Answer

Electronic Addiction

Question 1

Addictions include behaviours typically associated with excess as well as behaviour resulting in a waste of potential productive time such as electronic media. These also include behaviours that may be intrinsically life fulfilling and that have appeared to spiral out of control. For TV and movies addiction, the addictive aspect is largely a function of interference with completion of life tasks as opposed to the number of hours of viewing. As such, obsession with TV can have both positive and negative (McCormick, Delfabbro, & Denson, 2012). This implies that cases that deal with TV and movies should be approached differently because TV operates differently.

One effective approach to identify if one has an obsession is to have the person keep a diary for a few days to help identify the amount of time spends viewing TV and how much they benefit from the various programs. If more time were spent on TV regardless of the significance of the program being watched to the viewer’s life, then it would imply that they have an obsession. Secondly if the person prefers to spend more of their time watching TV than interacting or engaging in other activities, then it likely they have an obsession. Some of the signs of addiction include use of TTV as a sedative even when it does not bring satisfaction, feeling of loss of control while viewing, lack of selectivity in viewing, feeling angry with oneself for so much watching, and inability to quit watching as well as a feeling of misery when one is not able to watch (Baer, Saran, Green, & Hong, 2012).  If the person is found to spend a lot of non-beneficial time on TV, one way to approach them is to be form friendship with them and take the opportunity to encourage them to develop non-TV hobbies. This can involve establishing short-term goals with the person such as signing for community courses such as photography, participation in meditation and making friends. Group therapy can also be helpful for such individuals where they can learn how to participate in healthy relationships.

Question 2

The intense connection that is formed by addicts with electronic media stems from a number of sources. Some research has connected the intense connection for people with electronic addiction to what they are doing to social and personality trait causes. In social causes, the argument is that people with electronic addiction are connected because if the social connection that they make with these electronic gadgets or activities they engage in the electronic media. The second argument is that people can be attached to electronic media in the same way they get addicted to things like substance abuse especially those with addictive personality, under life stressors, and those with poor emotional health (A Pilot Study, 2010).

Attachment to electronic media can stem from a mere little leisure time spent watching TV or watching a movie. With time, the person is attached to a certain family program on TV or a series movie to an extent that they feel stressed when they are not able to catch up with it in a single day. Some people will watch TV or movies when they feel stressed or bored. However, worth time they grow fond of the TV or movies to an extent that they feel more stressed or anxious when they cannot watch (Bowen & Firestone, 2011). This implies that in the short-term people only watch TV or movies randomly as a way to pass time. However, they are attached to certain aspects of these electronic mediums such as some characters in the TV programs or movies and always feel the urge to satisfy this need by watching more of the program or movie. Furthermore, most TV programs will always end up at a suspense leaving the viewer anticipating to know what will happen next. This suspense and curiosity to know what happens next is likely to cause addiction in the end. The use of electronic media in the short-term makes the people using them relaxed. However, in the long-term, they feel less relaxed, less happy, and even less happy and less able to uphold concentration than taking part in other activities such as sports.

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