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New Research and Information about Internet Use, Abuse, and Addiction

http://mashable.com/2014/03/14/tech-brains-neuroplasticity/?utm_cid=mash-pro

By |March 17th, 2014|Uncategorized|1 Comment

Technology and Internet: The world’s largest slot machine

tech addictionThe American Psychiatric Association is in the midst of a major debate on whether Internet Addiction should be classified and treated as a recognized disorder like depression and anxiety. In the case of video game use, I equate the positive feeling associated with gaming as a dopamine surge that follows the variable reinforcement schedule found in digital games.

Here’s the full article from the online news site Multibriefs giving you further background into the problem as well as some suggested ways to avoid this pitfall. During my interview for the story, I point out that the physiology behind these games affects the player much like a slot machine.

The full article is available here:

Technology and Internet: The world’s largest slot machine

By |March 13th, 2014|Internet Addiction, Uncategorized, Unplug, Video Gaming|1 Comment

Sticking to New Year’s Resolutions: 10 Tips

BergenAs the year 2014 moves forward, many of us find our well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions slowly slipping away. In a well-written article just published in  Bergen Health & Life, here are 10 proven techniques that will help you to reach your goals.

See Section 9 for my advice on how to take a “holiday” from your smartphone and help break your unconscious conditioning to all-things-digital.

Hit Restart on the New Year: 10 Ways to Get Back on Track

By |March 13th, 2014|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Sticking to New Year’s Resolutions: 10 Tips

New Interview on Radio MD: Are You Addicted to the Internet?

RadioMD InterviewI was recently interviewed on RadioMD on a range of Internet related topics including Facebook, Twitter, Google, and smartphone addiction. The host of the show, Melanie Cole, MS and I discuss why cell phone and Internet addiction are on the rise and what treatment options are available.

You can find this interview posted on the RadioMD web site here:

Are You Addicted to the Internet? From the show: Staying Well

You can also listen to the full interview on this same page by clicking on the “Listen Now” button.

By |March 13th, 2014|Internet Addiction, Interview, Smartphone|2 Comments

Behind the Scenes of ‘Candy Crush Saga’

With revenues of $1,884,301,000 for 2013 (yes, that’s 1 Billion $ with a capital B), gaming producer King Digital Entertainment is basking in the success of its gaming sensation ‘Candy Crush Saga’. Although game play is free for starters, gamers must wait 30 minutes to advance to the next level, pay a small fee to King Digital, or ask their Facebook friends for “support”.

For some users, however this “small fee” adds up to big dollars, as was the case for Alie Badillo (in the photo) who dropped $1000 last year on Candy Crush.

The online Blog Mashable recently did an expose covering the behind the scenes story of some ‘Candy Crush Saga’ video gamers and asked me for my opinion on this new gaming phenomenon.

You can read the complete story here:

These People Are Making the Creator of ‘Candy Crush’ Rich

By |March 5th, 2014|Internet Addiction, Video Gaming|Comments Off on Behind the Scenes of ‘Candy Crush Saga’

Violent Video Games: The Cultural Ethic of Violence

say no to violent video games

Violent Reaction

We seem to love violence in our culture.  We entertain with it.  We advertise with it on the news. We act almost as if violence is desirable—but of course it isn’t. We play video games that teach us how to improve our killing skills. In a digital world clamoring to obtain our moment of focused attention, it seems that only the extreme rises to the top of our consciousness.  What of the fact that Americans seem to have a love/hate affair with violence? After all, our country was founded on violent political overthrow and our constitution (as we are hearing all too often these days) guarantees the right for all of us […]

By |December 13th, 2013|Dr. Dave's Blog|2 Comments