Media addiction or "internet disorders" have been researched now for many years. What medical professionals are finding is that media addiction is similar to alcoholism. Let's read what one modern professional has found in her research into compulsive media usage. The following is an excerpt from an article written by Christina Gregory, PhD on the signs and symptoms of internet disorders.

"Some evidence suggests that if you are suffering from [media addiction], your brain makeup is similar to those [who] suffer from a chemical dependency, such as drugs or alcohol. Interestingly, some studies link [media addiction] to physically changing the brain structure – specifically affecting the amount of gray and white matter in regions of the prefrontal brain. This area of the brain is associated with remembering details, attention, planning, and prioritizing tasks. …One of the causes of [media addiction] is structural changes to the prefrontal region of the brain…  rendering you unable to prioritize your life, i.e., the Internet takes precedence to necessary life tasks."

"[Media addiction], in addition to other dependency disorders, seem[s] to affect the pleasure center of the brain. The addictive behavior triggers a release of dopamine to promote the pleasurable experience activating the release of this chemical. Over time, more and more of the activity is needed to induce the same pleasurable response, creating a dependency. [For instance] if you find online gaming or online shopping a pleasurable activity and you suffer from an addiction to the Internet, you will need to engage in more and more of the behavior to institute the same pleasurable feeling prior to your dependency."

What we learn from this article by Dr. Gregory is that a media addict's brain is similar to that of an alcoholic. We see that media changes the structure of the brain. That this structural change makes it so that we can't prioritize and manage our lives well. Like alcohol, there is also a physical component to media addiction: a release of dopamine that creates a pleasurable state in the media addict's body which then triggers a compulsion for more and more media to gain the same initial dopamine hit.