Witness: Over half of youth clinic referrals involve digital-media addiction

A respondent warned that digital media can behave like a drug for children, saying moving images strongly activate the brain's reward system and "have the potential to be addictive." The respondent also told the questioner that "in our youth clinic, over 50% of our referrals now are for kids who are addicted to some form of digital media."

The exchange opened with a request to explain the physiological impact of screen time on young people's mental capabilities. The respondent described digital media as "a powerful tool, but also a potent drug," adding that "moving images are like catnip for the mammalian brain" and that "digital media releases dopamine, our reward neurotransmitter, in the brain's reward pathway." They argued that any stimulus that produces that dopamine response "has the potential to be addictive."

The respondent presented a numeric indicator drawn from clinical work: more than half of referrals to their youth clinic, they said, now involve children whose use of digital media meets their clinical threshold for pathological addiction. The questioner asked for clarification, comparing the pattern to substance addiction; the respondent reiterated the clinic figure and described the behavior as "pathologically addicted to some form of digital media."

The exchange consisted of a focused clinician-style description of mechanisms (dopamine/reward pathways) and a clinical estimate intended to illustrate the scale of the problem seen in that practice. No policy actions, formal votes, or external authorities were referenced in the recorded segments.