Recognizing the signs of digital addiction is essential for early intervention and treatment. While the manifestation of digital addiction may vary depending on the type of activity involved, there are common symptoms and behavioral patterns to watch out for:

Behavioral Indicators:

• Excessive preoccupation with digital devices and online activities, often at the expense of other responsibilities and interests.
• Inability to control or limit digital usage, despite awareness of its negative consequences on physical health, mental well-being, or social relationships.
• Withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, anxiety, or restlessness when unable to access digital devices or internet connectivity.
• Neglect of personal hygiene, sleep, or nutrition due to prolonged digital engagement.

Emotional and Psychological Indicators:

• Mood swings, depression, or feelings of emptiness or dissatisfaction when not engaging in digital activities.
• Distorted perception of reality, as individuals prioritize virtual interactions and online personas over real-life experiences and relationships.

Digital Addiction Tests – what’s out there?

There are a number of online tools and questionnaires you can take to find out your – or a loved one’s level of reliance on technology. These tests typically evaluate various aspects of digital usage, including frequency, duration, motivations, and perceived impact on daily life. It’s important to remember that these are not diagnostic tools and if you, or someone you care about, is showing signs of addiction, speaking with a professional is always recommended.

Assessing Personal Usage Patterns:

• Keep track of the amount of time spent on digital devices and online activities each day, including specific platforms and applications.
• Reflect on the motivations behind digital usage, such as social connection, entertainment, information seeking, or escapism.
• Evaluate the consequences of digital addiction on physical health, mental well-being, academic or professional performance, and interpersonal relationships.

Addressing Digital Addiction: How to help yourself or others

There are a number of professional approaches to tackling digital addiction. Most will encourage a holistic approach, where therapeutic, lifestyle and environmental changes are made to tackle the issue.

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT techniques can help individuals identify and challenge maladaptive thoughts and behaviors associated with digital addiction, develop coping strategies for managing triggers and cravings, and improve self-regulation skills.
• 12-Step Programs: Support groups such as Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous (ITAA) provide individuals struggling with digital addiction a supportive environment to share their experiences, receive encouragement from peers, and work towards recovery through a structured step-by-step program.
• Digital Detox : Implementing periodic digital detoxes or screen-free days can help individuals reset their relationship with technology, reduce dependency on digital devices, and rediscover offline activities and hobbies.
• Setting Boundaries: Establishing clear boundaries around digital usage, such as designated screen-free times or zones, can help individuals regain control over their digital habits and prioritize real-life interactions and activities. Kidslox can help your family get on track with this.

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239 Addiction Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best addiction topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on addiction, 📌 simple & easy addiction essay titles, 💡 most interesting addiction topics to write about, 📑 good research topics about addiction, ✍️ addiction essay topics for college.

