By N.Nandini
The onset of smartphones into the market has opened Pandora's box of troubles for Gen X. Children, from infancy, are exposed to these gadgets, and the launch of touchscreens has made humans addicted to them, giving them instant stimulation. The fear of missing out is driving them into various psychological problems like anxiety, sleeplessness, suspicion, etc.
Gen X is living their lives on smartphones and tablets, and these devices are potentially luring youngsters into the world of fantasy and dangerous substances/things to explore, giving continuous highs in dopamine and adrenaline, which is forming a dangerous loop in which they are becoming tangled.
The growing trend of boredom, risk-taking attitude, the feeling of being known to the world, and the feeling of being special is driving Gen X to try different/various things and substances for fun.
What starts as fun or recreation soon becomes regular usage for relaxation, which, in turn, quickly develops into addiction. More youngsters are trying various substances like alcohol, weed, cigarettes, and various types of synthetic drugs. Stress among youth due to their surroundings, constant peer pressure, academics, disturbed families, culture, lack of parental monitoring, curiosity to experiment with drugs, lack of awareness about the dangers of drug use, and constant comparisons are making them seek different types of intoxicating substances and excessive usage of gadgets, which are easily accessible to them.
Certain factors like anxiety, depression, boredom, and loneliness are driving youth towards addiction. Social and electronic print media are also projecting what is unnatural as natural and what is abnormal as normal. As a result, these addictions have become their way out of emotional stress, fear of failure, and social pressure.
The specific medications given for treating certain medical conditions like cold, cough, pain, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and mood stability are also being abused by youngsters to deal with emotional emptiness and pain.
One of the misconceptions among youth is that they are unwilling to accept failure, grief, burnout, anxiety, distractions, and insecurities as a part of life. Instead of understanding and accepting them, Gen Z is seeing itself as worthless and useless and is spiraling down into addiction as a way out, like moths to a flame.
Our mind is a combination of all the things that we see and imbibe from society, so we form opinions from what we see and hear from the outside world, which reflects how we think and act. Instead of dealing with their inner world, youth are opting for an easy way out to escape these emotions through various addictions.
What is an addiction?
An addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition that works through the reward, tolerance, loss of control, and relapse cycle.
Reward:
Using substances, articles, or activities directly impacts the abnormal release of neurohormones like dopamine and serotonin.
Tolerance:
As time progresses with the use of these substances or behaviours, the brain gets accustomed to high levels of neurohormones like dopamine, so the body needs more substances or behavioural activities to meet its higher threshold.
Loss of Control:
Constant or frequent exposure to these materials or behaviors impacts cognition. Once it takes control of the brain and nervous system, the person finds it hard to stop, even if they want to.
Relapse:
After some time of not venturing into the past loop, various factors like low self-esteem, low self-confidence, low self-worth, depression, irritability, sleeplessness, and anxiety drive the person unknowingly into the same vicious loop, making them become trapped even further.
While addressing addictions, it is important to understand that they have various forms, such as mobile addiction, substance addiction, behavioral addiction, process addiction, dual-diagnosis addiction, and cross-addiction.
Substance Addiction:
These involve the use of various substances that alter the functioning of neurohormones (dopamine, serotonin, etc.), leading to disturbances in cognition and changes in the person's behaviour.
Examples: Alcohol, opioids, cocaine, tobacco, cannabis, inhalants, amphetamines, over-the-counter medications, hallucinogens, fentanyl, etc.
Behavioural Addictions:
These are compulsive behaviours that have a strong psychological impact on how we perceive people and society. They also have a severe financial and psychological impact. These include gambling, pornography, social media usage, online shopping, video games, etc.
(N. Nandini is a Psychologist at Renova Century Hospitals, Hyderabad.)