Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids - and How to Break the Trance

by Nicholas Kardaras

Overview

From addiction expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a startling argument that technology has profoundly affected the brains of children—and not for the better.

We’ve all seen them: kids hypnotically staring at glowing screens in restaurants, in playgrounds and in friends' houses—and the numbers are growing. Like a virtual scourge, the illuminated glowing faces—the Glow Kids—are multiplying. But at what cost? Is this just a harmless indulgence or fad like some sort of digital hula-hoop? Some say that glowing screens might even be good for kids—a form of interactive educational tool.

Don’t believe it.

In Glow Kids, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras will examine how technology—more specifically, age-inappropriate screen tech, with all of its glowing ubiquity—has profoundly affected the brains of an entire generation. Brain imaging research is showing that stimulating glowing screens are as dopaminergic (dopamine activating) to the brain’s pleasure center as sex. And a growing mountain of clinical research correlates screen tech with disorders like ADHD, addiction, anxiety, depression, increased aggression, and even psychosis. Most shocking of all, recent brain imaging studies conclusively show that excessive screen exposure can neurologically damage a young person’s developing brain in the same way that cocaine addiction can.

Kardaras will dive into the sociological, psychological, cultural, and economic factors involved in the global tech epidemic with one major goal: to explore the effect all of our wonderful shiny new technology is having on kids. Glow Kids also includes an opt-out letter and a "quiz" for parents in the back of the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250146557
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/26/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	185,744
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

DR. NICHOLAS KARDARAS is one of the country’s foremost addiction experts and Executive Director of the Dunes—one of the world’s top rehabs. He is a Clinical Professor at Stony Brook Medicine, has taught neuropsychology at the doctoral-level, is the author of How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life (Conari, 2011), and is a frequent contributor to Psychology Today and Fox News.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiii

Preface xv

Introduction: The Trouble with Tech 1

1 Invasion of the Glow Kids 7

2 Brave New e-World 35

3 Digital Drugs and the Brain 49

4 Interview with Dr. Doan: Neuroscientist and Recovering Video Gamer 75

5 The Big Disconnect: Texting and Social Media 81

6 Clinical Disorders and the Glow Kids Effect 113

7 Monkey See, Monkey Do: Mass Media Effects 133

8 Video Games and Aggression: The Research 147

9 Ripped from the Headlines: Real Cases of Video Game-Influenced Violence 161

10 The Newtown Massacre: Video Game Psychosis 173

11 Etan Patz and the End of Innocence-and Outdoor Play 189

12 Follow the Money: Screens and the Educational Industrial Complex 195

13 It's an e-World 223

14 The Solution: Escaping Plato's e-Cave 235

Appendix: Does My Child Have a Screen or Tech Addiction Problem? 247

Notes 253

References 263

Index 271

Editorial Reviews

"Details how compulsive technology usage and reliance on screens can neurologically damage the developing brain of a child the same way that drug addiction can." —Vice

"Glow Kids is a must-read for parents, prospective parents, educators and anyone interested in learning about how the screens we look at every day affect us." —Dan's Papers

"Every parent and teacher and those who work with youth should read this book to be informed about the downside of what many of us have seen as a tremendous advancement in civilization." —New York Journal of Books

"Groundbreaking...examines the detrimental effects of technology addiction on the developing brains of young children." —The Fix

"Kardaras’ eye-opening study is sure to spark discussions among parents and educators." —Booklist

"Kardaras reminds us that technology can insidiously and unpredictably turn against us. Glow Kids is a paradigm shifting, mind bending account of excess and tragedy that should serve as a clarion call to rethink our ever evolving relationship with advancing technology." —Dr. Howard J. Shaffer, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Director, Division of Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance

"In this important new book Nick Kardaras draws our attention to a growing problem - the addiction many children are developing to digital media. Drawing on extensive research and his experience as a therapist, Karadas warns us of the dangers we are exposing many of our children to, and what can be done to address it. For parents, educators and anyone who wants to ensure that this generation of children will have the opportunity to grow up to become healthy adults, this book an invaluable resource and a wake up call about the risks they face when we allow unfettered access to 'screen time.'" —Pedro A. Noguera, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Education at UCLA, former tenured professor at Harvard's School of Education and NYU's Steinhardt School of Education, author of City Schools and the American Dream and a regular commentator on educational issues on CNN, MSNBC and NPR

"I love this book! It lays out for us the uncomfortable truth about the ways in which the economic interests of the tech industry are often at odds with the needs of our children. This is a must read for everyone." —Hilarie Cash, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Executive Director of reSTART (first tech-addiction rehab in the U.S.); co-author Video Games and your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control

"Read this book. Save our children's brains, now. Glow Kids is not a Chicken Little 'The sky is falling' squawk of senseless panic. It is a clearly stated, brain science and valid study-packed, well reasoned call to action against one of the most destructive threats to our children—and society—of all time. Every parent, educator, therapist, doctor, caregiver and legislator needs to read it and follow Dr. Kardaras's marching orders before we do any further damage to the brains of an entire generation." —Paula Poundstone, comedian, author, Social Commentator, Screen-Free Kids Activist

“In Glow Kids, Dr. Kardaras makes a compelling case that screens are the drug of the new millennium and that kids are being manipulated by companies that care more about profit than about our kids’ minds.” —Toure, Cultural Critic, author, former co-host of MSNBCs The Cycle

"Glow Kids uncovers the various players —both the obvious and not so obvious—contributing to the growing problem of tech addiction and screen-related mental health issues. With the rigor of an investigative journalist and the insight of an addiction specialist, Kardaras manages to make a complex and uncomfortable topic both palatable and accessible. A highly recommended read." —Victoria Dunckley, MD, integrative child psychiatrist and author of Reset Your Child's Brain

"The horrifying truth of digital media addictions...Dr. Nicholas Kardaras combines his clinical experience working with patients addicted to digital media, peer-reviewed research, and clinical acumen to compile a critical book all must read. The mental health of the current generation depends on what society does with this information in regards to digital media addictions and the ramifications to neurological development in children. The developmental trajectory of digital media addicted kids are dismal and affects millions of kids in the United States. We can no longer sit idle and must take action!" —Commander Dr. Andrew Doan, M.D., Ph.D., Head, Dept. of Mental Health Addictions & Resilience Research, Department of the Navy/U.S. Pentagon, author, Hooked on Games

From the Publisher