Framing the screens

A child psychiatrist in the land of pixels Sylvie Zucca has been treating children, teenagers and adults in psychological distress for thirty years. She has observed the deleterious effect of screens on an entire generation, the development of new pathologies and, in extreme cases, a withdrawal from real life. Few people are aware of the extent to which our relationship with the world has changed as a result of the use of screens in the media, and this anthropological change means that diagnosis and hospital practices need to be rethought. We are entering the era of digital life, where feelings and perceptions follow paths that flout the rules of the physical world to which we are accustomed. New forms of dependency are being created. Feelings of impunity, addiction to violence and navel-gazing are reaching preoccupying levels. The habit of immediacy and submission to the flow of networks means that we no longer question the origin and production of the content we ingest, and that we are distracted from thinking critically.Based on cases experienced by her patients, Dr Zucca brings home the reality of the issues facing our societies. She offers common-sense solutions, such as learning to stop binge-watching, and formulas to help us realise the emotional misery to which screens can lead us (metro, work, porn). Aided by shocking images (the telephone charger cord compared to an umbilical cord), the writing is sharp and the message, far from stigmatising, seeks to heal.