• Addiction to Online Gaming: A Review of Literature The present paper is an overview of scholarly sources on online gaming addiction and the analysis of narrative inquiry as the most suitable qualitative research method to use for the investigation of this problem.
• Smartphone Addiction Problem Statement Uncontrolled use of smartphone requires users to review the need to respond to smartphone alerts, deactivate the alerts, and consult their colleagues rather than the phone because such actions can reduce anxiety. Smartphone addiction is […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Problems of Internet Addiction Disorder Another possible cause of a reduction in the brain capabilities is the kind of the materials that one is exposed to on the Internet.
• The Concept of Addiction The recent developments in psychology, as well as intensive studies in the concept of addiction, has drawn considerable debates and concerns on the issue of relationships between the legal system and addiction.
• Problems of Pornography Addiction This paper provides you with a deep insight into the issues related to pornography including the factors leading to wide spread of this, the various perspective and attitudes towards the matter, and lastly, discuss its […]
• Phone Addiction Among Adolescents The ethical principle that the paper will base on is the principle of nonmaleficence, which aims to weigh the benefits versus the harms of phone addiction. However, it is ethical to be addicted to smartphone […]
• Online Gambling Addiction Gambling is an addiction as one becomes dependent on the activity; he cannot do without it, it becomes a necessity to him. Online gambling is more of an addiction than a game to the players.
• Symbolic Interactionism on Drug Addiction Genetic factors in addiction include the number of receptors in the brain that influence the perception of drugs and other substances.
• Facebook Addiction in the Modern Society As a result of these occurrences, it has been proposed that Facebook is addictive since people appear to be hooked to the site and cannot keep away from it even considering the negative consequences.
• Jim Carroll’s Drug Addiction in the Movie “The Basketball Diaries” by Leonardo Dicaprio After the bursting of Jim and apprehending of his friends, using drugs red handed by the couch, disintegration starts taking place in the group and most of the boys lose their essence for being thrown […]
• The Qualitative and Quantitative Research Strategies: Drug Addiction This is why another purpose of this paper is to evaluate what kind of research strategy is more effective and better in regards to the topic of drug addiction.
• Social Media Addiction in Society The person takes the substance, or in case of social media, keeps checking and updating online status or website on and on.
• Device Addiction: Consequences and Solutions One of the essential traits of smartphone addiction is tolerance which is defined as “a gradual increase in the mobile phone use to obtain the same level of satisfaction”.
• Effects of Internet Addiction on Family Relationships Among Teenagers In the modern society, cyber bullying refers to the instances where the individual uses the internet to interfere with the rights and freedoms of others.
• Deviant Behavior: Drug Addiction Drug addiction as a form of deviant behavior is seen as a loss of a person’s former moral and spiritual values, which leads to intellectual degradation and a reduced desire to function as a member […]
• “A Star Is Born”: Addiction Analysis From the BPS+ Perspective Most importantly, the movie points to the presence of a much more significant factor that pushes Jack toward the abuse of alcohol and the use of drugs.
• Amy Winehouse: Addiction Case Study The singer’s relationships with her dad and husband serve as the representation of the abuse she had to face as a pop-star.
• Internet Addiction Among College Students It is definitely advisable that the schedule include at least a few hours to login to Facebook because at the end of the day the aim is not to put the person in total isolation.
• Women’s Addiction in All Its Manifestations Analysis In the Substance Addiction category, women usually indulge in Food, Alcohol, and Drugs in that order of priority; however, addiction of women to alcohol and drugs is more prevalent in Western countries {albeit to a […]
• College Students: Internet Addiction The authors also note that the use and access of the internet have increased in the past decades. Additionally, the authors argue that conflicts between parents and young individuals are likely to result in internet […]
• The Effect of Internet Addiction on Students’ Emotional and Academic Performance The participants will be told the goals and objectives of the study, and their experience of Internet addiction will be clarified.
• The Role Play in Drug Addiction Treatment Moreover, the client believes that everyone in the law field uses coke, including his father, and this is the culture of the sphere.
• Impact of Digital Drug and Electronic Addiction on UAE Youth Therefore, the primary purpose of this dissertation is to determine the impact of digital drugs and the electronic addiction they cause on the youth of the UAE to highlight the existing problem in society.
• Alcoholic Anonymous Organization Fighting Addiction By accepting the problem and causes, a participant can try to resolve. In the program, participants have to admit their past wrongs and errors to a group and receive support to change.
• Likecoholic: Social Media Addiction Modern scholars have started likening the addiction to the use of social media to smoking, stating that companies such as Facebook must be regulated “exactly the same way you regulated the cigarette industry,” in which […]
• The Intervention of Positive Coping and Drug Addiction The intervention in question is based on the three domains that are referred to as “the pleasant life”, “the engaged life” and “the meaningful life”.
• The Theme of Addiction in Tennessee Williams’ Plays Apart from that, one can mention that addiction is depicted as a force that ruins the family of the characters. This is one of the points that should be distinguished.
• Internet Addiction in Modern Society Good internet connectivity coupled with the fact that the cost of using the internet is very cheap make people to spent countless hours in the internet.
• Comparison of Theories of Addiction: The Biological Model and the Genetic Model Genetic and biological models aim at disclosing the essence of addiction as something natural and irreversible and the methods which are supported by neurobiology and physiology and become more appropriate for using and controlling human […]
• Video Games Addiction: Is It Real? Addiction is associated with the need of substance while in some cases a behaviour which someone finds hard to move on without it, where the unavailability to a way out leads to abnormality.
• On Internet Addiction in Swift’s Satirical Style In the modern world, it is difficult to find any person who is unfamiliar with the Internet. People began to abuse the Internet and live a virtual life, forgetting the real world.
• Mental Health Care in Cannabis Addiction Case Based on the experience of studying the stories of juvenile delinquents, Bowlby revealed the influence of early separation from the mother and the experiences of loss and separation associated with it on the violation of […]
• Alcohol Addiction and Psychological Assistance Smith is a supporter of the Democratic Party like most people in her family and among her friends and colleagues. Smith was asked what goals she wanted to achieve in the course of her treatment.
• Social Work and Addiction in Family Settings The patient experiences urges to use drugs regardless of the apparent negative consequences of this practice. Therapists and clients consider this stage to be the most difficult.
• Addiction of Whitney Houston This paper looks at the causes of addiction, hindrances to recovery, and the causes of relapse or successful recovery using the life of Whitney Houston as a model.
• Drug Addiction and Its Effects The main cause of drug addiction is, obviously, the use of drugs but there are specific predictors making some people engage in drug abuse. Another sign of addiction is the need to use drugs in […]
• Online Gaming Addiction Analysis For example, in World of Warcraft, there are 10 million players around the world who pay about $15 a month to blitz around the world of Azeroth.
• Opioids Addiction in the United States The growing addiction, abuse, and overdose of opioids in the United States are some of the main concerns among the federal agencies involved in safeguarding public health.
• Online Gaming Addiction Intervention HC’s philosophical stand is to stop the addiction, meaning that he is motivated and hopes that the obsession will end. The addiction process started at a very young age of 7 years, back when HC […]
• Caffeine Addiction as a Mental Disorder And it is a rather pragmatic question stipulated by the professionals need to debate about, but not by the addiction nature itself.
• Addiction Assessment Tool Evaluation The purpose of the present paper is to conduct a review of the 10-item yes/no Drug Abuse Screening Test to evaluate its benefits and limitations.
• Social Cognitive Theory Against Addiction All the sources are closely related to the problem of alcohol addiction and, therefore, are included in the research. The study aimed to investigate the effect of the social cognitive theory implementation on people willing […]
• Theories of Substance Addiction The risk is confounded when these factors occur in combination; thus, the more the risk factors, the higher the probability that the use of substances can result into addiction.
• Online Video Games Addiction The changes are far-reaching: the definition of online video game; the nature of the information ‘commons’ for the citizen; the right of privacy in communicated expressions; the regulation of information infrastructures; the definition of information […]
• Psychodrama in Treating Trauma and Addiction In all cases, it is problematic for the individual to reconcile with the anxiety they feel and to cope with the problems with trust.
• Society’s Obligation to Help People With Addiction The first and foremost point is that the group approach shifts treatment to the natural environment and reconnects addiction therapy to a more comprehensive and long-lasting recovery process.
• Men and Porn Addiction Discussion Watching porn trains men to differentiate reality from acting, implying that it does not alter men’s perception of women in real life.
• Impaired Nurses: Prescription Drug Addiction Work with drugs and psychotropic substances in medical organizations is constantly in the field of view of law enforcement agencies for the control of drug trafficking and health authorities.
• Psilocybin as a Smoking Addiction Remedy Additionally, the biotech company hopes to seek approval from FDA for psilocybin-based therapy treatment as a cigarette smoking addiction long-term remedy.
• Advocacy Programs to Address Disparities in Mental Health and Addiction Management Due to the absence of coverage offered by state Medicaid programs, the problem with the community’s overall health likely resides in a population segment that is unable to receive care, especially individuals with mental health […]
• The History of ADHD Treatment: Drug Addiction Disorders Therefore, the gathered data would be classified by year, treatment type, and gender to better comprehend the statistical distribution of the prevalence of drug addiction.
• Teen Vaping: The New Wave of Nicotine Addiction It might have a significant effect if state officials asked the region’s health authority to ban all flavored vape goods in reaction to this issue to safeguard the youth’s well-being.
• The Epidemic of Opioid Addiction in the US Although the author presents facts about kratom benefits, the article still lacks scientific evidence, likely due to insufficient research in this area, so it may not convince the reader that this herb should be legal.
• Opioid Addiction and Pharmacological Treatment LAAM has several merits over the use of methadone, particularly regarding its use of three doses per week, which can reduce the potential of contracting HIV/AIDS, improve the relationship between the patients and the clinicians, […]
• Misconceptions About Addiction In addition, addicts are not always drug abusers, as addiction is a treatable disorder, and people seeking help can recover and become productive.
• Smartphone Addiction in the United States With the advent of phones that have the function of many other gadgets, people began to move away from the real world into the virtual one. This paper examines the essence of the issue of […]
• The Truth About Food Addiction in Society One of the most important tasks is understanding the reality of food addiction. The first line of food addiction prevention is the decision people have to make.
• The Opium Addiction Treatment Above all, the main problem is the reluctance of pharmaceutical companies to find a common approach and method of facing opium addiction since the first thing to think about is profits, just like any other […]
• Discussion: Social Media Addiction Social media use impacts the nerves in the brain and can cause psychological and physical addiction. The brain gets used to the rewards from such channels, and it becomes automatic for the person to use […]
• Opioid Addiction in Adults: A Group Counselling Plan A group leader ensures that the group is led in a healthy discussion and that the group’s objectives are achieved. When this culture is properly outlined, and members are aware of their targets, the group’s […]
• Tackling Drug: Addiction Among Youth Drug addiction is a serious problem, and while it spreads to less marginalized parts of society, this problem affects more people.
• The Nature of Addiction The purpose of this critical writing is to understand why people begin to want to get rid of the shackles of addictive behavior.
• Tobacco Addictions Among Teenagers This makes it urgent to fight all forms of tobacco and nicotine use in order to preserve the health of adolescents.
• Program to Tackle Drug Addiction Among Youth The core area of emphasis will be training the students on different ways to avoid the temptations of using drugs in order to lower the rate of addiction.
• Parental Role in Adolescents’ Phone Addiction In other words, the connection between the guardian and the teenagers is critical and should be maintained to allow children experience the love of their parents.
• A Manifesto on the Phone Addiction Issue It seems to be common knowledge that being too attached to one’s phone is bad for mental and physical health, and the dangers may be greater for the younger generation.
• Discussion of Tobacco Addiction in Miami The problem analyzed in the presentation is related to the increased risk of tobacco use among adults associated with nicotine dependence.
• Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LCD): Addiction, Treatment, and Prevention The problems are not only depicted in the area of concentration but also in the suburbs that are out of the stereotypical view of intoxication of the drug.
• Drug and Alcohol Addiction: Abby’s Case The amounts of money Abby spends weekly on fulfilling her addictive desires and her long history of drug usage imply that she has an addiction problem.
• Drug Addiction in Teenagers: Smoking and Other Lifestyles In the first part of this assignment, the health problem of drug addiction was considered among teens and the most vulnerable group was established.
• Instagram Addiction and Impact on Self-Esteem The effect of social media use is reported to have a mixed effect on the user. First, social media addiction may have a varying effect on self-esteem depending on the type of use.
• Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act The policy authorizes the secretary to award grants to states with a higher rate of substances and drugs as this indicates the state of mental health.
• How Alvin Ailey’s Dances Help With Drug Addiction Ailey is the founder of the famous theater in New York and is known for popularizing modern dance and mixing it with ballet, jazz and elements of African culture.
• Molecular Dynamics Modeling: Treating Addiction The resulting mechanism of the three sites provides the separation of antagonists from the agonists and explains the selectivity of the subtypes.
• Drug Addiction Treatment for a Pregnant Woman The drug has affected various aspects of her life, causing her to lose her job and making her turn to crime to afford the drugs.
• You Are What You Eat: How Does Food Become an Addiction One of the most important problems that arouse the interest of researchers is the influence of advertising on the formation of models of food behavior and, above all, its involvement in the formation of food […]
• Instagram Addiction and Self-Esteem in Kuwaiti High School Students Besides, the study will explore the impact of social media and reveal the possible ways to resolve the social media addiction issues affecting the youth.
• Instagram Addiction and Self-Esteem in High School Students To test the relationship between social media Instagram addiction and self-esteem in American high school students, a descriptive survey where students will be enrolled in an online, blinded survey will apply.
• Tobacco as a Chemical Addiction Chemical addiction is a global disease of the mind, soul, and body. It is necessary to remove the mechanism of a disease-dependent state of origin and engage all the spheres of human life to overcome […]
• Drug Addiction: Overview of the Main Principles and Recovery Plan On the one hand, the term’ drug addiction is specifically defined by NIDA as “characterized by intense and, at times, uncontrollable drug craving, along with compulsive drug seeking and use that persist even in the […]
• How Opioid Addiction Affects the United States Addicted people have a constant desire to increase the dose, which is a severe medical and social problem. The crisis has acquired enormous proportions and become a brake on the economy and a threat to […]
• Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Atlantic City The prevalent part of the population of Atlantic City consists of African-Americans and Caucasians. Because of this, alcohol and drugs are very popular among residents, which may pose a community health issue and is applicable […]
• The Role of Mitochondria in Cocaine Addiction In many instances, the drug users tend to sniff it, and the powder gets through the nasal materials to the bloodstream.
• Why Addiction Develops and How a Person Can Overcome It The interview process was good; I called the interviewee at a scheduled time and asked her the questions from the list.
• Preventing Childhood Exposure to Addiction-Forming Factors The implementation of the method relied on the use of advanced questionnaire that provided the researchers with sufficient data to reflect and address the children’s inclination toward any form of addiction. Evidently, the role of […]
• History and Social Side of Drug Addiction Heroin and fentanyl are the most dangerous drugs created on the basis of papaver somniferum due to produced effects and the outcomes for the body.
• Drug and Substance Addiction Standardization has to be used to ensure that patients’ experiences and different clinical services are the same, regardless of the process.
• My Personal Beliefs About People With Addictions Therefore, in my opinion, the main reason people get addicted is related to the desire to forget about the problems of this reality and feel differently.
• Biopsychological and Spiritual Models in Addiction Studies More specifically, it is the “simplification” of the real-world conditions provides an opportunity to neglect different factors to provide a qualitative conclusion concerning the object of learning.
• Economic Inequality During COVID-19: Correlation With Depression and Addiction Thus, during the pandemic, people with lower incomes experienced depression and increased their addictive behaviors to cope with the stress of COVID-19.
• Opioid Use and Addiction in Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans My chosen topic integrates the welfare of veterans of recent wars, such as conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the prescription of opioids for trauma, general mental well-being, and adaptation to civilian and even academic life.
• Tobacco Addiction: Causes and Effects However, it has also been proven that, in general, smoking has causal roots in human genetics, with different percentages of the message affecting, respectively, the start of smoking, the duration of the experience, and the […]
• Drug Addiction and Problems Related to It It is one of the main sources of dopamine, and other pleasure hormones, which are essential for a person to feel joy in their life.
• Chemical Dependency and Crisis of Addiction The scope of the damaging effects of alcohol abuse on the well-being of the person is astounding. Based on the WHO’s data, socio-cultural determinants of health are the issues that are linked to culture and […]
• Social Facet of Substance Addiction Even though the determination of the hazardous society is important for analyzing the social facet of drug addiction, it is crucial to fundamentally understand the society’s influential factors of engaging a person in drug addiction.
• Alcohol Addiction: Biological & Social Perspective At the same time, the UK is one of the most drinking countries, as the average number of liters of alcohol per person there was 11. In addition, taking acetaldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitors allows to break […]
• Drug and Alcohol Addiction Crisis Among Adults in Baltimore While a lot of the violence in Baltimore is related to the drug trade, the drugs themselves killed at least 180 more people than homicides in the city as of 2019.
• Addiction in Sexton’s, Marshall’s, Flynn’s Poems The poems The Addict by Anne Sexton, Habitual by Nate Marshall, and Philip Seymour Hoffman by Nick Flynn, address the issue from the psychological perspective as an inner struggle within a person.
• John S. McCain Opioid Addiction Prevention Act’s Analysis Anderson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, backed the legislation enactment believing in its potential to reduce opioid abuse and addiction.
• Alcohol Addiction and the Role of a Community New Horizons Group of Alcoholics Anonymous is a local fellowship to support men and women with alcoholic problems in Miami Springs.
• Analysis of the Addiction’s Aspects Addiction in the modern world is one of the phenomena that occur in the vast majority of people. However, if the goal is not achieved, there will be a sharp decline in this hormone, and […]
• Workout and Addiction: Review As a result of personal factors and the presence of eating or image disorders, an individual can be unable to stop exercising even when it is detrimental to their life.
• Counseling of a Client With Heroin Addiction Although he has a son, he does not maintain any relationship with him, and his son does not try to communicate with Dante. First, the client did not address this aspect and was unwilling to […]
• Drug Addiction and Drug Legalization Rosenthal views drug addiction as slavery and the idea for drug legalization is revolting because most of the victims of addiction are adolescents and children. Without honesty and responsibility, legalization of drugs is just a […]
• The Issue of Opioid Abuse and Addiction in Treatment The project will primarily focus on the issue of opioid abuse and addiction to treat and minimize the effects of pain through the given pharmacological method of pain management.
• Fundamental Determination of Substance Abuse and Addiction and Their Difference Due to the difference in regularity and intensity of drug absorption, substance abuse and addiction can be correctly separated from another so that there is a concrete measure that identifies an abuse and an addiction […]
• Alcohol Addiction Among Women Women are a population of interest because of the increased mortality rates from alcohol-related health complications and the effect of this substance on childbearing. Similarly, to the previous organization, Alcove is a recovery facility that […]
• Drug Addiction Treatment Approaches In this way, some state that the objectives and aims of treatment should be to entirely drug-free the drug addict and that treatment should include drug-free techniques of achieving this aim.
• Drug Addiction From Pharmacological Perspective In the history of human society, drug addiction is almost always spoken of as a crime. Understanding drug effects allow criminologists and sociologists to recognize the relationship between drug addiction and crime.
• Drug Addiction Problem Among Homeless People There is a need to fill the data gap regarding the issues of magnitude, location, period, severity, and changeability of the SUD in the Skid Row community.
• Nuances of Alcohol Using Addiction Despite the traced co-occurrence of criminal activities and alcohol consumption, people argue that there are many positive aspects of drinking moderately, such as relaxation that is useful in many social environments. Goode argues that “for […]
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• Substance Addiction Challenges for American Indians In the case presented by Paul et al, the distinctions between male and female addicts can be seen in the cultural features and traits of the American Indian population.
• Loneliness and Social Networking Addiction in Students The hypothesis of the study was as follows: the higher the level of loneliness, the higher the likelihood of social networking addiction; conversely, the lower the level of loneliness, the lower the likelihood of social […]
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• Criticism of Injecting Rooms – Drug Addiction Supporters of injecting rooms claim that injecting rooms are beneficial to the society and that the ones which are in existence have saved many lives especially from the dangers of drug overdosing.
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• Mobile Addiction and Anxiety: The Relationship Analysis The purpose of the study is to establish the nature of the relationship that exists between mobile addiction and anxiety among students.
• The Drug Addiction and Clonidine As soon as it gets to the brain, it reacts by binding on the a2 receptors, a process that leads to a reduction in the levels of presynaptic calcium.
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• Searching the Web for Research Evidence: Drug Addiction Among School Aged Children Defining the topic in the form of a question or statement and separating the question into specific logical components or concepts is the principal strategy to search the CINAHL database.
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• The Case of Katie’s Addiction Katie became one of the unfortunate people who had to deal with chronic pain, which led her to develop an addiction to the medication which was supposed to benefit her and relieve the car accident’s […]
• Valium and Heroin Addiction: Compare and Contrast The purpose of this paper is to contrast and compare Valium and heroin from a point of view of addiction and withdrawal.
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Digital Addiction and Sleep

