What is technology addiction? What are the three mechanisms of addiction?
Technology addiction is a controversial concept, as some experts believe addiction requires the use of mind-altering substances. However, Adam Alter argues that, on a neuropsychological level, technology can be as addictive as any substance.
Below we’ll break down what makes something an addiction to show how technology fits the definition.
How Is Technology an Addiction?
What is technology addiction, and is it even real? A behavioral addiction is something you can’t stop doing even though it does more harm than good, usually because you pursue it to the exclusion of your needs. Alter says that if you have a behavioral addiction to technology (we’ll call this a “technology addiction” going forward), you use technology so much that it interferes with your ability to lead a healthy life. For example, if you’re addicted to social media, you might be glued to it when you should be working, eating, sleeping, or being social. Prioritizing social media over other parts of life might be OK every once in a while, but when it becomes habitual, it has cumulative negative effects on your well-being.
(Shortform note: Researchers haven’t yet reached a consensus on the definition of technology addiction. As we’ll discuss, some experts don’t believe you can be addicted to technology. Those who do recognize technology addiction as a legitimate phenomenon disagree about what counts as technology addiction. For example, some experts define technology addiction in terms of behaviors—like excessive texting or online sex—while others’ definitions are focused on specific platforms, like the internet, smartphones, and social media. Additionally, experts disagree about what amount of technology use is healthy, and the limit varies from person to person anyway—what’s healthy for a computer scientist may not be healthy for a park ranger.)
Alter explains that our understanding of addiction has evolved: Humans have always used and become addicted to naturally occurring substances, like the nicotine inside tobacco plants. But we only began to understand substance addiction after early pharmacologists developed powerful drugs like cocaine. Experts promoted those drugs, leading to widespread substance addiction, until they began to observe addiction’s negative effects in the late 1800s. Alter says that emerging technologies are being adopted at an equally rapid pace, and we’re just beginning to learn that they can be addictive, too.
(Shortform note: Although Alter argues that we didn’t begin to understand substance addiction until the late 1800s, experts knew that a much older substance—alcohol—could be addictive years earlier. As early as 1813, some medical experts believed that alcohol abuse was a physical disease, and the first comprehensive book on alcoholism was published in 1819. Many cultures throughout history understood the dangers associated with overuse of alcohol, but this was the first time alcoholism was understood as a medical problem. As Alter explains, medical classifications evolve over time; gambling was the first behavioral addiction to be recognized, and experts say more research is needed before they’ll recognize other proposed behavioral addictions.)
Three Mechanisms of Addiction
Alter explains that according to decades of studies on both animals and people, both substance addictions and behavioral addictions are facilitated by three mechanisms—and he suggests that technology addiction functions in much the same way. Let’s explore those three mechanisms:
We’ll call the first mechanism the pleasure cycle. First, the substance or behavior produces a rush of dopamine, a neurochemical that creates the sensation of pleasure (also known as a high). This rush of dopamine is so large that it disrupts your brain’s normal balance of dopamine. As you continue using the substance or engaging in the behavior, you develop a tolerance—you produce less dopamine with each occasion, so you need more of the substance or behavior to recreate your first high. In between those occasions, your brain produces very little dopamine; this causes you to feel very low, which can be difficult to cope with.
(Shortform note: Experts clarify that tolerance isn’t about the amount of dopamine your brain produces—it’s about changes in your brain’s dopamine receptors. Repeated exposure to high dopamine levels causes the brain to reduce the number or sensitivity of dopamine receptors. As a result, even if dopamine is released, the brain experiences less pleasure because the receptors are less responsive. This is why some cannabis users take tolerance breaks, abstaining from the substance to reset their sensitivity levels (although it’s not clear how effective tolerance breaks are). In Dopamine Detox, personal development coach Thibaut Meurisse argues that you can use a similar approach to reset your sensitivity to technology.)
The pleasure cycle is the physiological basis of addiction. The second mechanism, which we’ll call emotional vulnerability, is the psychological basis of addiction—you need both bases to be truly addicted to something. Alter explains that humans are wired to seek external comforts that produce dopamine when we experience emotional stress—for example, you might vent to a friend or go for a run. People with addictions are emotionally vulnerable because they don’t develop healthy coping mechanisms. Instead, they turn to substances or unhealthy behaviors for a comforting dose of pleasure (dopamine). With repeated use, addicted persons teach themselves a lasting lesson—that the substance or behavior soothes emotional distress.
(Shortform note: This second mechanism of addiction helps explain why people who had traumatic childhoods are more likely to struggle with addiction. Children can deal with trauma in healthy ways if they receive emotional support from adults and if the adults around them model healthy coping skills, since kids learn by example. But many children who experience trauma don’t have access to such resources and learn to cope with stress in unhealthy ways because those strategies are more accessible or familiar. For example, children of alcoholics may also turn to substance abuse because that’s what they saw their parents do. When addiction serves as an unhealthy coping mechanism, part of treatment is learning healthier alternatives.)
The third mechanism of addiction is memory. Alter says that if someone finds pleasure and emotional comfort in a substance or behavior, they’ll form strong, positive, subconscious memories of the object of addiction. So long as reminders of how it’s helped them persist, they’ll continue seeking it out, even if they understand it’s not good for them and want to stop. These positive memories can trigger deeply entrenched cravings and override their rational intentions to abstain. For example, someone who enters a rehab facility might lose the desire to use marijuana but relapse when they return home and see their bong.
(Shortform note: Experts say there are two kinds of triggers that can evoke the strong memories that lead recovering addicts to relapse. Environmental triggers exist in your surroundings, like the bong in the example above. Mental triggers are thoughts and feelings that remind you of how much the object of your addiction used to help you get through stressful situations or have a good time. Because triggers can be difficult to avoid, about half of people in recovery from addiction relapse, and this relationship motivates researchers to investigate pharmaceutical treatments for addiction that make triggers less powerful by targeting the patient’s memories. Understanding and learning to manage personal triggers can also help those in recovery.)
