Mal Fletcher analyses the problem and suggests some answers.

Speaking to Channel 4 news recently, Silicon Valley "computer philosopher" Jaron Lanier argued that BigTech companies engage in behaviour modification.

They hook us, he said, on a system of rewards and punishments. Then, by using algorithms and bots to determine our likes and dislikes, they point us toward other material that confirms our biases.

In the end, social media and search entities lead us toward ever more blinkered visions of reality. Our thinking becomes stunted, our worldview myopic.

Last week the British universities minister said that technology firms have a "duty of care to the young". He likened them to polluters.

When an oil spill occurs, he said, energy companies are expected to clean it up. In the same way, new media giants should be expected to help solve some of the damage they do to young minds.

A UK study released last week revealed that ten percent of children aged 5 to 16 has some form of clinically diagnosable mental illness. The head of the National Health Service said that web giants are helping to fuel this "mental health crisis" among the young.

Strangely, tech mammoths like Facebook and Apple have advocated that the answer to our over-engagement with technology is even more engagement - via specific apps on their platforms.

Clearly, our appetite for all things digital and search-related has gone too far for any proverbial turning back of clocks. However, we can at least contain the strangeness.

Nothing much in life can be reduced to just a few steps. Yet there are a few simple things we can do to ensure that, at least on an individual basis, we don't descend further into the mists of confusion.

We might start with a re-assessment of the time we spend online.

Much has been documented about the dangers of internet addiction. In fact, it is now recognised as a bona fide mental condition in a number of countries, including the U.S.

In international tests, people with internet addiction have been shown to score higher on measures of depression and anxiety, and lower on measures of self-directedness and cooperativeness. They also score lower in terms of family function.

While occasionally playing games online can improve decision-making, people who are addicted to game-play often exhibit high levels of impulsivity. Especially if their games involve them as shooters.

The word "addict" comes to us from the Latin language. The term "addictus" was used to denote the time served by indentured slaves.