Are Teenagers Replacing Drugs With Smartphones?

CREDITJASON HENRY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The use of smartphones and tablets has exploded over the same period that drug use has declined among American teens. Researchers say the correlation is worth exploring.

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... But researchers are starting to ponder an intriguing question: Are teenagers using drugs less in part because they are constantly stimulated and entertained by their computers and phones?

... Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, described interactive media as “an alternative reinforcer” to drugs, adding that “teens can get literally high when playing these games.”

...  “People are carrying around a portable dopamine pump, and kids have basically been carrying it around for the last 10 years,” said David Greenfield, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction.

Alexandra Elliott, 17, a senior at George Washington High School in San Francisco, said using her phone for social media “really feels good” in a way consistent with a “chemical release.” A heavy phone user who smokes marijuana occasionally, Alexandra said she didn’t think the two were mutually exclusive.

However, she said, the phone provides a valuable tool for people at parties who don’t want to do drugs because “you can sit around and look like you’re doing something, even if you’re not doing something, like just surfing the web.”

“I’ve done that before,” she explained, “with a group sitting around a circle passing a bong or a joint. And I’ll sit away from the circle texting someone.”