By B.N. Frank

There are more reports coming out from a variety of sources that overusing technology can cause addiction and other mental health issues in kids and adults.  This is not a new issue.  The latest heartbreaking story involves a 9-year-old UK girl:

“She was so hooked to the game she wouldn’t even go to the toilet,” the girl’s mother told the Sunday People. “My husband saw her light on in the night and found her sitting on a urine-soaked cushion playing the game.”

If that’s not horrifying enough:

The parents said their daughter started showing aggressive behavior after becoming hooked on the game. She would fall asleep in school and becoming aggressive with her peers. The parents also said they discovered charges amounting to $67 a month to Microsoft on the family’s credit card statement. After the girl’s father tried to take away the Xbox, she reportedly slapped him across the face for attempting to withdraw the console.

Fortnite has also been linked to contributing to Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price’s carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis in May 2018:

“We play together at the field, at the hotel on the road or at home whenever we get home from the field,” Price said. “It’s something that’s kind of taken over.”

U.S. research determined that children at a higher risk for addiction because their brains are flexible.

In the UK, ministers may take steps to prevent young pupils flouting age restrictions on the controversial game.

Advertising often makes light of kids being “glued to screens” and “bingewatching”even though Digital Addiction has led to tragic consequences.  Sesame Street has a character named “Smarty the Smart Phone.”

In January, the World Health Organization officially classified ‘gaming disorder’ as a mental health condition.

In 2011, The WHO officially classified all sources of cell phone and WiFi radiation as a possible carcinogen.  These games and other sources of Digital Addiction are often accessed by using WiFi.

According to experts, WiFi exposure doesn’t just increase cancer risk and children’s brains also suffer more damage from exposure:

“What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain,” Black said. “So in addition to leading to a development of cancer and tumors, there could be a whole host of other effects like cognitive memory function, since the memory temporal lobes are where we hold our cell phones.”

“Children’s skulls and scalps are thinner. So the radiation can penetrate deeper into the brain of children and young adults. Their cells are at a dividing faster rate, so the impact of radiation can be much larger.” said Black of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Decades of research have proven harm from exposure to WiFi radiation.  It can also worsen pre-existing conditions even if it didn’t cause them.

No “safe” level of WiFi radiation has been scientifically determined for children or pregnant women.

In 2012, experts confirmed that exposure to all sources of WiFi radiation can disrupt the blood-brain barrier which can cause it to leak.  Research has determined that exposure can lead to impulsive, aggressive and violent behavior as well.

Many media sources are covering radiation exposure issues now – including U.S. broadcast stations.

Since last year, some tech designers and inventors have expressed remorse for their role in making addictive software and devices.