LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) - As fall approaches and schools start opening their doors, some medical experts are concerned that some kids may have a hard time socializing after spending a summer with too much screen time.

And not just this time of year, kids have been exposed to more and more technology through video games and mobile devices over the last two decades.

The availability of electronics has led to children exhibiting addictive behavior similar to those with gambling addictions.

According to Eddie Luker, a clinical therapist at Mayo Clinic Health System, playing video games or watching online content stimulates the reward center in the brain and releases dopamine which can lead to developing a strong drive to seek out that same pleasure again and again.

Continued use can result in unhealthy social skills.

"What we're seeing in children and adults who become compulsive in their behaviors around video gaming or anything regarding internet is this disconnection that happens," Luker explained. "That alone can lead to anxiety, depression itself that can bring those symptoms along instead of depression, anxiety causing the video game addiction. The opposite, the reverse of that can happen."

Luker suggests that while screen time addiction isn't technically recognized as a medical condition, it meets the definition of addiction when individuals can't control their screen time use despite negative consequences.

Luker offers some tips for parents to help identify addictive behavior symptoms:

Luker added that kids who interact socially online may experience a detrimental effect in social development because texting or gaming with others is a lot different than face-to-face interactions.

"There's a different type of connection that happens that cannot happen over the internet," Luker said. "And so if children are learning how to "socialize" that way, it has been documented that at least for some social issues, later as teenagers when socializing is a major life development task, learning how to socialize.  There is some anxiety, more depression around these issues."

Here are some more tips for parents that Luker said will help curb exposure:

More information on screen time guidelines can be found on the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

For more insight on the effects of screen addiction, Eddie Luker also highly recommends watching the documentary The Social Dilemma , available on Netflix.

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