Monique Captan said she cannot go 30 minutes without looking at her phone. Captan, advertising junior, said she checks Instagram and Twitter constantly.

“It’s terrible, but I feel like my cellphone is everything, because I can do everything on it,” she said.

More and more people are frequently using and relying on technology, something some worry is becoming an addiction.

Researchers at the University of Maryland asked 200 college students to give up all media for one full day. The researchers found, “after 24 hours many students showed signs of withdrawal, anxiety, along with an inability to function well without their media and social links.”

Susan Moeller, the professor of media who led the project, said they expected the frustration, but not the psychological effects. The students experienced loneliness, panic attacks, anxiety and heart problems.

Lucinda Woodward, professor of psychology, said technically speaking, technology is not an addiction; it is more of an anxiety disorder.

“We may be miss classifying these disorders as addictions when in fact, right now we don’t consider it to be an addiction unless it has a physiological dependence,” Woodward said.

Michael Day, IUS personal psychologist, said people can have addictive responses to technology, but would not say it is addictive by nature.

“There is some interesting new research that suggests that the novelty —that is the fact that there is seemingly an endless supply of novel and different material to be found— stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain in such a way as to make it addictive,” Day said.

Captan said she knows it is a problem for other people, but not for her.

“It’s just a matter of disciplining yourself,” Captan said. “You can’t let it get in your way.

Day said people should evaluate the affects technology is having on them.

By TINA REED

Staff

tinkreed@ius.edu