Tech Health Issues

Technology Addiction

Electronic Screen Syndrome 

Cyberbullying 

Microwave Radiation  

Internet related behavioral addictions are now commonly recognized. Behavioral addictions produce short-term rewards that trigger persistent behavior with loss of impulse control, despite the person’s knowledge of adverse consequences  Engagement in these repetitive behaviors can ultimately interfere with individuals health, finances and/or relationships. This is especially dangerous for middle schoolers and teens whose brains are not developed. They are also more susceptible to development of negative habits due to peer pressure and manipulative exploitive marketing. Students become unable or unwilling to read books or effectively verbally communicate. 

Because of the rise in internet related addictions many countries have established both inpatient and outpatient treatment centers with professional guidance and cognitive-behavioral therapy programs; these include South-East Asia, the United States and Europe. (4)   Japan and China have “fasting camps” where individuals are cut off completely from technology.  “Electronic Heroin” China’s Boot Camps for Internet Addicts   In the United states the reSTART program in Seattle  treats those with addiction to internet, virtual reality, social media and video gaming. They state that one should “Connect With Life, Not Your Device”.

At the Bradford Regional Medical Center in Pennsylvania Psychologist Kimberly Young runs an inpatient  “10 day Digital Detox” program. Using cognitive therapy with educational classes they teach people new coping mechanisms when they enter the “real world”, understanding that it is difficult for people to have total abstinence from the internet.  Bradford Regional Medical Center Internet Rehabilitation Center

In San Francisco the Paradigm San Francisco has been operating since 2006 treating teens for a variety of mental health issues including teen addiction which has risen dramatically in the last several years. It is a 30 day in house program located in Marin County.Paradigm San Francisco

Psychotherapist and addiction specialist Nicholas Kardaras explains how digital screens may have a negative effect on children’s heath. He is author of Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids and How to Break the Trance, which highlights an abundance of scientific data on adverse effects of digital technology overuse. As an experienced practitioner he has observed how excessive screen time can lead to ADHD, screen addiction, increased aggression, depression, anxiety and even psychosis. He gives advice to parents and schools alike on when to introduce digital media. He has asked Congress to put a warning label on digital screens stating “WARNING: Excessive Screen Usage By Children Can Lead to Clinical Disorders” 

Increasing numbers of children in the US are being diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed stimulants. Meanwhile, the average child is spending 4-9 hours interacting with screen devices on a daily basis, an activity stimulating enough to alter brain chemistry, raise stress hormones, desynchronize the body clock, and produce addiction. Numerous studies link screen-time to poor impulse control, attention and learning issues, lower grades, and sleep disturbance, yet recommendations to reduce or eliminate screens are not routinely given, and when they are they are felt to be largely ineffective by both giver and receiver. 

In Dr. Dunckley’s experience in working with hundreds of ADHD children and their families over the last decade, what’s missing to successfully treat these children in today’s world is two-fold: 

1. having a clear understanding of how screen stimulation negatively impacts the nervous system, and 2) 
2. having a concrete plan for screen management based on individual tolerability—not just blanket guidelines.  

Now known as the Reset Program, her protocol utilizes an extended “electronic fast,” which permits the detuned and overstimulated nervous system to rest, rebalance, and resynch itself to a more natural and calm state—the very state that optimizes frontal lobe functioning. By removing what’s irritating the brain and giving it what it needs instead to thrive, the Reset can dramatically enhance focus and school performance, reduce defiance and impulsivity, and improve mood regulation and stress tolerance—all while clarifying diagnosis and minimizing the need for medication.  

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior.

The most common places where cyberbullying occurs are:

• Social Media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok
• Text messaging and messaging apps on mobile or tablet devices
• Instant messaging, direct messaging, and online chatting over the internet
• Online forums, chat rooms, and message boards, such as Reddit
• Email
• Online gaming communities

Special Concerns:

With the prevalence of social media and digital forums, comments, photos, posts, and content shared by individuals can often be viewed by strangers as well as acquaintances. The content an individual shares online – both their personal content as well as any negative, mean, or hurtful content – creates a kind of permanent public record of their views, activities, and behavior. This public record can be thought of as an online reputation, which may be accessible to schools, employers, colleges, clubs, and others who may be researching an individual now or in the future. Cyberbullying can harm the online reputations of everyone involved – not just the person being bullied, but those doing the bullying or participating in it. Cyberbullying has unique concerns in that it can be:

• Persistent – Digital devices offer an ability to immediately and continuously communicate 24 hours a day, so it can be difficult for children experiencing cyberbullying to find relief.
• Permanent – Most information communicated electronically is permanent and public, if not reported and removed. A negative online reputation, including for those who bully, can impact college admissions, employment, and other areas of life.
• Hard to Notice – Because teachers and parents may not overhear or see cyberbullying taking place, it is harder to recognize.

Laws and Sanctions:

All states have laws requiring schools to respond to bullying. As cyberbullying has become more prevalent with the use of technology, many states now include cyberbullying, or mention cyberbullying offenses, under these laws. Schools may take action either as required by law, or with local or school policies that allow them to discipline or take other action. Some states also have provisions to address bullying if it affects school performance. You can learn about the laws and policies in each state, including if they cover cyberbullying.

Frequency of Cyberbullying:

There are two sources of federally collected data on youth bullying:

• The 2017 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice) indicates that, among students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, 15% were bullied online or by text.
• The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) indicates that an estimated 15.7% of high school students were electronically bullied in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Schools are a unique environment because there are so many wireless devices in each room.  All wireless devices (including cell phones, cordless landline phones, any item with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capability, etc.) generate and emit invisible electromagnetic radiation called radiofrequency (RFR). Children will spend several hours a day in classrooms with wireless exposures. 

A growing amount of scientific research links this wireless radiation to serious health effects on health—such as memory and sleep problems, headaches, cancer, and damage to brain development. 

Wireless radiation penetrates deeper into children’s brains due to their thinner skulls and unique physiology. Children’s brains and immune systems are still developing, therefore they are more vulnerable to the effects. 

Physician groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Vienna Medical Association, and the Athens Medical Association are among the many international medical organizations that have issued recommendations to the public to reduce exposure to cell phone radiation. 

Countries such as France, Cyprus, and Israel have banned wireless in young children’s classrooms as their public health authorities recommend reducing children’s exposure to RF.

In several letters sent to school districts, physicians strongly recommended wired connections for technology in classrooms to eliminate unnecessary wireless radiation exposures.

You can read more science specific to children at EHTrust.org.