Illness of our time
A team of boffins found that kids displayed symptoms of
going “cold turkey” when they were disconnected from their computers for less
than 24 hours.
Conducted by the International Centre for Media and the
Public Agenda (ICMPA), had students from the University of Maryland give up
their phones, computers, TVs, iPods, even newspapers for 24 hours. However the researchers were surprised at the extent that
kids were unable to cope.
ICMPA director Susan Moeller told CTV's Canada AM
Wednesday from Washington she expected complaints. However the kids started to feel really isolated,
frustrated and sort of anxious and all the physical manifestations. Students talked about being miserable, anxious -- and
bored to distraction.
Organisers said that they were surprised to discover how
addicted students were. They weren't just frustrated by being cut off from media,
they reported they actually couldn't function and felt hopeless.