Do you have a serious digital addiction?

Is the technology in our life actually designed to be more addictive than ever? Or are we just labeling everything that might be bad for you ‘addiction’ these days?

That’s the question that’s been preoccupying my week; this past weekend I was in NJ visiting with my parents. That’s when it happened: my nephew Kyle introduced me to Fortnite.

Some of you are nodding with recognition. Some of you have no idea what I’m talking about. Some of you aren’t reading this blog because you can’t do anything other than play Fornite.

I had heard of the game: it rocketed to success as soon as it came out--but boy, is it ‘addictive’. Experts tell us that technology (especially mobile tech) is now specifically designed to be addictive. Platforms like Facebook make all their money by showing you ads; the more time you spend on Facebook, the mores ads you see, the more money they make…

But does the fact that I spent 6 hours yesterday (seriously) playing Fortnite make me ‘addicted’? A mom in the UK thinks so. She wants it banned according to The Sun.

We’ve always had products that depended on our inability to walk away when we’ve had too much. Sugar. Chocolate. I’m not sure we used to call these things ‘addictive’. A therapist once told me I was ‘addicted’ to podcasts. Isn’t that like being addicted to music? Is there such a thing?

I’m curious how you deal with your digital ‘addictions’--or if you think the risk is exaggerated. Hit me up on twitter. (Or if you want to play a round of Fortnite. Although I’ll die pretty quickly. I’m very bad.)