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Tech Addiction Statistics Reveals How Technology & Games Are Designed To Be Addictive

By Edson Kyle Encina | Mar 14, 2017 12:37 PM EDT

Tech addiction statistics indicate that technology is designed to have addictive properties that people naturally develop. In a world filled with the latest technological advancements, it's easy for us to get distracted from our daily tasks.

Especially when it comes to things that easily stimulate excitement such as games, the internet or social media. However, tech addiction statistics show that this is a natural response from humans.

According to NPR, author Adam Alter revealed that the attention span of humans has depreciated within the last decade. The average person's 12-second attention span has now been reduced to 8 seconds.

Even more surprising is that these tech addiction statistics reveal that an average person now has a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. Although that tidbit is certainly a cause for concern, Alter believes that it's just our natural response.

Alter explained that tech gadgets and games are designed to have properties that are deemed addictive. Our brain responds to games on computers or on social media, the same way a brain responds to addictive chemicals such as drugs.

If a CAT scan would be done on a person playing tech gadget games, it would monitor the same activity of a person doing narcotics such as heroine. This is why tech addiction statistics show cases where people spend their entire day gambling in casinos.

The same concept and principle apply to when we get addicted to social media, or perhaps a multiplayer online game. This addictive design certainly poses big problems, especially in cases when individuals would need rehabilitation treatment.

Some tech addiction statistics reveal instances where people game-binge to a point of severely neglecting their health in the process. Although not all forms of tech are considered as doing more harm than good.

According to BizCommunity, researchers are designing tech to counter disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Children with ASD seem to respond to tech AI voices like the iPhone's Siri a lot better than they do with humans.

While some tech addiction statistics might reveal the negative side of tech, the positive side shows how beneficial it is when used efficiently. Then again, we can't really expect every tech company is looking out for us since perhaps some are merely drawing us into a game addiction for their best interests.

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