Hooked on technology
By LiveWire | theage.com.au | 28 February
Since she got her first mobile phone in 2003, 18-year old Michele Limpert has owned more than 100 handsets.
Chewing through mobile phones at a rate of about two a month, Ms Limpert readily admits to an obsessive relationship with personal technology. In the final two months of last year alone Ms Limpert sent 5910 SMS text messages.
Massive bills and a voracious appetite for new mobile phones are testament to her addictive use of technology. She hates being without her latest phone, a Sony Ericsson K800i. "I'm lost without it - literally," she says.
The so-called addictive nature of digital technology is open to debate and research on the topic is scarce, but mental health workers are starting to see more people experiencing obsessive relationships with digital technology, from the compulsive use of mobile phones to excessive hours spent online.
RMIT lecturer John Lenarcic specialises in computer addiction.
He believes a person's relationship with technology becomes an addiction when "it takes up most of your life". He says when people talk about technology addiction, "they probably get it confused with addiction of narcotic substances and things like that"."
I think of addiction with technology as more like being an obsession because of the fact that technology exists to make life easier for people but sometimes it actually fills up their time," he says.
Mr Lenarcic believes the excessive use of technology, such as hours spent downloading material from the internet or playing online games, can lead to other health-related side effects such as sleeplessness and weight gain."
Some people have said that could be what's contributing to the obesity epidemic people are talking about at the moment," he says. "In the past people weren't shackled to their machines."
Consultant psychiatrist Izzy Osowicki has found that an obsessive use of technology often leads to financial distress. "When is it addiction and when is it normal is not specifically about whether they use it too much, but actually it's a measure in terms of how much it costs," he says.
Ms Limpert freely acknowledges her obsessive attachment to mobile phones. Despite using the device perpetually throughout the day and night, she is often surprised when expensive bills arrive. "When I was on the $69 cap I went over it by an extra $2000; that was only about four months ago," she says. Her father, who pays her mobile bills, was understandably upset.
The house Ms Limpert shares with her mother and younger sister is spotlessly clean, its walls adorned with art work she creates. The black, white and orange abstract faces fashioned from wallpaper suggest a creative maturity that contrasts with her compulsive use of mobiles to stay in contact with her friends at all times.
With each new handset, Ms Limpert feels compelled to explore the range of options it presents, often to combat boredom. "I'll sit there downloading music or playing games. If I get bored with the games I've got, I'll download more games.
If I get too bored, I'll start taking photos," she says.
Apart from using her phone for SMS and chatting, her 3G handset also functions as an internet modem for her notebook computer and as a means to chat on MSN Messenger and to update her MySpace page.
Ms Limpert is typical of her age group in her swift grasp of personal technology and she is quick to establish how different devices can be used in conjunction with one another. She creates slideshows from digital photos and shows them on her plasma television. She also loves using her digital still cameras and has several video cameras, from a DVD camcorder to outdated tape-based models.
Clinical psychologist Roni Kabillo has treated several people who have had addictive relationships with computers and online games, some of whom have spent up to 16 hours a day playing online games such as World of Warcraft and RuneScape. "In the cases I'm familiar with, it's entirely to do with internet, interactive online games of a particular variety, where you have a character and you develop your character through various challenges," he says.
Dr Kabillo says there is a fine line between healthy online game playing and internet addiction, but believes there are some clear signs of compulsive behaviour. "I think in this category addiction would be where you're really not exercising other forms of socialisation."
Dr Kabillo has found that addiction to online gaming is more common among young men, particularly among those who are uncomfortable in social settings. He believes anxiety disorders are often the cause of online gaming addictions.
Dr Kabillo says online gaming addicts differ significantly from compulsive online gamblers. Gamers tend to be extroverts, "out there trying things and being reckless and that sort of erratic lifestyle", he says, adding that they will often drift into online gambling.
Steven (not his real name) knows just how addictive online games can be. He now works full-time in customer service for an insurance company but several years ago his days and nights were dominated by World of Warcraft, a fantasy-based online game in which players create characters who battle other players.
Steven, 24, has weaned himself off the game but at his peak he would spend up to 40 hours a week playing, plunging him into insomnia in the process. He became fearful of large crowds and eventually dropped out of his university course. Playing World of Warcraft became a method for coping with stress and escaping the outside world. "Some people go for a drink at the pub or do whatever, take drugs. I don't think this is any different," Steven says.
"You just get in there and you just play and forget about what you have to do and stresses because you're in the game."
In China, extreme cases of internet addiction led to the establishment of a dedicated clinic at the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital. The clinic, geared towards patients aged from 14 to 24, began treating patients in 2005 with a dozen nurses and 11 doctors.
A report in the Washington Post said the clinic had treated patients who had been using the internet for up to 15 hours a day without a break. Patients are closely monitored and some are reportedly given shock treatments and administered drugs to speed their recovery.
The Beijing clinic is one of several around the world that treat online gaming addicts. Others are in South Korea and in Amsterdam.
Compulsive gamers also risk damaging their physical health, according to hand therapist Hamish Anderson. Last year the American Society of Hand Therapists released a statement warning parents to limit the time their children spend using computers, video games, MP3 players and mobile phones to avoid injury.
Mr Anderson says Australian parents should heed the warning. Although injuries caused by playing video games are rare in Australia, he believes the potential for injury from prolonged and repetitive use of digital gadgets and computers is beyond doubt.
"It requires fast, repetitive action of relatively minor or small muscles and asking them to repeat a procedure over and over and over again," he says. "If you do it for long enough I wouldn't be at all surprised if you developed an inflammation or tendonitis of some sort."
Mr Lenarcic says adult IT enthusiasts and early adopters, such as those in the business community who first latched on to devices such as the BlackBerry, are also susceptible to technology addiction.
Andrew Freeman, a partner in a Melbourne accounting firm, jokes that his "CrackBerry", a reference to its addictive properties, intrudes into every aspect of his life.
Mr Freeman, 44, acknowledges that his family "hates this machine" as it often distracts him when he is spending the limited time he has available with them.
"You think you're paying attention to the person but you're actually really paying attention to your CrackBerry," he says.
But Mr Freeman believes his BlackBerry Pearl is essential to working efficiently, even if it means responding to clients with the device as late as 11pm. He receives up to 70 emails a day, reading and responding to many of them on his BlackBerry. Even on holidays, Mr Freeman keeps his BlackBerry switched on, his thumbs poised to respond to a client's question. When his BlackBerry access was temporarily cut off recently, panic set in.
"I was getting (emails) on my computer but no longer getting emails on my BlackBerry and it was driving me nuts," he admits. "After three days of that, it was horrible."
Mr Freeman may be more productive, constantly firing off emails on his BlackBerry, but the device did nothing to relieve the pressures of his job. "I don't think it's less stressful. I think in some ways they perhaps create more stress. You're thinking about it. You just can't help yourself."
First published by TheAge.com.au on February 28 2008
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