Losing yourself for hours on TikTok, mechanically checking your phone, spending many hours in front of your computer… All these behaviors are often described, in common parlance, as an “addiction” to screens or social networks. A term also used on Monday by the Minister of Health and Prevention, François Braun.
A guest on RMC-BFMTV, he stated that “prevention is an important issue for our society, which is not sufficiently developed.”
“Compared to all these addictions, of course there are campaigns against tobacco, alcohol, drug use (…), against screens,” he continued.
“But what matters to me is fighting against the root of this evil: why a young man today falls into any addiction,” added the minister.
This is not the first time the government has brought up the concept of screen addiction. In a video posted online at the end of February, Sarah El Haïry, Secretary of State in charge of Youth and Universal National Service, warned of the “danger” of “screen addiction”, referring to the platform of government information dedicated to raising children. and digital
An internationally unrecognized concept
However, the concept of “addiction to the screen” is not the subject of a scientific consensus at the moment. It does not appear in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” published by the American Psychiatric Association (AAP). This manual, used by health professionals around the world, lists addictions classified according to specific criteria.
In 2019, the WHO included “gaming disorder, mainly online” in its classification of recognized diseases and health problems. It is characterized by the following phenomena: altered control over gambling (over its frequency or duration, for example), priority given to gambling “to the point that it takes precedence over other aspects of life and daily activities” and negative consequences such as “impairment significant” socially, that do not prevent the continuation of the practice. The notion of “addiction to the screen” does not appear in this catalogue.
The Interministerial Mission to Fight Drugs and Addictive Behaviors (Mildeca) defines addictions on its website as “cerebral pathologies defined by dependence on a substance or activity, with deleterious consequences.”
“Screens”, a broad concept
The term “screen addiction” is controversial because the phenomenon is relatively new, which means the scientific community doesn’t have much perspective on its supposed effects, psychiatrist and addict Marc Auriacombe tells BFMTV.com.
“‘Screens’ is a broad concept, some say it’s like talking about an addiction to glass as part of alcohol,” he adds. And what exactly are we talking about, screens in general, smartphones, social networks?
With a team of researchers, Professor Auriacombe wanted to quantify this phenomenon. In a study published in July 2022 in the medical journal Internet Medical Research Journalthe researchers examined the report on the screens of 300 users.
They had to meet at least five of the nine criteria to be diagnosed with screen addiction. These conditions include spending a lot of time thinking about screens, even when you’re not using them, feeling anxious, irritable, sad with little use, or failing to reduce your screen time.
Less than 5% of users affected
Only 1.7% of those surveyed responded positively to five criteria. “There is a discrepancy between the impression that everyone is addicted to screens and the reality, which is that less than 5% of users are concerned”, underlines Marc Auriacombe.
“What can be addictive with the Internet in particular is that everything you can do there leads to an immediate response,” adds the professor from the University of Bordeaux, comparing this mechanism with that of gambling. .
He judges that “it is not absurd” to think that the concept can be recognized in the coming years. In a report published in 2019, the National Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Technologies believe, however, that “the notion should be approached with caution.”
“It responds to a precise medical definition, reserved for especially serious pathologies”, and behavioral addictions “are often associated with comorbid psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, phobias or personality disorders”, add the authors of the report.
A “problematic use of screens”
If the issue of addiction generates skepticism, there is a consensus on the deleterious effects that screens can have. Mildeca then speaks of a “problematic use of screens”. The study co-signed by Marc Auriacombe shows that finding “problems” related to screens is quite widespread. 44.7% of those surveyed responded positively to at least one of the nine criteria, the most common being loss of control.
Regarding social networks, for example, the National Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Technologies highlight that “they are a cause for concern for adolescents, particularly due to the risks of disinhibition of communication and harassment”.
Their report also highlights “network strategies” that aim to “maintain users’ attention” and the sleep disturbances that nighttime screen use can cause.
“Indisputable” beneficial effects
The three scientific societies affirm that these risks “should not hide the fact that, when properly used, the screens and the information they allow to be exchanged constitute tools of knowledge and openness to the world whose interest is indisputable”.
They deplore “scare campaigns indiscriminately focused on ‘screen dangers'” that risk “leading parents and educators to ignore the potential benefits of digital technologies” and “overshadowing the real determinants of mental health and the importance of social problems”.
Marc Auriacombe also judges that “one must be careful not to trivialize or demonize the screens”: he advocates “education” in the use of the digital, a kind of “instructions for use”.
Source: BFM TV