Birgitta dresp-langley.

1 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR7357 CNRS, ICube Research Department, Université de Strasbourg and Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Pavillon Clovis Vincent, F-67085 Strasbourg, France

2 Team MIMESIS, INRIA, UMR7357 CNRS, ICube Research Department, F-67085 Strasbourg, France; [email protected]

Associated Data

All data supporting this analysis can be found in the references cited.

In 2020, the World Health Organization formally recognized addiction to digital technology (connected devices) as a worldwide problem, where excessive online activity and internet use lead to inability to manage time, energy, and attention during daytime and produce disturbed sleep patterns or insomnia during nighttime. Recent studies have shown that the problem has increased in magnitude worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. The extent to which dysfunctional sleep is a consequence of altered motivation, memory function, mood, diet, and other lifestyle variables or results from excess of blue-light exposure when looking at digital device screens for long hours at day and night is one of many still unresolved questions. This article offers a narrative overview of some of the most recent literature on this topic. The analysis provided offers a conceptual basis for understanding digital addiction as one of the major reasons why people, and adolescents in particular, sleep less and less well in the digital age. It discusses definitions as well as mechanistic model accounts in context. Digital addiction is identified as functionally equivalent to all addictions, characterized by the compulsive, habitual, and uncontrolled use of digital devices and an excessively repeated engagement in a particular online behavior. Once the urge to be online has become uncontrollable, it is always accompanied by severe sleep loss, emotional distress, depression, and memory dysfunction. In extreme cases, it may lead to suicide. The syndrome has been linked to the known chronic effects of all drugs, producing disturbances in cellular and molecular mechanisms of the GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitter systems. Dopamine and serotonin synaptic plasticity, essential for impulse control, memory, and sleep function, are measurably altered. The full spectrum of behavioral symptoms in digital addicts include eating disorders and withdrawal from outdoor and social life. Evidence pointing towards dysfunctional melatonin and vitamin D metabolism in digital addicts should be taken into account for carving out perspectives for treatment. The conclusions offer a holistic account for digital addiction, where sleep deficit is one of the key factors.

1. Introduction

The notion of “death by digital distraction” as the extreme consequence of personal technology use first appeared on the internet a few years ago in an alarming publication by the U.S. Naval Institute [ 1 ]. The publication explicitly considers digital technology as a powerful “new drug”, referring to national statistics suggesting that 78% of Americans between 18 and 24 years of age use social media, online dating, video games, online pornography, and other personal digital technology multiple times a day [ 2 ], often to an extent that raises grounds for concern. Among specific problems mentioned occurring in young Navy recruits is that boys are becoming increasingly preoccupied with video games and girls more interested in social media activities than in direct interaction with other individuals, and there is also a recent and steep increase in symptoms indicative of technology addiction [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ], such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, withdrawal from friends and family, sleep deprivation, and mood disorders. Statistical analyses [ 1 , 7 , 8 ] point towards a measurable increase in incidents, accidents, and failures during missions the nonstop comparison of one’s own with others’ digital “lives” as a source of depression, with suicide as the potentially ultimate escape from the many harmful effects of digital technology abuse in young people aged between 15 and 30. The year in which the U.S. Navy released their proceedings on technology addiction [ 1 ], the World Health Organization [ 9 ] formally recognized technology addiction as a worldwide problem, pointing out that addictive internet use leads to inability to manage and balance time, energy, and attention. Sleep, motivation, memory, eating habits, mood, social interactions, and lifestyle patterns are affected interdependently, and as a result, the psychological functioning and well-being of digital addicts is holistically jeopardized [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Daily online experience may seem harmless to the individual user; yet, it has potentially dramatic consequences when repeated compulsively, as it triggers neurochemical processes that kick off the brain’s reward circuitry in the same way as substances such as alcohol, nicotine, or cocaine [ 7 ]. Equivalent reward mechanisms govern addictive responses to sex, gambling, or driving a fast car at high speed [ 3 ]. The narrative review that follows is to convey a holistic understanding of the implications of digital addiction for lifestyle, sleep, and mental health of individuals, with a conceptual focus on underlying brain-behavior dynamics. The review strategy here builds upon bibliographic research of the international medical science database MEDLINE using PubMed hosted by the NIH. Keywords for the search include (internet addiction), yielding 89 papers taken into account; (internet addiction) + (sleep), yielding 26 papers taken into account; and (internet addiction) + (brain), yielding 11 papers taken into account. Additional keywords yielding further MEDLINE references include (behavioral addiction) + (reward) and (blue light exposure) + (health). In total, 176 documents of the 184 cited here originate from the MEDLINE search. The eight remaining documents cited here include public reports by the U.S. Navy, the World Health Organization, and the European Commission. These documents are available online.

