Think of a chronic smoker or someone who can't stop gambling. There's a chance that person could have an addiction.
It's the kind of things specialist Gaetane Pauwels is very familiar with. She's been treating addictive disorders for 20 years. But in the last few years she's seen a dramatic change.
She's been getting calls from people desperate about tech. A third of Pauwel's clients, nearly 12 patients a week, now seek help because of time with texts, the Internet or a video game.
Anthony Cummings is 17 years old and, like most kids his age, has a cell phone attached to him. He also texts a lot, about 300 texts a day!
"It never shuts off, it's like a Pringles chip. You have one and you don't know how to stop," said Maria Cummings, Anthony's mother.
That's why Cummings started getting help from Pauwels. It's part of a program to get support and for some patients, it's a tough start. In some cases, it means no texts or internet for 90 days. Pauwels says it's common for withdrawal symptoms to begin.
"The sweating and the anxiety and all of that," Pauwels said.
Pauwels says the most important thing is to admit tech is causing a problem in your life by getting in the way of the "everyday" things you are supposed to do. It's something Anthony Cummings is working through, one text at a time.
"I don't think it's a problem, I think it's a way of life," said Cummings.
It's the kind of things specialist Gaetane Pauwels is very familiar with. She's been treating addictive disorders for 20 years. But in the last few years she's seen a dramatic change.
She's been getting calls from people desperate about tech. A third of Pauwel's clients, nearly 12 patients a week, now seek help because of time with texts, the Internet or a video game.
Anthony Cummings is 17 years old and, like most kids his age, has a cell phone attached to him. He also texts a lot, about 300 texts a day!
"It never shuts off, it's like a Pringles chip. You have one and you don't know how to stop," said Maria Cummings, Anthony's mother.
That's why Cummings started getting help from Pauwels. It's part of a program to get support and for some patients, it's a tough start. In some cases, it means no texts or internet for 90 days. Pauwels says it's common for withdrawal symptoms to begin.
"The sweating and the anxiety and all of that," Pauwels said.
Pauwels says the most important thing is to admit tech is causing a problem in your life by getting in the way of the "everyday" things you are supposed to do. It's something Anthony Cummings is working through, one text at a time.
"I don't think it's a problem, I think it's a way of life," said Cummings.
