Membership in ACM includes a subscription to Communications of the ACM (CACM), the computing industry's most trusted source for staying connected to the world of advanced computing. Studies conducted with families in the Arab GCC region found that digital addiction is highly prevalent among both parents and children. Digital addiction (DA) refers to a problematic relationship with technology characterized by symptoms of behavioral addiction, including mood modification, salience, tolerance, conflict, withdrawal symptoms, and relapse. While addictive use of technology is not yet officially recognized as a clinical diagnosis, certain forms, such as Internet gaming disorder (IGD), have been classified as clinical conditions. Notably, IGD was included in the ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases) by the World Health Organization in 2018.

There is growing interest in understanding how people interact with large language models (LLMs) and whether such models elicit dependency or even addictive behaviour. Validated tools to assess the extent to which individuals may become dependent on LLMs are scarce and primarily build on classic behavioral addiction symptoms, adapted to the context of LLM use. We view this as a conceptual limitation, as the LLM-human relationship is more nuanced and warrants a fresh and distinct perspective. To address this gap, we developed and validated a new 12-item questionnaire to measure LLM dependency, referred to as LLM-D12. The scale was based on the authors' prior theoretical work, with items developed accordingly and responses collected from 526 participants in the UK. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, performed on separate halves of the total sample using a split-sample approach, supported a two-factor structure: Instrumental Dependency (six items) and Relationship Dependency (six items). Instrumental Dependency reflects the extent to which individuals rely on LLMs to support or collaborate in decision-making and cognitive tasks. Relationship Dependency captures the tendency to perceive LLMs as socially meaningful, sentient, or companion-like entities. The two-factor structure demonstrated excellent internal consistency and clear discriminant validity. External validation confirmed both the conceptual foundation and the distinction between the two subscales. The psychometric properties and structure of our LLM-D12 scale were interpreted in light of the emerging view that dependency on LLMs does not necessarily indicate dysfunction but may still reflect reliance levels that could become problematic in certain contexts.

For a while, dating apps seemed to make it easier, putting a city's worth of single people in the palm of your hand. But AI has cast a paranoid pall over what can already be a suboptimal experience. If you get a message that feels a little off, it is hard to know whether you are flirting with a bot--or just someone insecure enough to use ChatGPT as their own Cyrano de Bergerac. In frustration, my friend Lonni has started picking up women at the nail salon like it's 1997. Or, in the midst of an emotionally fraught conversation with a friend or family member, a text might read strangely.

Internet addiction rewires teenagers' brains and may make them more likely to engage in other addictive behaviour, new research suggests. Signalling between different areas of the brain related to controlling attention and understanding our own emotions were altered in youngsters addicted to being online, say scientists. Their findings, published in the journal PLOS Mental Health, indicate that internet addiction is associated with disrupted signalling in the regions of the brain involved in multiple neural networks. Study co-author Max Chang said: 'These networks play an important role in controlling our attention, in association with intellectual ability, working memory, physical coordination, and emotional processing. 'All of which in turn have an impact on mental health.'

How much gaming is too much gaming? This is the question Japan's pre-eminent addiction expert, Dr. Susumu Higuchi, is trying to answer as he treats people whose lives have been destroyed by video game addiction. Online gaming addiction has become the fastest-growing form of addiction in the 21st century, and it's the most vulnerable people -- children -- who mainly fall prey to its psychoactive effects, Higuchi says. As head of the Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, which started the country's first program for internet addition in 2011, Higuchi is rolling up his sleeves to tackle a scourge that has eaten into the vitals of our society. "This isn't just about Japan, it's happening all over the world," Higuchi said in a recent interview.

In the tech world in 2017, several trends emerged as signals amid the noise, signifying much larger changes to come. As we noted in last year's More Than Noise list, things are changing--and the changes are occurring in ways that don't necessarily fit into the prevailing narrative. While many of 2017's signals have a dark tint to them, perhaps reflecting the times we live in, we have sought out some rays of light to illuminate the way forward. The following signals differ considerably, but understanding them can help guide businesses in the right direction for 2018 and beyond. When a team of psychologists, linguists, and software engineers created Woebot, an AI chatbot that helps people learn cognitive behavioral therapy techniques for managing mental health issues like anxiety and depression, they did something unusual, at least when it comes to chatbots: they submitted it for peer review. Stanford University researchers recruited a sample group of 70 college-age participants on social media to take part in a randomized control study of Woebot. The researchers found that their creation was useful for improving anxiety and depression symptoms.

Philip, who was underweight when he arrived, says to Adam, who is overweight: "I'm worried that you're not eating healthily. I noticed you've been skipping dinner." Adam is meant to repeat back to Philip what he heard him say the problem is. He mumbles, barely audible, and can't seem to remember what he's just been told. He's unable to focus, and the air is thick with reluctance and embarrassment.