New Forms of Addiction: Digital Media

Behavioral addictions are defined by the recurrence of behaviors that generate states of pleasure and provide relief from unpleasant sensations. These repetitive behaviors are associated with personal, family, academic, professional, and social harm and a clinically significant condition of suffering. Faced with the current context of technological advances, there is a need to understand a new configuration of addiction, of digital media. According to the scientific literature, the excessive use of these media is associated with structural and functional impairment of regions responsible for processing emotions and rewards, motivation, memory, cognitive control, and inhibition of behavior. Also, there is already a relationship between dependency on digital media and biopsychosocial factors such as stress, anxiety, depression, impulsiveness, attention deficit, and hyperactivity and other psychiatric comorbidities. Therefore, for the planning of appropriate clinical and psychosocial interventions, it is important to identify the function of these behaviors and to manage the contingencies responsible for their recurrence. Therefore, this chapter aims to discuss the etiology and neuropsychological and behavioral aspects of addiction on digital media, as well as to point possible directions for effective prevention and treatment interventions.