2. Digital Addiction: A New Problem Worldwide

The first cell phone was released on the market in the USA in 1973, and about forty years later, more than half the U.S. adult population was estimated to be carrying a cell phone. In 2018, 77% of the USA population officially owned a smartphone, and that proportion is now approaching 95% [ 5 ]. Internet addiction [ 6 ] is a disabling condition that calls for full consideration worldwide. Reported to have a severe impact on young people’s brain function, internet addiction disorder (IAD) may also be referred to in terms of pathologic or problematic internet use (PIU) and is widely defined in terms of an impulse control disorder characterized by uncontrolled internet use [ 6 , 7 ]. A sub-category of IAD, internet gaming disorder (IGD), which specifically concerns videogame addiction [ 8 ], is included in Section 3 of the DSM 5. It is currently envisaged to include IAD and IGD also in the ICD-11, the World Health Organization’s [ 9 ] International Classification of Diseases for mortality and morbidity statistics. Since 2013, the American Psychiatric Association has included a specific form of digital addiction, internet gaming disorder, in the appendix of the updated version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) [ 10 ]. Sleep problems are included therein as the third of nine criteria that are the keys to identifying IGD as defined by DSM-5: (1) playing games for long periods, (2) skipping school more often as a consequence, (3) experience sleep problems as a consequence, (4) feeling addicted to gaming, (5) resorting to gaming to escape adverse moods, (6) being preoccupied by gaming, (7) giving up other activities to gaming, (8) diminished social tolerance, and (9) withdrawal from social interactions as a consequence. Global trend analyses [ 11 ] point towards factors such as overall internet penetration per country and estimated internet use per capita as the ground on which digital addiction has grown over the last decades.

2.1. Instant Availability of the “Digital Drug”

In digital addiction, the internet is a channel [ 12 ] through which individuals may access whatever content they want (games, social media, shopping, sex, and so forth), wherever they want, and whenever they want it. The development of the addictive response is thereby digitally facilitated and instantly available to anyone—adults, adolescents, and young children [ 13 ]—through a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer workstation, with no intermediate dealer needed, as is the case with other types of addiction to substances or specific activities not performed online. At an advanced stage, IAD is associated with a significant and permanent symptomatic state at the psychological, cognitive, and physiological level, engendering more or less severe general functional impairment [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Reported symptoms include clinically measurable psychological stress [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], anxiety and depression [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], eating disorders [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], sleeplessness [ 27 , 28 ], and mood changes with suicidal ideation [ 29 ]. Cross-national studies on IAD involving more than 89,000 participants from 31 nations [ 15 ] suggest a global prevalence estimate for IAD of 6% worldwide. The highest estimates for IAD prevalence were reported for the Middle East for about 12% of the reference population, and the lowest prevalence was suggested for Northern and Western Europe with about 2.5% of the reference population. Comparison of national statistics for internet penetration or time spent online [ 13 ] do not suffice to explain such differences between countries or cultures [ 13 ]. A multitude of interdependent variables [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 ], such as socio-cultural factors (demographic variables; access to and acceptance of the internet), biological vulnerabilities (genetic predisposition, pre-existing metabolic disorders), and psychological factors (personality characteristics, negative affect) play a role here. Complex interactions between environmental, metabolic, and neurobiological changes in the brain, developed further below, would need to be taken into account. While internet addiction quite clearly has become a universal issue, the reported estimates from the different currently available publications and statistics vary considerably between countries. Two factors have been considered to explain the cross-national variations. One is internet access [ 9 ], which varies between continents and nations and predicts that IAD prevalence should be positively related to the internet penetration rate in a given country. The other factor is real-life quality [ 15 , 16 ], predicting that IAD prevalence should be inversely related to the global national index of life satisfaction and/or other specific national indices of environmental and lifestyle quality. However, whether progressing IAD yields lower life quality or whether low life quality promotes the onset of IAD in the first place is an open question. Studies on adolescents and college students [ 26 , 30 ] have identified a gender bias revealing continuous online availability and privileged use of the internet for seeking new friendships or relationships as risk factors in male students. Concomitantly, higher computer skills and ready internet access were identified as leading to higher risk for developing IAD. What is known is that IAD is significantly correlated with insomnia and depression. The varying levels of depression and insomnia related to IAD and more specifically online social networking addiction have been assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale [ 31 ], the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [ 32 ], Young’s Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction or Internet Addiction Test [ 33 ], and the Social Networking Addiction Scale [ 32 , 34 ] in cross-national studies [ 15 , 23 , 27 , 30 ]. The results show beyond reasonable doubt that high prevalence of IAD and online social networking addiction in any given population is described by total loss of impulse control associated with increased risks of developing insomnia and depression. Digitally mediated activities thus procure users with what, in [ 1 ], is referred to as the “new drug” and what we will refer to here as the digital drug. Repeated compulsory behavior, loss of impulse control, and, ultimately, digital addiction describe a complex syndrome that is triggered, facilitated, and maintained by the instant availability of the craved contents through the digital medium.

2.2. From Loss of Impulse Control to Insomnia and Depression

Depression in digital addicts is related to sleep disorders and insomnia associated with the addictive behavior [ 20 , 35 ]. Insomnia may be both a trigger and booster and a chronically developing consequence of the addiction. It can therefore be deemed adequate to consider addiction to internet activities, insomnia, and depression as a whole syndrome. Higher incidence of depression, insomnia, and suicide rates in teenagers [ 29 ] as a direct consequence of internet addiction are recognized as sources of worldwide concern [ 9 ]. Current research [ 14 , 27 , 29 , 36 ] points towards altered punishment-reward sensitivity and deregulation of the dopamine transmitter pathways in the brain as physiological correlate of digital addiction. This supports the postulate that it is equivalent to any other form of addiction although some still claim that digital addiction does not exist or is not understood well enough [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. For almost a decade now, experts express consensus that all entities capable of stimulating a person can be addictive. Whenever a habit changes into a compulsory and repetitive pattern of behavior that can no longer be controlled by the individual without help from outside, the habit can be considered an addiction [ 41 ]. Research on the etiology and particular symptoms of digital addiction [ 6 , 7 ], by comparison with other behavioral addictions [ 3 ], is focused on sleep and mood disorders and recognizes that there are clear similarities in this regard between substance or behavioral addictions [ 3 ], including digital addiction [ 7 ]. A key symptom common to all forms of addiction is, indeed, sleep dysfunction [ 42 , 43 ].

2.3. Dysfunctional Sleep as a Key Variable

Sleep quality is, together with a balanced diet and regular exercise, one of the major conditions for good health. The annual costs of insomnia worldwide are estimated in hundreds of billions USD. Such estimates include statistics relative to people who suffer injuries every year due to sleep-related accidents and those who die because of sleep-related accidents. Individuals with frequent sleep disturbances report missing work and other important events and making errors at work and while driving [ 44 , 45 ]. Preserving well-regulated circadian rhythms is known to lower the risk of sleep disorders, psychological problems, and chronic health issues, such as eating disorders, obesity, and diabetes. Circadian rhythms, sometimes also called sleep–wake cycles [ 46 ], refer to a cyclic metabolism governed by factors within the body under the regulating influence of environmental factors such as sunlight, food quality, and regular exercise to help the body maintain them [ 47 ]. Digital addiction is a syndrome described by the compulsive need to spend an unreasonable amount of time, at day and at night, on the internet, to a point where healthy eating, outdoor activities with daylight exposure, relationships, work, exercise, and sleep are severely compromised. It is hardly surprising that this has an important influence on sleep–wake cycles, leading to sleeplessness and other sleep disorders, including insomnia [ 27 , 48 ]. Over the last decade, the prevalence of internet abuse among adolescents has risen steeply. In the U.S. and Japan, for example, 93% of adolescents between twelve and seventeen years old go online for several hours in the day and often also at night [ 49 , 50 ]. In India and China, the estimates range between 70% and 75% [ 20 , 51 , 52 ]. About 65% of internet addicts have reportedly higher incidence of psychological problems and mood disorders, and about 47% of them report repeated suicidal thoughts (suicidal ideation) in a week, and about 23% of digital addicts report at least one suicide attempt, and some of them report a history of several attempts in one year. Internet addiction and problematic internet use behavior always influence the sleep–wake cycle, leading to sleeplessness [ 53 , 54 ]. Extreme internet abuse is systematically associated with insomnia [ 55 ]. On the one hand, excessive day and night-time computer use causes a state of almost permanent arousal and blocks the calming effects of relaxation that are essential for preparing the body for good sleep [ 56 , 57 ]. On the other hand, sleep deprivation and depression are well known to be mutually reinforcing [ 56 , 57 , 58 ], and the complex interplay between depression and sleep disorder may engender the deregulation of circadian rhythms by reinforcing negative moods and by decreasing regular exposure to daylight, healthy exercise, eating patterns, and mood-regulated social activities [ 58 ]. In China in particular but also in Turkey, problematic internet use was significantly linked to depressive signs and sleep disorders [ 15 , 59 , 60 ]. In randomly sampled students from fifteen schools in Belgium [ 61 ], the children who spent more time on the internet went to bed significantly later during the week and also on weekends. They reportedly woke up later on weekends, spent less time in bed in the week, and experienced higher levels of tiredness. In high school students from a study in South Korea [ 62 ], the odds of excessive daytime drowsiness were significantly higher in internet addicts compared with non-addicts. Other frequent symptoms of digital addiction and problematic internet use [ 55 , 63 , 64 ] include migraines, backache, eating disorders, obesity, behavioral and emotional problems, and social withdrawal. The impact of electronic media use on sleep in school-aged children and adolescents is reflected by several variables reviewed in [ 65 ] and investigated across studies. Such are delayed bed time (DBT), total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), or sleep efficiency (SE), with delayed bedtime (DBT) and shorter TST as the most consistently related to media use [ 65 ]. Dysfunctional sleep may be a consequence or the root cause of all these symptoms [ 57 , 64 ]. Two years ago, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has since affected the lives of many people, including adolescents and young students. A cross-national study [ 66 ] explored internet addiction and changes in sleep patterns among medical students during the pandemic, assessing the relationship between these two variables. The cross-sectional study was carried out in seven countries, including the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Guyana, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Sudan, using a convenience sampling technique and an online survey comprising demographic details and information regarding COVID-19. Scores from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) [ 30 ] and Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) [ 31 ] were used. Of a total of 2749 participants, 67.6% scored above 30 in the IAT, suggesting the presence of an internet addiction, and 73.5% scored equal to and above 5 in the PSQI, suggesting poor sleep quality. Internet addiction was found to be significant predictors of poor sleep quality, causing 13.2% of the variance in poor sleep quality. Participants who reported COVID-19-related symptoms had disturbed sleep and higher internet addiction levels when compared with those who did not. Participants who reported a diagnosis of COVID-19 reported poor sleep quality. Those living with a COVID-19-diagnosed patient reported higher internet addiction and worse sleep quality compared with those who did not have any COVID-19 patients in their surroundings. These results reveal the considerable impact of pandemic related stresses on digital addiction and sleep quality on students. To further understand the many factors involved here and their interdependency, we need insight into what happens in the brains of individuals addicted to online activities.

