Various addiction doctors: "A young child's brain using a computer is identical to a brain on drugs" - Polidicks

[B][I]BREAKING NEWS:[/I][/B] "A NEW STUDY HAS FOUND THAT VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES CAUSE VIOLENCE!" really wtf is this crap?

I will admit that i.e. playing games on a computer is comparable with drugs as it's recreational entertainment.. .. but then TV is too, and theater, and pretty much anything is drugs aka dopamine.

I fucking love it how TV is given a pass. Computers require thought and input. TV is a literal waste of time unless you produce the product. Even minecraft addicted kids are better of than people who claim to spend their entire weekend binge-watching netflix series.

i do think it is self evident that computers are certainly changing the way we think. whether or not it is for better or worse is to be determined, they haven't been around long enough to get a full idea of how they really are affecting us.

[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;50975085]Can we disbar posts from the newspaper that posted this please? [IMG]http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/5698a0652a00002c0003093f.jpeg?cache=8iboilirfr[/IMG] EDIT: Oh, the source IS banned. No wonder. That article is trash and the newspaper itself is trash. I mean, lmao, I've been using computers since I was 3 years old. I'm studying in university for christ's sake, I'm hardly on something similar to drugs...[/QUOTE] Are you saying being on drugs somehow lowers your chances of studying at uni? since what ive seen from uni theres a lot of prescription use of stuff like Ritalin and other performance boosters going around there. Just wanted to give you that perspective, not to call you out as a druggie or whatever.

the real breaking news is that this thread isn't locked yet

[QUOTE=Blizzerd;50977178]Are you saying being on drugs somehow lowers your chances of studying at uni? since what ive seen from uni theres a lot of prescription use of stuff like Ritalin and other performance boosters going around there. Just wanted to give you that perspective, not to call you out as a druggie or whatever.[/QUOTE] The idea of drugs causing educational problems is typically the perspective of older people. I'm not sure how true it is (though I don't think you can deny that addition likely has a seriously negative affect on education depending on the type of drug) but that's essentially what the comparison between computer use and drug taking means here. I'm curious to see what the correlation is between going to university and drug taking is. I should have clarified further I have literally never taken any recreational drugs (legal or illegal) so my perspective on the whole issue is going to be widely different than everyone else's.

[QUOTE=Govna;50975106]Technology addiction exists, and it has a presence worth investigating in our society. This is a well-established phenomenon and has been for decades now. Radio, TV, now computers and smartphones have had interesting psychological impacts on people. Just wanted to point this out, in spite of the source being shit.[/QUOTE] There's many a time I think I'd be better off having never owned a computer

The only tech addiction is when parents let their kids just sit endlessly on their iPads. Like its important for kids to get up and be active and outside for their childhood for atleast a certain degree. But to be addicted to the internet, that's just silly talk, talk to anyone who regularly gives into Wikipedia Syndrome and they'll be alot smarter than their average joe.

[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;50977800]The idea of drugs causing educational problems is typically the perspective of older people. I'm not sure how true it is (though I don't think you can deny that addition likely has a seriously negative affect on education depending on the type of drug) but that's essentially what the comparison between computer use and drug taking means here. I'm curious to see what the correlation is between going to university and drug taking is. I should have clarified further I have literally never taken any recreational drugs (legal or illegal) so my perspective on the whole issue is going to be widely different than everyone else's.[/QUOTE] Anecdotal evidence, but I was a pretty heavy drug user for a while and I came out of uni with a 1st class degree [editline]31st August 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;50977814]The only tech addiction is when parents let their kids just sit endlessly on their iPads. Like its important for kids to get up and be active and outside for their childhood for atleast a certain degree. But to be addicted to the internet, that's just silly talk, talk to anyone who regularly gives into Wikipedia Syndrome and they'll be alot smarter than their average joe.[/QUOTE] Addiction isn't about making you less smart, it's not saying that 'internet addicts' aren't intelligent. The issue with addiction is the long-term effect it has on your neurochemistry

This is [b]not[/b] your brain on drugs.

[QUOTE=Ardosos;50975406]If it wasn't for the internet I would have no contact with people at all. I would have nothing to do really, just stare at the wall all day I guess. At least with computers it at least gives me the illusion that I'm getting something done. [editline]e[/editline] My point is while technology might be like a drug and it's definitely worth further investigation, the benefits probably outweigh that.[/QUOTE] No, you'd probably get bored and go out and do things eventually.

[QUOTE=strayebyrd;50978316]Anecdotal evidence, but I was a pretty heavy drug user for a while and I came out of uni with a 1st class degree [editline]31st August 2016[/editline] Addiction isn't about making you less smart, it's not saying that 'internet addicts' aren't intelligent. The issue with addiction is the long-term effect it has on your neurochemistry[/QUOTE] Your second paragraph is actually what I should have been saying, apologies for that. Taking drugs doesn't necessarily make you less intelligent and certainly you're not less intelligent for taking them in the first place - so many people are forced into them by peer pressure or they are looking for a way to relax - but it does have long term effects I'd be concerned about, as well as addiction and what that can do to you. I'm curious to really hear the statistics about it because I've heard the stories go both ways - there are people who've done drugs that have continued to live normal lives and achieved quite a number of things, and then there are those who've taken drugs and it's ruined their lives. It really seems to be an either or for people and I wonder if that's down to personality traits or something I'm missing.