iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession With Technology And Overcoming Its Hold On

Us

Larry D. RosenPublished in 2012

Jessica Swartz

How technology relates to these disorders• Narcissism• Obsessive-compulsive disorder• Addiction• Depression• Attention-deficit disorder • Social phobia• Antisocial personality disorder• Hypochondria• Body dysmorphic disorder• Schizo-disorders• Voyeurism

Overview

• By the year 2015 experts predict that 80% of the world’s population will have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop

• The constant flow of information is more than the human mind is meant to handle

• Our technology use has created a new array of symptoms of common disorders

Overview

• Larry Rosen states how our actions and behaviors when we use technology make us appear out of control• 70 percent of those who report heavily using mobile devices experience

“phantom vibration syndrome” • Heavy use of social media has been linked to mood swings among some

teenagers

• He describes the most common psychiatric disorders and uses research to demonstrate how the technologies we use can have a negative impact on the way we live

Overview• Narcissistic personality disorder

• People overuse social networking sites. They are always posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram about themselves. They care too much about how many likes they get and how many followers they have.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder• There are people who constantly check their phone and have trouble being away from

technology for a long period of time.

• Addiction• People who spend too much time on the internet, playing video games, etc. lack the social

skills that they need in life.

• Hypochondria• People feel that they do not have to go to the doctors because they have the internet to tell

them what is wrong with them. (Cyberchondriacs)

How to combat an iDisorder

• Take a “tech break”• Family dinners where technology is forbidden at the table

• Spend more time connecting with nature

• Have no distractions in reach of you at night

• Interact only with passive technologies (tv and music) in the hour before sleep

• The topics of the book apply to our class

• Discusses the negative impacts that technology can have• The technologies we use daily coerce us to act in ways that may

be detrimental to our well-being

• The world will continue to develop in the future and people will rely more and more on technology

• I would recommend this book

• Anyone who is interested in the “psychology of technology” would enjoy reading the book

• Good book for understanding the consequences of heavy use of technology that makes readers think about their own use of technology