3. What Happens in the Brain?

What happens in the brain of digital addicts can be assimilated to what happens in any form of addiction. Previously [ 67 ], addictive behavior has been operationally defined as any behavior that features six core components of addiction: salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse. Any behavior that fulfils all these six criteria can be considered an addiction. Earlier, [ 68 ] defined addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that results from prolonged effects of a drug on the brain, leading to compulsive consumption and abuse. Initial drug intakes are associated with the pleasure and positive reinforcement they produce through increased dopaminergic transmission in the mesocorticolimbic brain circuitry [ 69 ], which interacts with other brain circuits involved in executive functions. These functions concern inhibitory control related to decision making, attribution of added value, conditioning, memory, habitual responses, reward, motivation [ 70 ], reactivity to stress, energy, mood, hedonic states, and awareness of internal disturbances and changes within the body [ 71 , 72 ].

3.1. From Habit and Reward to Craving

The neural circuitry for reward has evolved across the phylogenic scale as the brain substrate of behavioral adaptation [ 73 ]. Dopamine plays a critical role in this circuitry, for the subjective pleasure associated with positive rewards, and the motivation or drive-related reinforcements associated with eating, drinking, or drugs [ 73 , 74 ]. Dopamine thus governs the reinforcement of normal as well as pathological response habits by modulating synaptic plasticity [ 75 ], a central factor in neuroadaptation theories of addiction [ 76 ]. In long-term addicts, the loss of control over consumption produces a brain state where the expression of dopamine receptors is decreased. As a consequence, activities that are not already “stamped in” by habitual reward are suppressed [ 71 ]. Loss of control results from a combination of repeated consumption to relieve the negative effects of withdrawal, compulsion to take the drug despite its negative effects, and craving, which precipitates relapse. Loss of control and the major symptoms associated with it have been functionally related to disruptive processes in the neural networks of the prefrontal cortex, i.e., alterations in network-specific functional connectivity, producing the core clinical symptoms of drug addiction, the iRISA ( i mpaired R esponse I nhibition and S alience A ttribution) syndrome [ 76 ]. At the social level, the loss of control may produce a downward spiral of progressive disinterest in anything else than the drug, alexithymia, and suicidal ideation [ 77 ]. In digital addiction, instead of coping or learning to cope with problems through real-world interaction with other human beings, the subject consumes the digital drug in the same craving way. Like other addicts, the individuals progressively spiral down a slippery slope of progressive isolation, insomnia, and depression [ 15 , 21 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. The initially pleasant, so-called rewarding effects of the drug are relayed by the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NA) by the synaptic endings from the neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the mesocorticolimbic circuitry [ 79 , 80 ]. The release of dopamine in the NA plays a major role in the development of addiction, as this brain structure constitutes a “crossroads system” towards which different transmission routes from various brain structures such as the amygdala, the frontal cortex, and the hippocampus converge, driving motivated action through connectivity with the extrapyramidal motor system [ 81 , 82 , 83 ]. Besides the mesolimbic circuit (VTA and NA), other dopaminergic pathways contribute to the rewarding effects of drugs and addiction, such as the mesostriatal pathways with dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra projecting into the dorsal striatum [ 81 , 82 , 83 ], and the mesocortical pathways with dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra projecting into the frontal cortex [ 83 ]. Projection-specific intrinsic characteristics and the differential afferent inputs onto these VTA neuron subpopulations consolidate findings of drug-induced plasticity of VTA neurons and highlight the importance of future projection-based studies of this system to understand what happens in the brain in the progression from initial pleasure to dependence [ 84 ]. This involves (1) automatisms in which the initially motivated behavior subsequently becomes a habit and (2) a gradual increase in the motivation to consume due to increasing tolerance and withdrawal symptoms when the drug is no longer taken [ 85 ]. Automatic and habit-related behavior is not affected by the fact that the drug and the reward it procures become increasingly less attractive (conflict).

3.2. From Craving to Anxiety, Sleeplessness, and Anhedonia

Chronic drug consumption in addicts leads to adaptations and opposing processes ( allostasis ) producing irritability, dysphoria , anxiety, and, finally, anhedonia in what is referred to as the brain’s “anti-reward system” [ 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Drugs usurp everyday behaviors such as eating, sexuality, sports, and others, thereby usurping the natural effect of substances or activities that produce pleasure through the release of dopamine. Acute drug use decreases the reward threshold, while chronic consumption increases this threshold, hence the need to consume more of the drug to reach it [ 85 , 86 ]. The acute effect of the drug increases the concentration of extracellular dopamine through mechanisms including (i) decrease in the inhibitory tone exerted by GABAergic neurons on dopaminergic neurons [ 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 ], (ii) release of opioids and endogenous cannabinoids [ 89 ], and (iii) a direct action on dopaminergic neurons by increasing their frequency of discharge (firing rate and bursting), with a low-frequency rhythmic oscillation (0.5–1.5 Hz) in the increased firing activity [ 90 ]. The released dopamine not only underlies the pleasurable effects but is also involved in much more complex phenomena of attribution of the “added value” (“incentive value”) associated with the drug. A contextual cue associated with the drug, after a period of conditioning, replaces the value of the drug itself and is able to precipitate relapse by an overwhelming, urgent, and irrepressible desire to consume the drug. This has been related to changes in the amygdala [ 73 ], resulting in negative emotional states where drug taking becomes an attempt to temporarily alleviate them. In a genuine addict, drug consumption is correlated with attenuated dopamine receptor expression [ 69 , 70 , 71 ], and the motivation to consume is increased to compensate for the difference between the magnitude of the expected reward and the actual experience. The associated asynchronization of circadian rhythms [ 50 ] is centrally controlled by serotonin. Dysfunctional sleep patterns as a consequence of perturbed circadian rhythms have been linked to increased cue sensitivity in digital addicts [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. The motivation to seek the drug, initially potentiated by the dopamine increase during the first intakes, turns into compulsive drug taking against the backdrop of negative emotions in response to the progressively decreasing intensity of the reward. The resulting serotonin-controlled sleep problems reinforce the addictive loop and increase cue sensitivity further ( Figure 1 ). Dopamine release also relays a mechanism where a neutral contextual cue that has been repeatedly matched to drug use is no longer followed by drug delivery [ 91 , 92 ]. Brain imaging studies have shown that, in dependent subjects, supra-physiological levels of dopamine in the NA are associated with a marked decrease in dopaminergic function, including a reduction in dopamine D2 receptor levels [ 91 , 93 ]. Dopamine D2 receptor deficiency could also play a major role in the vulnerability to becoming dependent, as a decrease in dopaminergic transmission is responsible for widespread decrease in the sensitivity of the reward system to the effects of natural rewards [ 71 , 72 ]. The identification of the brain circuitry of reward [ 94 , 95 ] harkens back to the 1950s and had shown, in rats, that the electrical self-stimulation of certain brain structures including the VTA are associated with fatal fasting. This demonstrates that the activation of these brain regions surpasses the activation level induced by natural rewards such as food [ 95 ]. Hence, the drug effect substitutes for that of natural rewards, which our brain is programmed for, while a drug has a more intense and prolonged effect [ 94 , 95 ].

