From the Publisher
Praise for Digital Madness:
“Mental health has become one of the biggest issues of our time and Dr. Kardaras highlights a perfect storm that may have irreversible damage to our health if we don’t act quickly. The growing risks and distractions prevalent in our society have never existed as they do now, and I can only thank Dr. Kardaras for his perceptive insight that will no doubt lead to real solutions to tackle the greatest mental-health crisis of our time. A must-read.”
—Dr. Vanila M. Singh, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor, Stanford School of Medicine,
former Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
“Digital Madness is the book we need now! So many of us have participated willingly in the creation of a society addicted to digital devices and social media. Those willing to put down their devices long enough to read this book will not only learn how we can begin to unplug, they will also learn how we can begin to recover and regain our collective sanity.”
—Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D., Dean of the Rossier School of
Education at the University of Southern California
“Kardaras guides readers through a whirlwind exploration of social media–induced societal sickness. In our downward spiral of cultural crisis, Digital Madness—like Glow Kids before it—should be required reading for anyone who has ever clicked the Like button.”
—Jeff Greenberger, Ph.D., Stony Brook University,
Professor of Classics, and Fulbright Scholar
“Kardaras expertly dismantles the world of big tech in Digital Madness, blending personal and professional experience to write an essential guide to the relationship between technology and mental health. The result is a book that’s moving, convincing, and—given Kardaras’s strength as a writer—a pleasure to read.”
—Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Irresistible and Drunk Tank Pink and NYU Stern School of Business Professor of Marketing and Psychology
“Digital Madness is as fascinating as it is alarming, reminding us that just because social media is now ubiquitous, it doesn’t have to go unchecked at the expense of mental well-being. Calling on individuals and society at large to acknowledge and address a myriad of implications, Dr. Kardaras is leading a movement to prioritize public health as we navigate uncharted waters.”
—Former congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, founder of the Kennedy Forum
“Digital Madness highlights in the most eloquent way our unnoticed prisoner self in the dark cave of social media. Dr. Kardaras addresses the impact of technology on mental health and our attempts to socialize in an ever-polarized digital world. In the wake of COVID-19, this book reflects our deepest concerns about life online, but also points the way out of the mental-health crisis. An outstanding contribution to contemporary mental-health matters, this is a must-read.”
—Zoe Rapti, Deputy Minister of Mental Health, Greece
"Something has gone seriously wrong with American society, and the root cause is digital technology.... A frightening diagnosis of a corrosive plague by an articulate expert in the field." —Kirkus
“Psychologist Kardaras delivers a sobering account of how social media damages mental health. … Kardaras uses easy to understand language to provide a bracing look at the toxic psychological effects of too much tech. … Readers will be unnerved.” —Publishers Weekly
Praise for Glow Kids:
"A paradigm shifting, mind bending account of excess and tragedy that should serve as a clarion call to rethink our ever evolving relationship with advancing technology." —Dr. Howard J. Shaffer, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
"Read this book. Save our children's brains, now." —Paula Poundstone, comedian, author, Social Commentator, Screen-Free Kids Activist
"An invaluable resource and a wake up call about the risks our children face when we allow unfettered access to 'screen time.'" —Pedro A. Noguera, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Education at UCLA
"With the rigor of an investigative journalist and the insight of an addiction specialist, Kardaras manages to make a complex and uncomfortable topic both palatable and accessible. A highly recommended read." —Victoria Dunckley, MD, integrative child psychiatrist and author of Reset Your Child's Brain
Kirkus Reviews
2022-06-01
Something has gone seriously wrong with American society, and the root cause is digital technology.
As the director of a mental health clinic and a one-time heroin addict, Kardaras understands the nature of addiction. As he shows, social media and computer games can be as addictive and toxic as any chemical, leading to anxiety, depression, and despair. In his 2016 book, Glow Kids, the author examined the impact of the internet on children. Here, he takes a broader view, looking not just at teenagers and adults, but at society as a whole. Though he has seen many patients with borderline personality disorder, he believes that it is dramatically underreported. Many intense users of technology have fallen into a pattern of binary thinking, able to see only extremes and suffering from a lack of empathy. They are perpetually angry, fearful, and impulsive—all signs of BPD. Others have a deep sense of self-loathing and frustration, terrified that they will never meet the standards of the media influencers they follow. This has also led to political polarization, isolation, and a breakdown of long-standing social contracts. Added to the mental troubles are the physical effects of spending so much time glued to screens, particularly obesity and diabetes. Kardaras emphasizes that the effects of addiction are known by the tech companies, but they choose to do nothing because their profits are based on it. “I freely concede that we have achieved wondrous advancements in our technological abilities,” he writes. “But our species is deteriorating; we’re getting weaker, both physically and mentally.” As a therapist, he offers a plan for breaking the cycle of addiction, focused on finding a meaningful purpose and building real-life social connections. The difficulty with this is that it only works for those who want to recover, and the reality is that most tech addicts—like any other category of addict—won’t admit the problem.
A frightening diagnosis of a corrosive plague by an articulate expert in the field.
