{"id":66,"date":"2012-05-04T12:41:23","date_gmt":"2012-05-04T16:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/?p=66"},"modified":"2012-08-23T16:00:10","modified_gmt":"2012-08-23T20:00:10","slug":"is-technology-making-your-child-a-narcissist-or-obsessive-compulsive-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/2012\/05\/04\/is-technology-making-your-child-a-narcissist-or-obsessive-compulsive-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Technology Making Your Child a Narcissist or Obsessive Compulsive?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Book review: Dr. Larry Rosen, a Research Psychologist and an international expert on the Psychology of Technology just released his 5th<\/sup>\u00a0book iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession With Technology and Overcoming Its Hold On Us. (Watch my complete interview with Dr. Rosen below. He answers the question we all ask “How much time should my kid be spending with technology?”)<\/em><\/p>\n

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I read\u00a0iDisorder<\/em>\u00a0while Caidin and I were in Florida for Spring Break. \u00a0To say that it made me paranoid is an understatement. Dr. Rosen explores the correlation between technology and disorders such as Narcissism, OCD, Addiction, Bipolar Disorder, ADHD and several phobias and I was acutely aware of my own mind questioning “do I have\u00a0that?”, which probably means something in the world of Psychology.<\/p>\n

The question Dr. Rosen raises is \u201cHow does social media, texting, smartphones and the constant barrage of information from computers and other media sources impact our brain?\u201d According to Dr. Rosen\u2019s impeccably sourced and researched book, I feel like we are all a little nutty when it comes to our tether to technology, but his studies are detailing some startling and important insights.<\/p>\n

For example one study that Dr. Rosen\u2019s team conducted concluded that students who check their Facebook page once within a 15 minute period are worse students than those who don\u2019t. Dr. Rosen feels this is attributed to the degree to which distraction disrupts studying and learning.<\/p>\n

Interestingly though, Dr. Rosen is not anti-technology, he\u2019s actually quite enamored with technology. What he does advocate for is awareness and technology breaks. There is a photo in the book of an adult brain reading and then of an adult brain surfing the internet. The image of the brain surfing the internet shows heightened brain activity compared to the brain reading a book. Dr. Rosen speaks about the real problem of overloading the brain and about the fact that technological multi-tasking is creating an overload of neurological activity that doesn\u2019t simply go away when we turn the technology off. So when your child is surfing the internet, playing a computer game, texting, emailing and listening to music all at the same time, the brain is hyper-stimulated, and that stimulation doesn\u2019t stop when the technology is turned off.<\/p>\n

In addition to overstimulation, Dr. Rosen explores the development of social phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, narcissism, addiction, ADHD and hypochondriasis (the \u2018am I dying?\u2019 syndrome) all in connection to our use of technology.\u00a0Narcissistic\u00a0traits rise to surface when we are ‘Me-formers’ instead of ‘Informers’, a great phrase coined by Dr. Rosen. Others will crave the internet as a source of comfort or as a way to zone out and become addicted to it and still others will spend hours searching the internet in an attempt to self-diagnose their perceived symptoms even after being given a clean bill of health by their doctor which is linked to Hypochondriasis. (Although I have to say, I know people who were given a\u00a0supposedly\u00a0clean bill of health and DID in fact discover the cause of their symptoms by searching the internet – just saying.)<\/p>\n

So what can we do? As parents it\u2019s important to be aware of the \u2018red flags\u2019 that you, your partner or your child have a problem with technology. In most of the chapters Dr. Rosen offers quizzes that you can take to help assess your and your child\u2019s technology behaviors in relationship to particular disorders. Dr. Rosen also offers ways to help balance your interaction, should you find these iDisorders surfacing.<\/p>\n

But I think of all the information Dr. Rosen shares, the most important tool to help combat the constant deluge of information and technological activity is to let your mind take a break. Dr. Rosen explains that shutting technology off won\u2019t reset your brain because of the way in which the brain is activated. Instead, Dr. Rosen recommends that you get out into nature, where the brain is fed calming singles that allow the brain to truly take a break.<\/p>\n

I think balance and moderation are the key to health and wellness. We can\u2019t keep our kids segregated from technology but we can teach them healthy ways to interact with it and use it and we can be on the lookout for signs of potential problems. Lastly, remember one of the essential elements of Conscious Parenting<\/a>\u00a0(read article)\u00a0\u2013 Model Behavior. Your kids will follow your lead, so be the one to set the tone and pace for technology usage. When your kids are little, don\u2019t sit at the dinner table checking your phone ever five seconds, don\u2019t have your phone out in the car and take time to engage in meaningful face-to-face conversation. Better yet, teach your child to use the telephone, it\u2019s becoming a lost art to have a phone conversation.<\/p>\n

So in hindsight, maybe it wasn\u2019t that I turned my technology off while Caidin and I were in Florida, maybe it was because my brain was receiving those calming singles from the fresh ocean breeze and the lolling sound of the waves. Either way, I know I came home feeling refreshed, calm and very creative.<\/p>\n

I highly recommend iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us by Larry Rosen, Ph.D. He offers insight into a world that is common place for our children and he offers ways to help them to develop healthy habits.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2012 Christine Agro<\/p>\n

Christine Agro is a clairvoyant, naturopath, Master Herbalist, conscious mom and author of 50 Ways to Live Life Consciously as well as of The Conscious Living Wisdom Cards (Special Moms\u2019 Edition). Christine is founder of\u00a0The Conscious Mom\u2019s Guide<\/a>, a membership site where she helps support you on your own journey of living life consciously and on your journey of being a Conscious parent. You can also join Christine on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch my complete interview with Dr. Rosen. He answers the question we all ask “How much time should my kid be spending with technology?”<\/p>\n