The iRISA syndrome [ 76 ] in addiction is centrally controlled by dopamine in the brain, while asynchronization, presumed to be linked to cue sensitivity in digital addiction [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], is centrally controlled by serotonin. A deficit in both neurotransmitters is identified as a brain correlate of insomnia, anxiety, and depression.

4. The Dopamine–Serotonin Imbalance Hypothesis

For all addictions, the common denominator is poorly controlled reward-seeking behaviors that lead to functional impairment, distress, depression, insomnia, and, in extreme cases, suicide [ 96 ]. Several factors appear to be predictive of digital addiction, including personality traits; the family context; pre-existing use of other drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine; and social anxiety [ 97 , 98 ]. Further evidence links the chronic effects of drugs, including the digital drug, to disturbances in the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying reward and memory processes [ 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 ].

4.1. Synaptic Plasticity and Pathological Adaptation

Even after long periods of abstinence, risk of relapse is precipitated by drug-associated cues, and learning processes have therefore been attributed a major role in the maintenance of addictive behavior [ 104 , 105 , 106 ]. This supports earlier theory where addiction was described as the pathological usurpation of neural processes that serve normal reward-related learning [ 105 , 106 ]. Several types of neuroadaptation may occur in addiction, including synapse-specific adaptations (synaptic plasticity) underlying specific long-term associative memory [ 107 , 108 ]. The GABAergic and glutamatergic systems [ 107 , 108 , 109 ], which are privileged targets of alcohol [ 110 , 111 ], are essential players in phenomena of synaptic plasticity [ 112 ] and pathological memory [ 112 ]. In digital addiction, the underlying control processes are particularly reduced when individuals with internet addiction, for example, are confronted with digital cues representing their preferred use or drug. The interactive functions of the internet [ 113 , 114 ] are considered the most addictive cues here, as they give instant access to other cues, such as online intimacy, and to interaction-specific rewards, such as immediate replies, comments, “likes”, and so forth. Processing such digital cues measurably interferes with working memory performance and general decision making [ 114 ]. Other data consistently demonstrate that drug-related characteristics found in behavioral addictions are also important for understanding digital addiction [ 3 , 13 , 14 , 114 , 115 ]. Pathological memory processes explain, at least in part, how drugs leave traces in the brain, which means that even after a very long period of abstinence, the dependent subject can relapse through even the weakest re-use or during exposure to a contextual clue that had been associated with the regular drug use [ 116 ]. Recent pre-clinical studies have shown that the transition from controlled cocaine consumption to addiction is linked to the loss of the capacity of NA neurons for the long-term depression of synaptic transmission (i.e., synaptic plasticity) in terms of a lasting decrease in transmission efficiency [ 117 ]. Drug-induced synaptic plasticity in several brain regions involved in positive reinforcement have been proposed as the crucial cellular mechanism that ultimately leads to addiction [ 108 ]. Persistent changes in behavior, induced by environmental cues (trigger stimuli ) or by chronic drug use, are most certainly relayed by lasting changes in synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability and even in the number of neural connections. These lasting changes in synaptic transmission, or long-term synaptic plasticity, are generally defined as a change in the efficiency of transmission at a particular synapse [ 118 ]. The adaptation of the surface contact points and their characteristics in these synaptic changes is called morphological plasticity. In the state of current knowledge, these plasticity phenomena appear to be the best neurobiological substratum explaining the mechanisms of learning and memorization in addiction [ 119 ]. Many studies have demonstrated that strong links between addictive behavior and synaptic plasticity drugs induce persistent changes in communication between certain neurons in the cerebral reward circuits in the cascade of events that leads to addiction [ 120 ]. If the drugs increase the efficiency of certain excitatory synapses of dopaminergic neurons of the VTA, this modifies the release of dopamine in target structures to which it sends projections, such as the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. This ultimately leads to altered (pathological) learning, functionally linked to dopamine [ 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 ]. Dopamine and serotonin neurotransmission follow functionally identified pathways in the brain, with interactions involving the amygdala and the hippocampus, which play an important role in drug dependence by mediating the pathological memory mechanisms associated with craving, reward, and withdrawal [ 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 ].

4.2. Lifestyle-Induced Metabolic Changes

Addictions often cause individuals to spend more time indoors consuming the drug and long hours of digitally mediated online activities involving sustained exposure to blue device lights for long hours in the day and at night [ 13 ]. This behavior has been associated with loss of sleep and symptoms of depression in students [ 21 , 27 , 35 , 65 ]. When individuals have to get up early to go to work or college, reduced sleep times or disturbed sleep patterns due to excessive online activities, often combined with a lack of physical exercise, can take a serious toll. Several studies have linked disturbed sleep as a consequence of online activities to poor performance in school, impaired learning, and psychological problems [ 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 ]. Electronic media are a source of blue light and, especially when used before bedtime, have a negative impact on individuals’ sleep patterns even when they are not digital addicts [ 13 ]. Significant links between digital exposure and lifestyle variables tested in different studies point towards sleep disorders [ 65 ] and increased energy intake as the prominent causal link between digital exposure time and obesity [ 131 , 132 ]. Digital addiction produces important metabolic changes, including reduced serotonin availability [ 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 ] and perturbed circadian rhythms [ 28 , 35 ] induced by long hours spent online until late at night. The resulting sleep disturbances produce a clinical syndrome referred to as asynchronization [ 50 , 137 ], i.e., disturbance of biological rhythms due to decreased activity of the serotonergic system. The major trigger of asynchronization is hypothesized to be a combination of excessive device light exposure in the night and lack of natural light exposure during daytime [ 13 , 137 ]. Asynchronization in internet abusers was found to be significantly correlated with varying degrees of depression, anxiety, and fatigue [ 136 , 137 ], with vitamin D [ 138 , 139 ] and melatonin [ 136 ] deficiency both involved in producing chronic muscular fatigue [ 140 ] and disrupted circadian rhythms [ 136 , 137 ]. Therefore, a variety of metabolic factors appears as directly linked to the dopamine and serotonin pathways [ 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 ] and may contribute to the deficit in availability of both neurotransmitters. Withdrawal from chronic drug use leads to a disruption of regulatory processes in the prefrontal cortex [ 76 , 78 , 80 ] induced by a decreased synaptic availability of dopamine and serotonin. This double deficiency contributes to withdrawal symptoms, drug craving, and ultimately relapse, as described in the iRISA syndrome [ 76 ]. A systematic review focused on fMRI studies involving adult IAD patients free from any comorbid psychiatric condition [ 143 ] yielded a total number of 666 tested individuals [ 143 ], generating study data acquired during resting state and other paradigms, such as cue-reactivity, guessing, or cognitive control tasks. Most of them were male (95.4%) and young (21–25 years). The most represented internet addiction subtype reported in more than 85% of these patients was the internet gaming disorder or videogame addiction. In resting-state studies, the most relevant abnormalities are localized in the superior temporal gyrus, limbic, medial frontal, and parietal regions. Interestingly, less than half of the papers analyzed in the review [ 143 ] reported behavioral differences between patients and normal controls. Yet, all of them found significant differences in cortical and subcortical brain regions involved in cognitive control and reward processing: the orbitofrontal cortex; insula, anterior, and posterior cingulate cortex; temporal and parietal regions; brain stem; and caudate nucleus. This suggests that significant changes occur in the brain that precede observable changes in behavior. A preliminary working model of the specific interactions producing double dopamine–serotonin deficit in the still-developing brains of young digital addicts was proposed recently [ 13 ], recognizing that further research is urgently needed for a deeper understanding. Dysfunction of the dopaminergic system is associated with a variety of nervous system diseases. Dopamine levels in the brain and the periphery (blood) increase in response to any type of reward, chemical substance, and/or non-chemical drug [ 142 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 ]. Dopamine transmitter pathway deregulation is also a well-known consequence of oxidative stress in the body [ 145 ]. Functional interactions between the serotonergic and dopaminergic transmitter pathway systems have been identified in association with vitamin D deficiency, stress-induced brain states, and neuropathologies affecting motor and impulse-control function [ 147 , 148 , 149 ]. In digital addiction, many complex interactions between brain mechanisms underlying compulsive reward seeking and metabolic changes due to lifestyle and environmental context or pre-existing individual (psychological and physiological) factors form a chain of interdependent variables that need to be tackled holistically ( Figure 2 ). Sleep dysfunction does not happen in a void but results from complex interactions between internal (body and brain function) and external (environment) variables. These interactions need to be recognized and fully taken into account for approaching pathological sleep in digital addiction [ 27 , 35 , 43 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 64 , 65 , 66 ], as they have implications for preventive measures and clinical treatment.

Sleep dysfunction in digital addiction is identified as the key part of a set of mutually reinforcing behaviors. These are the consequences of a perturbed brain–body metabolism, controlled by complex chains of functionally interdependent mechanisms triggered by internal (predisposition, sensitivity) and environmental states.

