Читать книгу Overcoming Internet Addiction For Dummies - David N. Greenfield - Страница 63

One challenge in the battle against Internet and screen addiction is that the Internet is often promoted as a tool for improving productivity and academic performance in school, but this is not actually the case. The reality is that most of the time children and adolescents spend on their devices is not necessarily productive nor academic. Furthermore, the relationship between academic performance and screen use is far from conclusive. Increased distractibility, time distortion, reduced attention span, boredom intolerance, and a variety of cognitive and psychological changes seem to be related to higher levels of Internet screen use. Additionally, on average, school-age and college-age kids typically use their screens many hours per day, with only a small percentage of that time devoted to academic pursuits.

Obviously, during the COVID pandemic, use of screens became a virtual lifeline for school and social connection. This increased reliance on screens has made balanced use even more complex, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are many ways to live with less screen time, including spending less time on smartphones.

The Internet and all the screens connected to it are not inherently problematic, but rather serve to be a potent distractor from less stimulating activities, such as school, sleep, self-care, work, chores, and so on, and there is a tendency to find previously motivating pursuits less rewarding due to reward deficiency syndrome. This topic is discussed in more detail in Chapters 2, 4, and 10.

In addition, while computers and the Internet are often presented as a necessary tool for learning, you rarely hear about them being used as a popular tool for cheating, even though it is a common practice. As reported by Common Sense Media in 2019, teens are using their smartphones to “cheat” on homework, tests, or other assignments.