In the 1990s, I was a counsellor who worked with problem gamblers. In those days, problem gambling was just considered bad behaviour, but I remember thinking then that the gamblers I saw were just as dependent as drug addicts. 
Screen addiction: Brain-imaging evidence reveals similar changes in both substance-addicted and ‘behaviourally addicted’ people, including those addicted to screens.
They were falling to depths that you wouldn’t believe people could reach: playing pokies in nappies, gambling in clubs while their kids waited in the car, spending every single cent on gambling so they couldn’t afford to feed and clothe their kids. It’s a terrible addiction, and now there are very few people who would not agree it is a psychological disorder.
When I qualified as a psychologist and started doing research, I began to focus on screens. By the late 2000s, it was already very clear there was a serious problem emerging with screen-based addiction. In 2010 we got the first tablets and smartphones were becoming popular. Issues relating to screen use multiplied soon after.
Just five years ago, some researchers would have shot me down in flames for suggesting screen use was an addiction, but now it’s a lot easier to talk about it in those terms. Modern definitions of addiction centre around changes in the way the brain and its reward systems function. Brain-imaging evidence reveals similar changes in both substance-addicted and ‘behaviourally addicted’ people, including those addicted to gambling and to screens.
Video gaming is currently the only type of problematic screen use with a clinical diagnosis attached, but the more research we do, the clearer it is that all types of screen use are the same. It doesn’t matter whether it’s online or offline gaming, internet browsing, social media, or smartphones, all these platforms are built on an addiction model, and they can all cause the same problems.
I’ve seen a big upswing in the past 12 months in addiction to reeling (watching the short videos you see on platforms like TikTok and Instagram). Some teenagers tell me they are watching reel after reel after reel and losing hours at a time.
I’m a registered psychologist as well as a researcher, and I specialise in working with children and teenagers who have problematic or disordered screen use. Many of these kids also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as these conditions can make people more susceptible to screen-use problems. When you work with some of these kids, you know you’re seeing addiction. You realise they are not able in any normal, reasonable way to control this behaviour. You see many of the same sort of negative impacts as you do with other addictions: deterioration in mental and physical health, poorer performance at school (and some who stop going to school altogether), not doing important things so you can be on screens, disruptions to diet, sleep and exercise, relationship problems, and difficulties functioning in the offline world.
I’ve seen a big upswing in the past 12 months in addiction to reeling (watching the short videos you see on platforms like TikTok and Instagram). Some teenagers tell me they are watching reel after reel after reel and losing hours at a time. They’re struggling to concentrate on schoolwork and on activities that they used to enjoy. It’s affecting their sleep. It’s impacting their relationships because they’re not fully present for their friends and family.
The reason reels are problematic is because of the way they’re designed. You’re getting lots of little hits of dopamine – a brain chemical linked to pleasure seeking – but without ever getting the feeling of being satisfied that stops the dopamine coming. Each platform’s AI shows you more of what you like, so you keep scrolling to the next one and the next one and the next one because you might find something funnier or cuter or more entertaining. Just like other types of interactive screen platforms, reels are designed to be addictive and the designers are succeeding.
Just a game? Associate Professor Wayne Warburton says he receives letters from parents of gaming addicted adults, who are experiencing marriage breakdowns, job losses and an inability to function in the real world.
In March 2023, I appeared on “Game Changer”, an episode of ABC’s Australian Story, which looked at screen addiction in children and teens and an intervention program we’ve developed to help them. The other day, I received my 100th letter from a parent who had watched the episode and recognised the signs in their own child.
But their child wasn’t at school. In fact, nearly one third of the letters have come from parents of adults, with a number in their late 20s and 30s, and one in their 60s. That really surprised me. They are saying, “My child developed this problem a long time ago. It’s still there in their 30s and it’s ruining their life. They literally do not leave their screens.” We’re talking about serious negative outcomes like divorce, work problems or unemployment, and the inability to function normally in the real world.
- How to put your phone down: tips from a psychologist
- New project empowers migrant women to launch business
The less developed a human brain is, the less the person can manage their impulses. So, young people are more susceptible to screen addiction, but it is increasingly obvious that a lot of adults are affected too. Clearly some teenagers with screen disorders become adults with the same serious problems. This suggests to me that intervening early is important.
We organised the first Australian Gaming and Screens Alliance Symposium in Canberra earlier this year, and it became apparent that there is a dearth of research on older adults with screen disorders. The fact that so many people are writing to me about their kids in their 30s suggests to me that there’s a substantial problem, and one that we need to look at more closely.
Wayne Warburton is an Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University and a registered psychologist.
