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SCREEN
ADDICTION
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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. How much time do you spend looking at a digital screen on average each day?
2. What activities do you use screens for?
3. How easy would you find it to not use your phone for a week? Why?

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2 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the following vocabulary to the definitions.

1. dependence (n) a. needing something that is bad for you to feel good

2. hooked (adj.) b. not good enough for a particular task

3. withdrawal (n) c. to think of something in a particular way, even if it is not

based in truth
4. trauma (n) d. a mental condition caused by experiencing an excessively
stressful event
5. self-harm (n) e. feeling as though you have more to do than you can do

6. overwhelmed (adj.) f. a condition of extreme worry about the future

7. inadequate (adj.) g. a period of time when you stop using something that is bad
for you where you may experience negative effects
8. perceive (v) h. the act of hurting or injuring yourself to deal with
unhappiness or stress
9. anxiety (n) i. a situation where you are unable to function without using a
particular thing

Part B: Now put the vocabulary from Part A into the correct gaps in the following sentences. You may
need to change the form of the word. One word is extra.

1. Even though he was actually quite kind, he was as being a difficult person to work
with by most employees.

2. Following the terrorist attack, many observers were referred to counsellors to receive treatment
for the they endured.

3. Trying to juggle my work commitments with the studying I need to do for my MA as well as my
responsibilities to my family has left me feeling quite lately.

4. To deal with the difficulties of life on the street, many homeless people become
on heroin and other hard drugs which worsens the situation and their health considerably.

5. I don’t like going to the beach as I just feel so compared to other people when I
take my clothes off to go into the water.

6. The increase in unemployment has increased amongst the under 20s with regard
to their future and the economy.

7. I have such a headache that I can’t get rid of. I stopped drinking coffee yesterday and I’m still going
through .

8. She keeps her arms covered as a result of the she did when she was suffering
from depression.

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Now in pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What things or situations do you have a dependence on?

2. What things that are legally available in your country can people get hooked on?
3. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt inadequate for what you had to do? What was
it? What happened?
4. Have you ever experienced withdrawal after stopping doing something that was bad for you?
How did you feel?
5. Have you experienced a situation where you felt overwhelmed? What did you do about it?
6. What advice would you offer to someone suffering from anxiety?

3 Listening for gist

Listen to the interview with a professor and tick all of the questions which are asked.

1. What effect does screen addiction have on children?

2. What do you think the dangers of too much screen time are?

3. What measures have been introduced to deal with screen addiction?

4. Have universities done anything to reduce problems with screen

addiction?
5. Why are screens so attractive?

6. What role do you think social media has had in this?

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4 Listening comprehension
Part 1: Complete the table by ticking the box to show which statement the professor would agree
with, disagree with or did not mention.

agrees disagrees didn’t mention

1. Screens are
addictive because
they are a vital part of
how we
communicate.

2. Elderly people have

been left behind by
advances in
technology.

3. Rapid progress
hasn’t given us time
to evaluate if it has
hidden dangers.

4. The costs of screen

addiction are
increasing each year.

5. Modern
communication brings
people together and
creates community.

6. People’s ability to
navigate social
situations has reduced
since the introduction
of mobile devices.

7. The experiment in
India could be
repeated everywhere.

8. Young women are

more negatively
affected by social
media than young
men.

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Part 2: Which three of the following does the professor suggest as ways to avoid screen dependence?

1. Buying a mobile phone without internet

2. Setting a time limit for when phone apps can be used

3. Ensuring that family mealtimes are free of screens

4. Not using a computer outside of professional needs

5. Arranging plenty of face-to-face social events

6. Not using screens after 6pm each day

5 Skimming for gist

Match the titles to paragraphs A-D. There are more titles than paragraphs.

1. Children and screens

2. What are the symptoms?
3. What are the consequences?
4. Screen addiction and finance
5. The rising power of the screen
6. The modern-day role of screens

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I’ll just be a minute...

The effects of screen addiction

A.

