Technology Addictions of Orienting

Orienting is about new directions, and exploration, and always moving on to the next activity (think about cocaine addicts and blackjack players). The technological opportunities for orienting are almost endless: geek life, online role-playing and adventure games, online gambling, computer programming, phreaking, extreme video games, social networking, and so on.

World of Warcraft is both an orienting and a fight response activity. WoW is well-known to be highly addictive for some of its participants (some of whom have written their addictions stories).

On a related note, every hour of television watched daily by kids under four years of age increases their risk of later attention deficit problems by ten percent. So, a child of two who watches three hours of television per day has a thirty percent greater chance of developing attention problems than a child who watches no television. (These types of statistics are always controversial, of course. Research-minded readers may find more information here.)

Additionally, so-called developmental enhancement television and computer programs for small children actually impede, rather than enhance, development. The rapt attention of young children in the presence of television and computer screens represents the orienting response. Such attention is neither developmental nor healthy.

Orienting, Hypervigilance, and Attention Deficit

Orienting addictions have led to an entire class of memes: egosurfing, Wikiholism, CrackBerry, Photolurkers, Cyberchondria, Cheesepodding, Google-stalking, Blog streaking, Infornography, YouTube narcissism, PowerPointlessness, and many others. Orienting addictions are the most common types of technology addiction, just as ADHD is the most common type of childhood behavioral disorder. The former indicates predisposition toward the latter.

The MMORPG Revolution

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (such as World of WarCraft) are now ubiquitous. The average participant spends fourteen hours per week participating. These games have paradoxical consequences which involve both negative consequences (decreased health, well-being, sleep, socialization and academic work) and positive consequences (greater enjoyment than traditional games, increased interest in continuing play, and a rise in the acquisition of new online friendships).

Endgame Syndrome

One of the distinctive features of orienting is rapidly shifting attention. A such, orienters within cultures of technology seek constant change and novelty. When they finish one game, for example, they crave another of greater intensity. This has come to be known as endgame syndrome. It is a nervous system equivalent to dope sickness (among heroin addicts) or post-binge depression (among users of stimulants).