By Sebastian Morello, European Conservative. (Photo: Patricia Prudente/Unsplash)
Asmall child, no older than six years of age, stares like a zombie into a mobile phone. The mother leans over and says, “Mummy just needs to use her phone for a moment.” The child doesn’t respond, remaining absorbed in the flashing screen. She tries again: “Can Mummy have her phone back, just for a moment, to send a quick message? I’ll give it straight back to you.” Still the child remains unresponsive, staring down at the phone on his lap. The mother puts her hand on the phone; “I’m just taking it for a moment.” At this point, the child begins to squeal like a snared animal. As the mother takes the phone, the child explodes with horrid noises, shaking uncontrollably in the throes of a tremendous spasm of emotion. He screams, casts himself upon the floor, and as he reaches a crescendo of frustration that can only be expressed in convulsions and repeated kicks, the smartphone is given back to him. As the child receives the phone, he immediately returns to the tranquil silence he enjoyed but thirty seconds prior.
The spectacle I describe above is the one I witnessed just two days ago at Heathrow Airport. Neither parent seemed to think that the child’s behaviour was unusual or embarrassing. Almost everyone around seemed unpuzzled by this exhibition of prepubescent mania. And that is because, as a people, we have all grown accustomed to such scenes. Our children are completely addicted to electronic devices, and accordingly, we are in a situation that can only be described with a word that begins with ‘f’ and ends with ‘ucked.’
It is well known that dopamine is the hormone which chiefly influences both the driving and reinforcing of habits. According to Dr. Marisa Azaret, who has spent considerable time investigating the effects of screen addiction on children, “the stimuli produced by screens can activate the dopamine reward system in the brain, creating a dopamine feedback loop similar to those found in the brains of nicotine or cocaine users.” Screentime, she says, “floods a person’s brain” with strong but fleeting doses of dopamine, on which he consequently becomes utterly dependent. The upshot is that our progeny will have highly diminished impulse control in comparison to their antecedents. A generation of animals is on its way.