It would be easy to think of screen addiction as a modern affliction. Given that phones, tablets, laptops, and
widescreen smart TVs govern our lives, it’s hard to escape the call of a screen for too long. Yet back in the 1950s
and 1960s, when television really started its cultural domination, it didn’t take long for concerned parents and
educators to start voicing their concerns about the length of time children were spending transfixed by the box
in the corner. With few other sources of entertainment, people would spend longer watching than they would
today. Broadcasters knew this and would link popular programmes at peak times to maximise engagement. In
over a half-century since, the challenge of maintaining an audience has altered, but the result is fundamentally
the same. Is there any real difference between the endless scrolling through TikTok videos today, and the channel
surfing that it has replaced? Humans have always had a need to disengage from the concerns of the world around
them and find entertainment. Is the way they access it now any more harmful?

B.

It’s a question that’s difficult to answer due to the all-encompassing reach screens have in our personal and
professional lives. Few people these days are able to exist without the need to refer to a screen at some point
during their day. While streaming films and TV, increasingly immersive video games and well-designed apps occupy
our attention in our free time, screens are also vital in most work settings, blurring the line between what is and
isn’t productive use. The advantage parents of children in the 1960s had was that if their child was watching TV,
they certainly weren’t studying. Now a teenager in front of a computer could be doing anything from shopping,
to gaming, to writing an essay, to chatting with friends, to learning vital information for their future. Online
technology has displaced a lot of the things we did socially without the need to interact face-to-face. Even buying
goods in a shop can often be done without speaking to anyone and selecting your purchases on a screen.

C.

Yet, there are clear signs that screen use has tipped from functional to problematic. A clear indicator is the effect
on mood once screen time is limited. Parents will be familiar with the frustration and indignation caused by limiting
their child’s access to screens. Many use it as a form of punishment which could be counterproductive, as it creates
a link between reward and time spent with a screen. If mood is clearly linked to access, then this could be a cause
for concern. If someone is spending more time on virtual relationships than in-person ones, this is another sign.
Social groups should consist of people you see in real life (or IRL as the digital abbreviation goes) and not simply
framed by a screen. Be mindful of daily tasks too. If you’re not getting basic chores done, such as shopping and
cleaning, or are regularly late for appointments, but always have time to check social media, this could also hint at
a problem.

D.

Severe screen addiction can have devastating consequences. There have been reports of people dying after
extended gaming sessions lasting for several consecutive days. Yet even the less extreme cases can be troubling.
There is less likely to be a focus on exercise and healthy eating, as both of these take time away from virtual
pursuits. The increase in incidents of depression and anxiety over recent years is no accident as our devices tend
to isolate us from the communities we need in order to thrive. This can also be powered by the guilt we feel
at not spending enough time with loved ones, the resulting negativity further fueling the psychological need for
escapism, which sends us back to our screens. This vicious cycle becomes hard to break.

sources: Psychology Today, BBC, encyclopedia.com

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6 Reading comprehension

Part 1: Complete the following sentences with no more than three words from the article on page
six.

1. The of television began in the 1950s and 60s when they became more affordable
for ordinary families, introducing the screen into everyday lives.

2. In a bid to maintain audience figures for the maximum amount of time, would put
popular programmes back-to-back.

3. From channel surfing to scrolling through videos, screens provide a way for us to
mounting pressures in our lives and free our brains to not think.

4. The reason screens are so is that they are vital in both our private and work lives,
and so are difficult to escape.

5. Although it can be used to bring people together, technology has actually isolated many people
by reducing the need for interactions.

6. Punishing a child by taking away their phone is a measure, as it psychologically

links the access to a screen with being a reward.

7. When basic chores and responsibilities start to be neglected in favour of time on ,

this is a sure sign there’s a problem with addiction.

8. As with other addictions, overuse of screens can decrease quality of life which then creates a
to remove yourself from it back to the problem behaviour.

Part 2: Answer the following questions.

