A lot of this sounds like the same bogeyman arguments we've heard since the 90s about violence and video games, though I will begrudge that these people are probably more qualified to talk about it than I am. To me, though, this really isn't all that surprising. I remember reading a while back that preteens and teens are now far less likely to be hooked on drugs (other than marijuana, that is), alcohol, or cigarettes than even just a few decades ago, so I suppose we just simply traded those addictions for "screen addiction". Probably a better addiction than the others, at least.
The video games -> violence argument is hard to make, because it involves trying to find a causal relationship in the data. Identifying addictions, though, is fairly straightforward. It doesn't surprise me at all that kids are struggling with addiction to electronics. Our brains probably aren't built to handle so much instant gratification.
Instant gratification makes sense. It makes me wonder if that's why easier "casual" (I loathe the term, but still) games are more popular with younger kids while older kids and adults tend to go for more difficult games.
A lot of this sounds like the same bogeyman arguments we've heard since the 90s about violence and video games, though I will begrudge that these people are probably more qualified to talk about it than I am. To me, though, this really isn't all that surprising. I remember reading a while back that preteens and teens are now far less likely to be hooked on drugs (other than marijuana, that is), alcohol, or cigarettes than even just a few decades ago, so I suppose we just simply traded those addictions for "screen addiction". Probably a better addiction than the others, at least.
The video games -> violence argument is hard to make, because it involves trying to find a causal relationship in the data. Identifying addictions, though, is fairly straightforward. It doesn't surprise me at all that kids are struggling with addiction to electronics. Our brains probably aren't built to handle so much instant gratification.
Instant gratification makes sense. It makes me wonder if that's why easier "casual" (I loathe the term, but still) games are more popular with younger kids while older kids and adults tend to go for more difficult games.