The Seventh Kingdom: Is Technology Addiction Real Jan. 2015 | Page 36

RAYMOND DESHAIES, PH.D.
Investigator of the ‘Howard Hughes Medical Institute’ and Professor of Biology at California
Institute of Technology (Caltech), Raymond Deshaies Ph.D., reported in a personal email interview
how he had witnessed addicts who have become extremely obsessed with gaming that they
have stopped eating and caring for their health. The smallest behaviour is able to trigger a
release of dopamine to the brain such as checking Facebo ok. Conversely, there are a few
methods proven to break addiction, one of which is the famous “1 2-step program” which is used
during many Alcoholics Anonymous groups. These twelve steps can be summarised into 3
categories;
- Recognition of the problem.
- Sincere desire to address the problem
- Willpower to stop.
Deshaies states the main concern of technology addiction is the erosion of the ability to deal
with people as humans, face to face – in which he refers to it as “d e-socialisation” (Deshaies,
2015)

INTERVIEW
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CHAPTER TWO: BEHAVIOURAL ADDICTION