Interview with Alfonso Cruzado: the addiction to new technologies

The new technologies linked to the world of the Internet and digital have experienced in recent decades a boom that has led them to be used massively around practically the entire world.

But this diversity and popularity of social networks, video games and so on means that organizations have had access to a lot of information about how you can create functionalities capable of "hooking" the user. And it is that in the digital world practically everything is possible, so it is also easy to create constant incentives adapted to each user profile.

This has given way to a problem that in the world of psychology is usually called "addiction to new technologies." Here We will see what it consists of by an expert on the subject, the psychologist Alfonso Cruzado.

• Related article: "Addiction: Disease or Learning Disorder?"

Interview with Alfonso Cruzado: this is how addiction to new technologies develops

Alfonso Cruzado Cardona He is a General Health Psychologist and an expert in addictions to new technologies; Consultation in the city of Ceuta, and also through online therapy by video call. In this interview he talks about the way in which certain electronic devices and platforms Digital media such as Instagram or Facebook are capable of "trapping" us in the dynamics of the addictions.

The term “new technologies” is very broad. Specifically, what type of electronic devices or digital platforms favor dependence on their use the most?

The goal of new technologies is to make our lives easier. In the society in which we currently live, our daily lives are unthinkable without the use of themselves, but they can become a problem, especially for the little ones, if they are not used correct. The use of smartphones, especially in the use of social networks, is currently what most favors dependency.

Bearing in mind that the people who use these technologies the most tend to be young, can it be said that children and adolescents are more exposed to this kind of problem?

Certainly we are all exposed to these problems, although in young people it is observed with greater incidence, due to the fact that they have access to these tools at younger ages.

From what you have seen as a psychologist, would you say that there are a series of common characteristics in the video games with a greater capacity to “catch” users and lead them to lose control of their use of the time?

The excessive use of video games can lead to an addiction. This leads to the development of behaviors such as communication problems, decreased academic performance, attention, family conflicts and even abandonment of other recreational activities. The video game produces an immediate reward system and is always offering you "something new", so it makes it easy to lose track of time.

And as far as social networks are concerned, what are the mechanics and functionalities that you think have the greatest addictive potential?

Social networks, already in themselves, are created so that we “hook” to them. Each photo that we upload and to which we are given a "like" is a dopamine surge that causes well-being, so we tend to repeat said behavior that has given us pleasure.

But this trend often makes us lose track of usage time, makes us isolate ourselves, and fails to control These problems can affect affective disorders, even lowering self-esteem, since it becomes dependent on others people.

Does the fact that there is not much information about these kinds of problems make most of the people take time to see that a problem is brewing in their lives, or in the life of a friend or familiar?

I believe that the population is increasingly aware of this problem, but sometimes they are slow to seek help. In addition, today it is somewhat more difficult to discriminate, due to the health situation we are experiencing. We have spent time confined; a time that in people with this addiction, they have multiplied. When I mean that it is more complicated to discriminate, I mean that everything has become even more digital, and has caused us all to be even more aware of the devices, as well as the networks social.

What is done in the psychologist's office to combat this type of inappropriate patterns of use of new technologies?

The most important thing for the success of the therapy is the recognition of the problem by the patient. As with any addiction, denial is in the early stages and is the first thing to work on. Starting from that point, different objectives are marked, favoring a re-education of the use of the device or platform in question. In the case of children and adolescents, in addition to individual therapy, a therapeutic approach with families is also convenient, so that they are part of the process.