Ross A. Laird

Technology addictions obey the same principles as substance addictions; that is to say, the addiction involves uncompleted impulses and fractured imprinting typically derived from childhood experience (this is not universally the case, but is almost universally the case). The nature of the addiction involves the way in which the addiction completes, temporarily, the unfinished imprinting:

• Flight response substances allow one to fly away
• Freeze response substances enable stillness and solace
• Orienting response substances stimulate action and exploration
• Fight response substances enable the illusion of empowerment

The more childhood difficulty an individual experiences, the more likely the individual is to seek multiple substances in adolescence.

The Link to Technology

• Flight response technologies allow one to fly away
• Freeze response technologies enable stillness and solace
• Orienting response technologies stimulate action and exploration
• Fight response technologies enable the illusion of empowerment

The more childhood difficulty an individual experiences, the more likely the individual is to seek multiple technologies in adolescence.

In a Nutshell:

Adolescence begins with the brain pruning stage at roughly age eleven and continues until the end of the twenties (for the youth of today). This long period of development involves the integration of previous developmental stages. Incomplete or fragmented childhood imprinting re-emerges as adolescent psychological difficulty. Addiction is one method of easing the stress of such unfinished imprinting -- by completing it temporarily. (Another method involves cultural inclusion and group formation; more on these later).