5. Perspectives for Clinical Research and Treatment

The long-term consequences of digital addiction on sleep and the well-being and general health of addicted individuals are yet unknown. Like any compulsive drug use, digital addiction emerges as the result of a loss of prefrontal cortical inhibitory control over drug-seeking habits, as some of the evidence reviewed here has shown. Sensitivity to digital cues forms on the basis of cue reactivity, a learning mechanism in which various cues become associated with the rewarding properties of the drug [ 150 ]. Additionally, too little is still known about the social, environmental, neurobiological, and personal factors that determine individual sensitivity to such cues and thereby the likelihood of becoming an addict. As in any addiction, the importance of behavioral impulsivity as a vulnerability trait predicting abuse and addiction [ 151 , 152 ] needs to be addressed. The specific environmental context in which digital addicts evolve, progressively spending more and more time indoors hooked to a connected device, engenders brain and other metabolic disorders, as shown here. Outdoor activities, exercise, and exposure to daylight, which are indispensable for healthy sleep patterns, are replaced by a sedentary lifestyle, bad eating habits, and excessive exposure to blue device lights for long hours at night. Behavioral therapy [ 153 ] is a first choice for breaking this complex chain of interdependent factors. Since compulsive behaviors are characterized by executing actions on “autopilot”, mindfulness techniques [ 154 ] were found effective in inducing individuals to relate more consciously to their environment and help them snap out of the compulsive loop. Furthermore, mindfulness techniques have proven effective for reducing insomnia-related arousal [ 155 ] and therefore could help digital addicts recover restoring sleep patterns, with direct benefits for their general metabolism, which then could facilitate their return to a healthier general lifestyle. To reduce drug seeking, promote abstinence, and prevent relapse, pharmacological treatment may need to be envisaged in digital addicts with severe insomnia. This would imply resorting to chemicals that directly target the serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems similar to those currently used to treat depression and schizophrenia [ 142 ]. As some of the evidence reviewed here has shown, these neurotransmitter systems are critically important to the functional integrity of reward mechanisms, sleep patterns, and mood. If these can be stabilized in a digital addict, the power of addictive cues such as interactive functions on the internet and their associated rewards could lose some of their power and help individuals get “unhooked”. Some novel brain stimulation therapies for depression and schizophrenia may complement or assist the clinical treatment of digital addiction . Examples here would be VNS (Vague Nerve Stimulation) and TMS (Trancranial Magnetic Stimulation), which have proven to a given extent successful in treating depression [ 156 ]. VNS produces good results in severe cases of treatment-resistant depression (TRD), while TMS has demonstrated efficacy on milder forms of TRD. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), previously used successfully for the treatment of movement disorders, has been extended to the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia [ 157 ]. DBS involves high-frequency stimulation of deep brain areas through electrodes implanted under stereotactic surgery. It produces functional inhibition in the region around the electrode [ 158 ] and excitatory effects on local axons and more distant loci. In the longer term, it corrects pathological brain activity in brain networks with connections to the implantation site [ 159 ]. Unlike other forms of neurosurgery, DBS is reversible: the stimulation can be turned off and the electrodes explanted without any permanent loss of function. Although DBS is still an emerging treatment, promising efficacy and safety have been demonstrated in preliminary trials in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Neuroimaging has permitted to identify DBS targets such as the dopaminergic system controlling reward behaviors and the serotonergic system ensuring mood control [ 160 ]. The NA comprises most of the ventral striatal DBS target, and focal DBS of the NA positively influences reward-seeking behavior and anhedonia in the syndrome of depression [ 161 , 162 , 163 ]. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia, i.e., delusions and hallucinations, are linked to ventral striatal overactivity with increased and inappropriate dopamine activity and give rise to abnormal reward prediction error signals. This suggests ventral striatal electrode placement for the treatment of schizophrenia [ 164 ] and obsessive compulsory disorder [ 165 ]. The basal ganglia (BG) are a choice target for DBS, and both direct and indirect BG pathways are modulated by dopaminergic neurons [ 166 ]. The BG receive major afferent input from the hippocampus. The ventral striatum is involved in the control of the dopaminergic nigro-striatal pathway, while the caudate nucleus influences the hippocampal theta rhythm and inhibits hippocampal spike activities [ 167 ]. This may open perspectives for the treatment of pathological memory processes in addiction, including digital addiction . In addition, there is now growing evidence that binaural-beat exposure may be a choice for minimally invasive, effective therapy of anxiety syndromes and sleep disorders [ 168 , 169 , 170 ], including those associated with internet addiction disorder [ 171 , 172 ]. The therapy can be administered without prior training and consists of presenting two tones with different sound frequencies separately but simultaneously to each ear. The selective choice of specific frequencies modulates activity in brain areas affected by addiction and their connectivity [ 173 , 174 ]. The direction and the magnitude of measurable therapeutic effects on cognitive function and behavior patterns depends upon the sound frequency, duration of exposure, and the context in which exposure takes place [ 175 , 176 ]. Structural and functional brain mechanisms underlying digital addiction correlated with sleep loss have been identified in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, as extensively reviewed in [ 177 ]. Adolescents and adults diagnosed as digital addicts had reduced gray matter volume in regions associated with attention motor coordination executive function and perception. Adolescents showed lower white matter (WM) integrity measures in several brain regions involved in decision making, behavioral inhibition, and emotional regulation. They showed disruption in the functional connectivity in areas responsible for learning, memory, and executive function and the processing of auditory, visual, and somatosensory stimuli relayed with motor signals. This picture is accompanied by a decreased functional connectivity of the parieto-frontal cortical (striatal) circuitry and an increased functional connectivity of several executive control regions functionally related to depression.

6. Conclusions

Teenagers today sleep less than previous generations, connected in a digital world driven by social demands for immediacy and engendering chronic sleep deprivation [ 178 ]. Analysis of some of the most recent pertaining literature here has shown that a functional imbalance in the dopamine–serotonin neurotransmitter pathways provides a consistent account for a silent process that leads from increasingly compulsive behavior to global functional impairment accompanied by sleeplessness or insomnia, emotional distress, depression, and sometimes suicide. Sleep dysfunction does not happen in a void but results from complex interactions between body, brain, and the environment. In digital addiction, it is a critical symptom within intertwined chains of causes and effects that are difficult to disentangle ( Figure 2 ). The number of smartphone users worldwide today surpasses six billion, and it is forecasted to further grow by several hundred million in the next few years [ 179 ]. Although China, India, and the United States are the countries with the largest number of smart phone users and are also the countries where most of the research on digital addiction has been carried out up to now, we can expect similar trends all over Europe in the not-so-distant future. This overview makes clear why digital devices, by providing anyone with internet access anywhere anytime, deliver the “new drug” of the 21st century. This has produced a new form of worldwide sleep disorder that represents a severe public health issue. Essential brain mechanisms for healthy motivation, memory, eating, mood, and a good night’s sleep are now deregulated in large populations of increasingly younger individuals, including toddlers [ 180 ], worldwide. Whether some internet activities may be more addictive or detrimental to good sleep and a healthy lifestyle than others is an open question [ 181 ]. Increases in digital addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic, related to financial hardship, bereavement, isolation, anxiety, and stress, were reported in studies from different countries [ 66 , 182 , 183 , 184 ]. This further prompts our awareness towards recognizing a new worldwide syndrome fueled by increasingly adverse societal conditions. This syndrome needs to be approached holistically. Educational measures are urgently needed to prevent further damage to the youngest members of society. Clinical research should aim for effective, holistic strategies for therapy. Sleep is severely disturbed in all digital addicts. A premium could therefore be placed on improving sleep quality in these patients, as sleep is the key to giving the brain the rest it needs to “snap out” of the compulsory loop.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, B.D.-L.; methodology, B.D.-L.; validation, B.D.-L. and A.H.; formal analysis, B.D.-L.; investigation, B.D.-L.; resources, B.D.-L. and A.H.; data, B.D.-L. and A.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

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Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Digital Addiction

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Regulating Opioid Prescriptions

Pain management is an inexact science; there is plenty of blame to go around for the abuse of such drugs.

To the Editor:

Re “ The D.E.A. Should Get Out of Public Health ,” by Shravani Durbhakula (Opinion guest essay, March 25):

The chilling effect on the legitimate prescribing and dispensing of opioid medications provoked by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s actions is having devastating real-world consequences among people living with chronic pain.

Although opioid therapy is not a panacea for pain management, which often necessitates a complex approach, certain patients undoubtedly benefit from these medications for long-term pain relief. People living with severely disabling pain conditions can participate in life’s activities if their opioid therapy is properly managed.

The D.EA., serving in a policing capacity, is not helping our country deal appropriately with the concerning drug overdose crisis. Public health evidence could not be clearer: The significant decline in opioid prescribing has not correlated with a significant decline in drug overdoses. Cutting the medical supply of opioids is not addressing overdoses and risks the health and lives of people who need access to essential medications.

Regulation of health-related activities to protect the public health of Americans must be guided by experts on those topics, not law enforcement agents.

Juan M. Hincapie-Castillo Pittsboro, N.C. The writer is a pharmacist and an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology of the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the board president of the National Pain Advocacy Center, a nonprofit that receives no industry funds.

Dr. Shravani Durbhakula’s critique of the Drug Enforcement Administration is misguided and unjustified.

It is worth noting that the opioid epidemic was started in the mid-1990s by OxyContin, a potent analgesic agent approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, promoted by Purdue Pharma, and overprescribed by clinicians. Overprescription and overconsumption of opioid analgesics continued rising until 2010, when the D.E.A. began to crack down on “pill mills” run by physicians.

Since 1995, hundreds of physicians have been criminally prosecuted for opioid-related offenses, with drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering and manslaughter accounting for the majority of the convictions.

On average, Americans consume about 20 times the amount of prescription opioids as the rest of the world. It is no surprise that the opioid epidemic is primarily endemic to the United States. Given that the ongoing opioid epidemic is driven by illicit fentanyl, the D.E.A. has an indispensable role to play in controlling this public health crisis.

Guohua Li Montebello, N.Y. The writer is a professor of epidemiology and anesthesiology at Columbia University.