1. In paragraph B, what does the phrase ‘blurring the line between ...’ mean?

2. In paragraph D, what is meant by a ‘vicious cycle’?

7 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you think you have a problem with screen addiction? Why/Why not?
2. Have you tried any methods to reduce the amount of time you spend using a screen?
3. What are the differences between you and older and younger members of your family in terms of
screen use?
4. Do you know anyone who you think has a worse quality of life due to their screen addiction?

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8 Extended activity / homework

Read the following question. To what extent do you agree with the below statement?

All governments need to shut down access to the internet for a period of at least three hours
per day to make sure that screen time among its citizens does not become a problem. It will
lead to a better quality of life for all and increased socialising.

You should:

• write at least 250 words

• check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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Transcripts

3. Listening for gist

Host: Good afternoon to our listeners! Now, the subject of our discussion today: screen
addiction. With me today is Dr Hans Bauer, a professor of psychology who has been
doing a lot of work lately looking into this problem. Dr Bauer, welcome!

Dr Hans Bauer: Thank you very much.

Host: So, I don’t think we need to talk too much about the way screens dominate our lives
now. But let me ask, why are screens so attractive?

Dr Hans Bauer: Because it’s been such a natural evolution in the way we interact, I think as a society,
we’ve been slow to realise the dangers of the amount of screen time we all have.
We all want to participate in progress and communicate with one another and that
applies to all ages - even my grandmother has a Facebook account (laughs), but
now we’re using screens as a significant part of both our personal and professional
lives, so they are always needed which has created a dependence on them. Almost
anything you would want to do, whether it’s talk to someone, write something down,
take a photograph, look up information, it all requires a screen. They’ve become
part of our lives so quickly that we’ve not had time to process it and think about the
dangers.

Host: What do you think the dangers of too much screen time are?

Dr Hans Bauer: There are a few levels to this. In children, we’ve seen problems similar to withdrawal
from drugs when screens are taken away. It severely affects mood and creates
trauma with this only being resolved when the screen is returned to them. In adults,
the way people communicate is often worse when they’re in person because they
are used to the protection of being behind a screen. There has been a large increase
in depression and anxiety as well as other issues. With people relying on screens for
their communication, it can be quite isolating and it makes it harder for people to
practise social skills. The result has been more people feeling overwhelmed when
they are faced with social situations and finding it harder to connect. You watch
people when they are out, whether it’s waiting in a queue or getting into a lift, they
will usually get out their phones rather than engage in small talk or interactions with
people around them.

Host: What role do you think social media has had in this?

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Dr Hans Bauer: It has certainly affected mental health in a lot of people. Various studies have shown
that more people are showing symptoms of ADHD, which stands for Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This affects people’s ability to concentrate and
complete tasks. It’s not surprising given the amount of information we constantly
receive via screens. It leaves people feeling lost and unfocused, further increasing
chances of depression. With sites such as Instagram and TikTok, we’ve also seen a
lot more people, particularly younger women, suffering from eating disorders such
as anorexia. Young men have also been affected by the pressure to go to the gym
and have well-defined muscles. They both feel the need to achieve an ideal physique
that is constantly presented to them by influencers and people they see all the time
which is presented as normal, but often isn’t, or is the result of those people having
the time to work out and diet in a way that most people don’t have the time to
organise. There have also been cases of self-harm as a result of people feeling
inadequate compared to what they perceive - and that is important - what they
perceive to be reality when it isn’t. If you go out in the street, it’s easy to see that
most people are normal, don’t have perfect bodies or expensive clothes. But if you’re
locked away in your room hooked on interacting with the world through a screen, it
can be harder to recognise that.

Host: What measures have been introduced to deal with screen addiction?

Dr Hans Bauer: Interestingly, a village in India recently started cutting off access to television and
the Internet for a few hours each day. It wasn’t popular at first, but feedback has
been very positive. It seems that forced break has encouraged people to talk to their
families more in the evening and interact socially. Obviously, that’s not something
that could be done everywhere, but I think it highlights that the screens must be put
away and there needs to be more emphasis in people’s lives on activities that don’t
involve them. You can set the apps on your phone so that they are not available for
a period of time. Families can designate meal times as no tech times. Meet friends
for coffee and leave the screens at home. What is important is that it is something
we are active about. Screen use tends to happen when we’re not thinking about it,
so we need to be more deliberate about staying away from them.

