Withdrawal symptoms experienced by young people deprived of gadgets and technology is compared to those felt by drug addicts or smokers going “cold turkey”， a study has concluded。
Researchers found nearly four in five students had significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion and extreme isolation when forced to unplug from technology for an entire day。
They found college students at campuses across the globe admitted being “addicted” to modern technology such as mobile phones, laptops and television as well as social networking such as Facebook and Twitter。
A “clear majority" of almost 1,000 university students, interviewed at 12 campuses in 10 countries, including Britain, America and China, were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day, they concluded。
The University of Maryland research described students’ thoughts in vivid detail, in which they admit to cravings, anxiety attacks and depression when forced to abstain from using media。
One unnamed American college student told of their overwhelming cravings, which they confessed was similar to “itching like a crackhead (crack cocaine addict)”。
The study concluded that “most students... failed to go the full 24 hours without media”。
The research, titled The World Unplugged, also found students used “virtually the same words to describe their reactions”. These included emotions such as fretful, confused, anxious, irritable, insecure, nervous, restless, crazy, addicted, panicked, jealous, angry, lonely, dependent, depressed, jittery and paranoid。
Prof Susan Moeller, who led the research, said technology had changed the students’ relationships。
"Students talked about how scary it was, how addicted they were,” she said。
"They expected the frustration. But they didn't expect to have the psychological effects, to be lonely, to be panicked, the anxiety, literally heart palpitations。
“Technology provides the social network for young people today and they have spent their entire lives being ‘plugged in’。”
一項研究得出結(jié)論說，年輕人被迫脫離科技產(chǎn)品時感覺到的癥狀和癮君子突然戒毒或戒煙時的感覺很相似。
研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，近五分之四的學生在被迫脫離科技產(chǎn)品一整天時，會感到嚴重的心理和生理不適，并會感到恐慌、迷惑和極度孤獨。
他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，全球各地的大學生均承認對手機、筆記本電腦、電視以及Facebook和Twitter等社交網(wǎng)絡這些現(xiàn)代科技產(chǎn)物“上了癮”。
這項調(diào)查涵蓋了英國、美國、中國等10個國家的12所高校的近1000名大學生，調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，“絕大多數(shù)”大學生無法讓自己一整天不去用這些科技產(chǎn)品。
馬里蘭大學的這項研究生動地描述了學生想法的種種細節(jié)。學生們承認，在被迫脫離這些媒介工具時，他們會產(chǎn)生強烈的欲望，感到焦慮和抑郁。
一位不愿披露姓名的美國大學生描述了這種強烈的欲望。大學生們承認這和吸食強效純可卡因的癮君子毒癮發(fā)作很相似。
該研究得出結(jié)論說，“大部分學生……無法持續(xù)24小時脫離媒介工具”。
這項名為《拔掉電源插頭的世界》的研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，學生們用“幾乎一樣的字眼來形容他們的反應”。這些形容詞表達的情緒包括煩躁、迷惑、焦慮、易怒、不安全感、緊張、坐立不安、瘋狂、上癮、恐慌、嫉妒、生氣、寂寞、過分依賴、抑郁、心神不寧、偏執(zhí)等。
這一研究的領頭人蘇珊•莫勒教授說，科技已經(jīng)改變了學生之間的關系。
她說：“學生們描述了沒有科技產(chǎn)品的可怕情景，以及他們上癮的程度。”
“他們預料自己會感到沮喪。但他們沒預料到會產(chǎn)生心理影響，會感到寂寞、恐慌、焦慮，甚至會感到心悸。”
“科技為現(xiàn)在的年輕人提供了社交網(wǎng)絡，他們的整個生活都是‘插上電源插頭的’。”