Limiting the supply and prescription of opioids for chronic pain is crucial to addressing the opioid epidemic.

In fact, there is no lack of supply of opioids for dying patients, in whom such use is appropriate. Opioids are still overused for chronic pain, for which they don’t work well , and there is overuse for acute situations, such as oral surgery , in which nonopioids are more effective and safer.

Many people seeking opioids on the street — now a dangerous market because of adulteration with fentanyl — became addicted after receiving an opioid prescription from a physician or a dentist. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s role in regulating the opioid market should be applauded, not condemned.

Adriane Fugh-Berman Gary M. Franklin Dr. Fugh-Berman is a professor in the pharmacology and physiology department at Georgetown University Medical Center. She is also paid as an expert plaintiffs’ witness, mainly for the government, in litigation over pharmaceutical marketing. Dr. Franklin is a research professor at the University of Washington and the medical director of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

Dr. Shravani Durbhakula’s guest essay implicitly repeats a mistaken belief that opioids maintain effectiveness for reducing chronic pain when given daily over long periods, if addiction is not present.

This false belief was promoted by pharmaceutical companies 25 years ago and led to the opioid crisis that has affected the United States. Actually, there is compelling biological, epidemiological, experimental and clinical evidence that when taken daily, opioids cause neuroadaptations that enhance sensitivity to pain (including with patients who show no addictive behaviors).

I have been treating opioid-dependent chronic pain patients for more than three decades. The culture of opioid overtreatment has been difficult to overcome because of a confluence of factors, but since the 2016 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control warned against extended use, opioids are being prescribed less and deaths from the legal use of prescription opioids have declined.

When physicians try to taper opioids, it often produces resistance from the patient because of physiological and psychological withdrawal discomfort. Thus, physicians are at a loss as to how to treat opioid-dependent chronic pain patients other than maintaining opioids. Good treatments are available, though, and it is quite fulfilling to work with these patients.

Jon Streltzer Honolulu The writer is a psychiatrist and emeritus professor of psychiatry at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii.

As a pain management physician myself for more than 30 years, I believe that Shravani Durbhakula presents what may be charitably deemed a distorted view of the management of pain in this country.

Throughout the piece, it is indicated that poor pain management is mainly because of restrictions on prescribing opioids. This conveniently overlooks the fact that much pain, such as neuropathic pain, which includes cancer pain where the tumor either invades or stretches the nerve, responds better to nonopioids.

Other conditions, such as diabetic neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia, are just as poorly managed, and all are better managed with anticonvulsants and certain antidepressants. Perhaps Dr. Durbhakula might have explained this.

And as Dr. Durbhakula briefly alludes to at the end of the essay, the main reason that pain is so poorly managed in this country is that most physicians receive little education in pain management in medical school and postgraduate training programs.

A more useful piece would be entitled “Medical Schools Need to Get Into Pain Management.”

Steven A. King Philadelphia

Dr. Shravani Durbhakula’s essay mirrors my own experience. I am horrified that my primary care physician of many years dismissed my pleas for pain medication for sciatica, an excruciating and common nerve disorder.

Instead of prescribing an opiate, my doctor gave me an anti-inflammatory that did little to reduce the bolts of electricity shooting from my hip to my toes, which make walking and sleeping impossible. It wasn’t until six weeks after the onset of sciatica, when I threatened to use street drugs, that my doctor came through with a prescription for five milligrams of oxycodone every six hours, which did not relieve the pain. As a result, I am seeing a pain management specialist.

The American Medical Association and the D.E.A. seem to be in lock step in denying adequate pain medication to patients with genuine chronic pain, while veterinarians have no problem providing pain relief to animals.

How, as a society, have we gotten so far off-track, punishing patients for the abuse of addicts? If such a law were applied to driver’s licenses, we would take cars away from safe drivers to keep bad drivers off the road.

Stacia Friedman Philadelphia

The guest essay about the role of the Drug Enforcement Administration uses the word “overdose” in relation to incidents where individuals suffer serious and sometimes fatal effects from using opioids.

Overdose suggests that the person either knowingly or accidentally took an excessive amount of a medication with known potency. In the current epidemic of incidents involving street drugs, the correct term is “poisoning,” since the drugs have typically been adulterated with either very potent synthetic opiates or with a variety of other drugs. The user, being unaware of the actual potency of what is being used or what adulterants have been added, can be seriously affected even when taking his or her usual dose.

Calling these incidents overdoses is a way of blaming the victims, while calling them “poisonings” opens several avenues to reduce harm, such as making tests for opiate potency readily available to users, or making medical-grade opioids accessible as a viable alternative to street drugs.

I encourage your writers, editors and contributors to use poisonings rather than overdoses unless it is clear that the episode being described involved a genuine, correctly labeled, prescription opioid medication.

Henry Olders Westmount, Quebec The writer is a geriatric psychiatrist and a retired assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at McGill University.

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arts entertainment Books

Fifteen minutes with David Sedaris, a veteran of the DMA’s Arts & Letters Live

The legendary humorist jokes about ‘fistfight airlines,’ his opioid addiction, and why we sometimes need permission to say, ‘shut up.’.

By Sarah Hepola

6:00 AM on Apr 5, 2024 CDT

David Sedaris might be the greatest living humorist in America, if anyone could decide what “humorist” means. (Do stand-ups count?) The author of more than a dozen essay collections, most recently Happy-Go-Lucky , Sedaris returns to Dallas on April 25. We talked to him about travel, his early ‘80s opioid addiction, and why he’s giving people permission to say “shut up.”

The Dallas Museum of Art has brought you to Dallas 15 times. Do you think of yourself as the Seinfeld of the “Arts & Letters Live” series or the Gunsmoke ?

Ooh. I’m gonna go with Gunsmoke .

I assume you’re flying on this book tour. Flying is not in its peak form.

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I’m on planes constantly, but I’ve never seen a fistfight. I’m not on the right airlines. I think that happens on Frontier or Spirit. The fistfight airlines [laughs].

I’m impressed you haven’t gotten into the rut of writing about travel and the publicity grind, a danger for writers who tour as much as you.

Sometimes things do happen. I was just in Kenya, and there are a lot of missionaries. I was on a small plane, talking with the guy across the aisle, and I told him, “I’ve just been to a little village, so impoverished, and I worried people thought I was a missionary. I would rather be mistaken for a pedophile than a missionary!” And then he said, “I’m a missionary.”

Not only was he a missionary, he was a doctor who had just performed neck surgery on a kid lying on a pingpong table in a church. Luckily, the plane was really loud. We could just take off, and I could just die. But I’d watched this documentary, God Loves Uganda , about missionaries in Uganda passing really restrictive bills against gays. Anyway, I learned my lesson. From now on, when I meet someone on the plane, I will say, “I’m not a missionary. Are you?”

What do you read when you want to laugh? [silence] Maybe you don’t read to laugh.

I like tragic books. I just read Dopesick , the book about opioid addiction that got turned into a series with Michael Keaton. As a person who was a drug addict, I was able to clean myself up, but only because my dealer left town. This was in the early 1980s, but if she hadn’t left town? If this happened 30 years later? I was lucky. It’s not like I had willpower. Quitting drinking [25 years ago] was different. There was booze all around. But I don’t think alcohol has a grip on you the way certain drugs do.

Your writing is pretty nonpartisan, but you’re a gay man married to another gay man in a state that hasn’t always looked kindly on that. Is Texas weird for you?

I find the Dallas audience very generous. I’ve done shows in El Paso or Odessa, and people are like, “You’re not gonna go there!” Like it would be dangerous for me. The place I stayed in Odessa had a replica of the Ten Commandments in front of the hotel, but the biggest queen who ever lived was behind the front desk and a trans woman was at the hair salon/coffee place in the lobby, and everybody was perfectly lovely to those people. ... On paper, a place can look pretty bad, but when it comes to community, it’s much more tolerant. I find that all over the United States.

It’s such a political time, but meeting people in person has a way of defusing politics.

We all have people in our families who don’t vote the way we do. Am I never going to talk to that person again? No, I love that person. Am I going to devote my time and energy to changing that person’s mind? That’s an insult to them. I’m tired of people saying, you can’t buy anything at such-and-such place, or you’re part of the problem. It’s exhausting. I hate both extremes equally. People tell me, you’re not supposed to hate them equally. Oh, but I do.

I’ve found I just can’t trust anybody who doesn’t laugh.

I think a lot of people feel that way, but everyone’s so afraid. Someone I know who works in theater was having a private conversation about his ex-girlfriend, and a stagehand complained the conversation made him uncomfortable. He got written up for it. It’s not like he was saying, “God, I really miss raping my ex-girlfriend.”

I wonder how we get out of this.

I think it starts by saying to people, “Shut up.” When some person complains to the head of the theater, “I was made to feel uncomfortable, because that person was talking about his ex-girlfriend,” then you say, “This is silly, and you need to shut up.”

But nobody wants to take the hit.

7:30 p.m. April 25. McFarlin Memorial Auditorium at Southern Methodist University, 6405 Boaz Lane, Dallas. $35-$95. dma.org .

Sarah Hepola , Staff Writer . Sarah Hepola is a features staff writer. She has more than 25 years of journalism experience including with the Dallas Observer, Austin Chronicle, Salon.com and Texas Monthly. She is the author of the 2015 best-selling memoir "Blackout" and was the host/creator of the Texas Monthly podcast "America's Girls," about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

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