London hospital to treat 'technology addicts'

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London has become the UK's first location to treat what one doctor calls “technology addicts.”

The private treatment is available at the Capio Nightingale hospital for those diagnosed with the condition, blamed on the excessive use of social networking sites and computer games.

The brainchild of Dr Richard Graham, the hospital's Lead Young Person's Technology Addiction Consultant, the treatment lasts up to 28 days.

Graham believes that those who become “chronically agitated or irritable” after being away from technology too long needed treatment.

"The preoccupation with accessing sites and responding to messages is so compelling that it gets prioritised,” he told the BBC.

“It can impact on other areas of life and skew young people's ability to engage in other activities."

The treatment does not aim to make patients abstain from technology altogether but instead learn how to control their use.

Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University, told the BBC that the number of addicts was pretty low but he believed the rise of online gaming where playing “never stops,”could also lead to a rise in the numbers.

Most of the people affected were young males, according to Griffiths, but more women were being diagnosed as they were encouraged to join online activities.

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