Internet
 "Internet addiction even worries Silicon Valley" - Raw Story (July 2012)
"Internet Porn: Its Problems, Perils, and Pitfalls" - Psychology Today (June 2012)
"WE live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection. At home, families sit together, texting and reading e-mail. At work executives text during board meetings. We text (and shop and go on Facebook) during classes and when we’re on dates. My students tell me about an important new skill: it involves maintaining eye contact with someone while you text someone else; it’s hard, but it can be done." - The New York Times (April 2012)
"Brain research on Internet addiction points in only one direction" - Psychology Today (March 2012)
"So some parental conditions for car use may be: don't drive and drink or drug; don't drive and talk on the cell phone; don't exceed the speed limits. And just as parents have a need to know where the teenager travels in the car, they need to know where he travels on the Internet." - Psychology Today (Feb 2012)
"What’s the perfect Cyber diet for your kid?" - Psychology Today (Jan 2012)
"Why Shouldn’t Johnny Watch Porn If He Likes?" - Psychology Today (Oct 2011)
"Turkle is concerned that teenagers' reliance on their phones and social media may leave them unable to converse effectively, to develop empathy and – just as importantly – cope with being alone or with awkward social situations by "bailing out" via their cell phones." - Guardian (July 2011)
"Sweden and the US are two countries in which increased leisure use of computers by children leads to poorer reading ability." - Science Daily (May 2011)
"With that said, a recent international study (more than 1000 students from ten countries across five continents) that asked students to disconnect from technology for 24 hours revealed results and insights that were startling, disturbing, sobering, and just a little bit hopeful. Just to give you a little taste of the findings, the adjectives most frequently associated with this period of disconnection were addiction, failure, boredom, confusion, distress, loneliness, anxiety, and depression; not one feel-good descriptor in the bunch. On a positive note, about 25 percent of the sample actually saw the benefits of unplugging." - Psychology Today (April 2011)
"Sleep and the Internet Addict" - Psychology Today (Sept 2011)
"The widespread use of Internet porn is one of the fastest-moving, most global experiments ever unconsciously conducted. But it's not the only groundbreaking porn experiment going on today." - Psychology Today (March 2012)
"Study: 'Hyper-Texting' Teens More Likely to Have Had Sex, Tried Drugs" - Time (Nov 2010)
"Ever find yourself sitting down at the computer just for a second to find out what other movie you saw that actress in, only to look up and realize the search has led to an hour of Googling? Thank dopamine. Our internal sense of time is believed to be controlled by the dopamine system. People with hyperactivity disorder have a shortage of dopamine in their brains, which a recent study suggests may be at the root of the problem. For them even small stretches of time seem to drag." - Slate (Aug 2009)
"Over the course of 16 months, researchers monitored the children's time spent on the Internet, along with other areas such as academic performance—measured by GPA and standardized test scores. Across both genders, academic performance was higher for students who spent more time on the Web than those who spent less time. The effects remained consistent throughout the course of the study... Jackson, however, does not suggest a "more is better" policy when it comes to time spent on the Web. The students in her study averaged only 30 minutes a day of Internet use. "Excessive time online is likely to detract from other activities that contribute to good academic performance, as well as social and emotional development," she stresses." - Psychology Today (Oct 2007)
Facebook
"Facebook Wants Your Kids" - Psychology Today (June 2012)
"A study this year by psychology students at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga., found that the more time young people spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to have lower grades and weaker study habits. Heavy Facebook users show signs of being more gregarious, but they are also more likely to be anxious, hostile or depressed. Almost a quarter of today's teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to a 2009 survey by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that monitors media's impact on families." - Psychology Today (Feb 2012)
"Facebook and Twitter 'more addictive than tobacco and alcohol'" - The Telegraph (Feb 2012) and Psychology Today (Feb 2012)
"Research over the past several years shows that heavy users of social media tend to be less happy than non-users. But a new academic study now suggests that social media tools like Facebook can also affect how we perceive the happiness of others." - Voice of America (Feb 2012)
"The more you invest in competing with your Facebook friends and trying to improve your virtual identity, the less your true self--the one you are left with when there's no Facebook or electricity--thrives and succeeds.
Which is why I made a decision to pull myself out of my own miserable situation. I quit Facebook.
(Disclaimer: I'm not completely off the network. I need it for my job, but I don't make any pictures or relevant information public. I usually post interesting articles or pictures from around the web, never anything about my personal life. I have also unsubscribed from every friend and acquaintance on my newsfeed.)
Since then, my life has changed in unspeakable ways. The feeling I have is something akin to a former addict who can now boast she has been sober for two months and counting." - Psychology Today (Dec 2011)
"A Facebook Profile for Your Toddler. Really? " - Psychology Today (Oct 2011)
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Behavioral Addiction
"The reason a behavioral addictions like gambling and potentially others, will be recognized is because the research results (including neurological evidence) are now irrefutable. It turns out that there is a "pleasure pathway" in the brain that lights up when we experience pleasure. The body releases a combination of neurochemicals, including dopamine and the opiates, which are picked up by receptors in the brain and elsewhere in the body. These chemicals make us feel good. If a lot is released and picked up, we call it feeling "high". This high occurs through the ingestion of certain psychotropic chemicals, like alcohol, and also through behaviors and thoughts. When we "fall in love" we are high on these neurochemicals. When we enjoy playing video games or get caught up in gambling, we experience a similar euphoria. These highs are not something to be worried about, in moderation. The addiction begins to take hold, however, when we do it too much. Then the brain is forced to withdraw neuro-receptors in an effort to restore balance. This is what we call tolerance, and we no longer get the high from the same level of activity or drug use. Now, we need more. And if we go without, we go into withdrawal. In the case of behavioral addictions, that withdrawal involves primarily psychological symptoms (irritability, restlessness, poor concentration, increased anxiety and depression, etc)." - Psychology Today (Nov 2011)
"Dopamine Makes You Addicted To Seeking Information" - The W Blog (Nov 2009)
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