There is no scientific consensus on whether technology “addiction” exists, or if it does, how to identify and evaluate it. Studies have come out claiming that broad swaths of people are addicted to technology, like one recently that said as many as 34% of college students are addicted to social media, but Satchell investigated the methodology of these studies and found them to be borderline nonsense.

Researchers are just taking a standard set of questions used to evaluate substance abuse—like, for example, “How many times a day do you drink alcohol?”—and then swapping out some language, so that the question might become, “How many times a day do you check social media?”

but how do we account for the fact that much of our social, occupational, or family life takes place on the internet?

He often works with patients whose gaming usage appeared to be an addiction—but instead of focusing on the gaming itself, he’s focused on what’s underneath it. Some patients are often suffering from trauma or depression. When that’s addressed, the gaming subsides

In the mid-1980s, psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan developed what they call the “self-determination theory” of motivation. It identifies three innate human needs— competency, autonomy, and relatedness

A classroom can make kids feel incompetent; the endless rules of school and childhood sap them of autonomy; and the constant overscheduling of kids’ lives can inhibit their ability to relate with peers on their own terms

Therefore, if a parent wants to solve the complex problem of video game overuse, they cannot focus solely on the gaming itself. They must create an environment where their kid has more control over their lives.