Joshua Bluteau and Patricia Bluteau
The safety of new technologies are always interrogated in the
media upon release, with predictions being made as to their
long term effects and impact upon the mental health and
wellbeing of users. However, the long term impacts are often
unpredictable and difficult to plan for. This paper will draw on
the combined experience of the co-authors to highlight the
dangers of digital addiction, looking beyond online gambling
and into the worlds of gaming, social media and augmented
reality. Whether it is the pressure of posting, the timeconsuming
nature of inhabiting the digital world, the impact of
likes, or the purchasing of loot boxes, digital addiction can
come in a wide variety of guises which are barely understood
and even less accepted. After all, aren’t these online worlds just
a game? Or a way to chat online? With suicide being one of the
biggest killers for men under 50 and addiction being
statistically more prevalent in men, this paper questions the role
of the digital world in happiness, wellbeing and asks whether it
is gendered..