Technology Addiction

It is debatable whether most teens’ current usage of technology qualifies as addiction. Nevertheless, it’s clear that teens spend an enormous—and growing—amount of time plugged-in and screen-centered.

• According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, young people aged 8 to 18 spend 7.5 hours a day consuming media—and that doesn’t count computer use for schoolwork. Thanks to multitasking (think listening to music while reading news articles or checking Facebook while watching TikTok) they pack 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content into that 7.5 hours.

• Ninety-five percent of teens have access to a smartphone according to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts study.

• Nearly half of teens (45%) said they are on the Internet “almost constantly” according to the Pew study.

--Liz Soltan