Technology and addiction: What drugs can teach us about digital media
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Commentators have used evocative terms such as "digital heroin," "electronic cocaine," and "virtual drugs" when discussing users' growing dependence on their devices. This article looks at the spreading discourse comparing digital media with drugs from a set of interdisciplinary perspectives including media studies, political economy, critical theory, science and technology studies, and addiction studies. It engages several key questions: To what extent can heavy smartphone use be considered an addiction, and how is it similar or different from drug addiction? How do the analogies between media and drugs fit within prevalent imaginaries of information technologies, and within the greater cultural themes and preoccupations of late capitalism? And finally, what can drugs teach us about the possible escape routes from our society's current predicament?
Source: Transcultural Psychiatry
Authors: Ido Hartogsohn, Amir Vudka
Institutions: Bar-Ilan University, University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Topic: Digital Media and Philosophy
Subfield: Computer Science Applications
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,250
OpenAlex ID: W4284896865