[zxcdw]

But isn't computer just the medium to access the real addiction-causing substance, whatever it may be?

I mean, if you give person a computer of any kind without internet access, they'll likely feel just as anxious as not having the device in the first place. This, to me, would suggest that what actually causes the addiction is something these online services provide for people. Be it for example some form of self-expression in form of Facebook status updates. They'll be fine for as long as they get to make the update for example (and perhaps see it go live? As in to check their outside appearance like a person checks the mirror after fixing their clothing, despite knowing the clothing is fine. Just need that feedback for the sake of feedback itself, not for any particular practical reason necessarily).

Why do I make the distinction? Because I've had to deal with something related to the subject matter myself. (Acknowledgement of some form/sort of addiction, which isn't computers themselves (though the addiction-causing behavior is mediated through a computer), or "being online", but something more general because the addiction takes its shape and form for as long as the online service provides the easy "dopamine rush" (in lack of a better term), perhaps to relieve some underlying anxiety?)

[tdkl]

> But isn't computer just the medium to access the real addiction-causing substance, whatever it may be?

Sure, this ain't anything new. The internet, is a source of constant novelty addiction, which keeps the brain stimulated.

Mobile phone is just another medium, that you can carry around all the time and extend that addiction and makes it possible anywhere.

[andygates]

And all that gossip and kitten-video-sharing, that's just ... human interaction. It's almost as if we're a social species which uses low-information chatter as grooming.