Digital technology has greatly enhanced our lives both inside and outside the workplace. But it is not all positive. Recently, when I was running a workshop, one of the participants (let’s call him Phil) had to excuse himself regularly from the room. My first reaction was that he had a weak bladder or an upset stomach. It was only later that I discovered he was suffering from Digital Addiction Disorder (DAD) or, in layman’s terms, the inability to stop looking at one’s iPhone or iPad. The workshop was a reflective one and I had requested that electronic equipment was not to be used in class. But Phil, physically unable to wait for a coffee break, was driven to leave the room whenever he felt compelled to check and respond to whatever messages were coming in.