Host: That was fascinating and there’s some great tips there. We’re going to be going to
our callers now to talk about your screen use and ... (fade)

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
Students discuss questions related to their own screen use. You may want to bring this back to the class to get a
general idea of how much time everyone spends on screens and do an informal poll to get an average.

2. Focus on vocabulary

5 mins.
Ask students to attempt the task unaided in the first instance, but allow them to use a reference later if needed.
Be sure that they can correctly pronounce the target words. Note that dependence and hooked have similar
meanings, but hooked is less formal and is usually used in connection to things that have a negative connotation.
Whereas dependence can describe factual situations such as a dependence on a car to get to work, or a country
having a dependence on oil for energy.
You may need to elicit or tell the students the meaning of the following words.
ADHD (n) - a mental disorder where sufferers have difficulty completing tasks, focusing on one thing and organising
themselves
anorexia (n) - a condition where a person constantly eats as little as possible, often caused by a negative body
image where they see themselves as being more overweight than they are
physique (n) - the size and shape of someone’s body

1. → i. 2. → a. 3. → g.
4. → d. 5. → h. 6. → e.
7. → b. 8. → c. 9. → f.

Optional game:
10 mins.
Cut up the cards below and distribute them to your students.
In pairs, each student would take one card and try to explain the meaning of the word so that the second person
guesses it.

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Part B
10 mins.
Ask students to identify which part of speech can be used in each gap before completing them. Note that one
word is extra: dependence.
When they have finished, ask them to discuss the questions in pairs to practise using the vocabulary in context.

1. perceived 2. trauma
3. overwhelmed 4. hooked
5. inadequate 6. anxiety
7. withdrawal 8. self-harm

3. Listening for gist

5 mins.
This gives students and chance to listen to the audio before completing the main comprehension and allows them
to identify the general content of the interview.

2. ✓ What do you think the dangers of too much screen time are?
3. ✓ What measures have been introduced to deal with screen addiction?
5. ✓ Why are screens so attractive?
6. ✓ What role do you think social media has had in this?

4. Listening comprehension

5 mins.
Ask students to complete the questions after the first listening and then listen again to check their answers.

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Part 2
5 mins.
Ask the students to identify three suggestions that the professor suggests as ways to avoid screen dependence.

2. ✓ Setting a time limit for when phone apps can be used

3. ✓ Ensuring that family mealtimes are free of screens
5. ✓ Arranging plenty of face-to-face social events

5. Skimming for gist

5 mins.
You may want to set a time limit on this task to encourage skim reading rather than reading in detail.

A. The rising power of the screen

B. The modern-day role of screens
C. What are the symptoms?
D. What are the consequences?
Sentences not used:
1. Children and screens
4. Screen addiction and finance
Article sources:
1960s: TV and Radio | Encyclopedia.com
Screen Addiction: What Are We Looking For? | Psychology Today
Maharashtra: India village goes offline daily to help people talk - BBC News
Screen Addiction - Reboot Recovery Ranch
Can Social Media Cause ADHD Symptoms? This Study Found A Link Between The 2 & It’s Concerning (elitedaily.com)

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6. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Part 1
Ask students to read the article more carefully and complete the sentences with one, two or three consecutive
words from the text.

1. cultural domination 2. broadcasters

3. disengage from 4. all-encompassing
5. face-to-face 6. counterproductive
7. social media 8. psychological need
Part 2
Ask the students to answer the questions on language.

1. To make it difficult to see the difference between two things.

2. It’s a situation where one problem causes a second problem which then makes the first problem worse.

7. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

8. Extended activity / homework

40 mins+.
Ask students to plan, write and edit their essays based on the discussion and reading in the lesson. Be sure to give
them feedback on their work.

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