1 How far would you go to get your child off the internet? Would you send them here, to the middle of nowhere? I've got` got to go! Tonight ` three desperate families have reached the point of no return. (SOBS) Their loved ones are lost on social media and video screens. You have used the term 'digital heroin'. Is it that bad? (RAPID GUNFIRE) Is this your life? Could it be? Just ask them ` a husband in his basement man cave gaming all night. Yeah, do it. Do it. I was going to bed as a newlywed and he was staying up playing video games. A teenage daughter glued to her cell phone. A knock-down, drag-out fight to get that phone out of her hand. I was up all night sending pictures. Secret sexting... Mm-hm. ...upstairs while your mom and dad are thinking you're safe. Mm. Now they're letting 20/20 into their everyday and every night lives,... This is where you game, huh? ...revealing their family's secrets in video diaries. It's hard not to resent Chris, who is enjoying himself while I am pulling my hair out. But what can get them to stop? And what are the warning signs for your family? Your mother's afraid. Tonight, while our 20/20 cameras are rolling, an intervention... Rawrrr! Where's my stuff? ...and signs of withdrawal. Tight in the chest. Now it's rehab and detox for devices. SOBS: When I have the phone, I can at least talk to people. I feel like I'm fitting in. From heartbreak to hope. Logged in to unplugged. Can they make it? Love you. Copyright Able 2017 Kia ora. I'm Carolyn Robinson. Tonight, we're looking at a very 21st century problem ` digital addiction. We all want to stay connected, but for some people, it's more than that. It's a need, a compulsion to use your phone, PlayStation all the time. 20/20 spent a year on this report. We don't use any last names to protect people's privacy, because, really, they could be any of us. But the good news is they all got unhooked. Here's Elizabeth Vargas. Walk down any street, any mall, any hallway ` everyone is bowing to their screens. Our devices are beeping, buzzing, begging us to swipe, like, love, tweet, retweet, send, reply, forward. (MESSAGE CHIMES) FaceTime, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Vine, Kik. This is Brooke, a California teenager. She's 15 years old now and a self-professed recovering cell phone and social media addict. How long was she on her phone each day? When she got home from school at, like, you know, 3 o'clock until she went to bed at 9. It was more. It was more? Brooke says she would be up until 4 o'clock in the morning and later. The second a text went off, you know, the second someone Snapchats me or FaceTimes me, like, I always answered, and I always waited and waited and waited for someone to reply. It was, like, my heart. Like, I couldn't put it down. Teenagers have always had a fear of missing out, but it's just mushroomed. It's nuclear. And Brooke's selfies reveal a troubling progression, imitating bad behaviour she was exposed to online with her phone. The more she started to change and act out, The more we started to really clamp down. And then that created anger. Brooke was always two clicks ahead of her parents, Jim and Stephanie. I was constantly making different accounts. I had, like, six accounts on Instagram, I had multiple Snapchats, I changed the usernames and passwords, I would block them. We took her phone, she'd go and buy someone else's phone. How were you so smart about all this? Honestly, I don't know. It was, like, they took my phone, and I just panicked. Any time her parents took her phone away, Brooke would go ballistic. It was like a knock-down, drag-out fight, practically, to get that phone out of her hand. She would say that, 'Without my phone, I have nothing.' There was no relationship. We were just a means to provide her with food and shelter and money. And a phone. And a phone. And a phone. A winter night in Michigan ` an ordinary house on an ordinary street ` people just trying to get some sleep. (EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE) But somebody's up late, trigger happy with that rat-a-tat keyboard on a computer playing first-person shooter video games. (GUNFIRE) The boy in the bedroom is Josh. He's 14 years old, and his parents, Al and Christina, say he won't stop ` can't stop ` playing. What's a typical day in Josh's life? Sleeping in till 11, 12, and then he would be on till 1 or 2 in the morning. 12 hours? Yeah. Easily. Easily 12? Yeah. (GUNFIRE) They say Josh's obsession began in eighth grade, when he built himself a gaming computer and installed it in his room. Get out! (DOOR SHUTS) Jesus. You think that was the turning point? Oh, definitely. Yeah. That was much more exciting to be on and much more addictive. Josh says he's playing up to 60 hours a week. (GUNFIRE) Josh has been in his room since 4 o'clock, nearly five hours, gaming. Why didn't you just take the computer away? I don't understand. Because when we did take it away, there was a lot of problems in our house with his behaviour. They confiscate the computer, shut down the wifi, even removed the router and locked it in the car. Josh responds by throwing things and punching walls. There was, like, a shut down in communication. Was it just the constant fighting with him? Mm-hm. Yep. It was very emotional. Al is not only afraid of what Josh might do, he's afraid of what he might do. If it got further, it could have been a problem. It could have been physical. And I didn't want that. So he was trying to physically stop you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He throws up his hands and leaves Christina to handle the conflict on her own. And sometimes it does get physical. They exaggerate. My mom thinks that I hit her because she takes away my games. I don't do that. She calls it hitting because I, like, swat her hand away. There's just a lot of anger ` lots of anger. Emotional outbursts. Yeah. It sounds completely out of control. Yeah, it was. (GUNFIRE) Josh, you need to get off. OK! Stop. Midnight, 1am, 2 in the morning. Why are you stalking me?! All these late-night fights leave Christina exhausted. You know, it's after 3 o'clock, and I told you to get off at 1. ANGRILY: Stop! If you wanna make changes, it's hard work. They turn to Kevin Roberts. He works with kids having trouble with too much screen time. Do you have any support? It doesn't have to be just gaming. It could be texting, it could be the smartphone. Roberts is the author of Cyber Junkie and Get Off That Game, Now! Your mother is afraid to get rid of the video game system and the computer because she's afraid of how you'll react. It's not my fault that she's scared of me. What's this sunny thing? In Ohio, we meet Maria, 40 years old, and attorney, mother of four. Good job! She's not a single mother. It just seems that way. She has a husband, Chris, aged 44, but you can't meet him right now because although Chris and Maria have built a life together, careers, a nice home, beautiful children, on any given evening, Chris is down in the basement past the pink castle and the buckets of children's toys. You may think he's too old for this, but the average video-gamer is 35. MAN: Someone shot me in the face. Home running toward the far line. And this one has been taken prisoner by a past-time. You're done. Cheese! MARIA: Cheese! Chris was still playing video games, so we ended up coming to the park and having some fun here. How many hours a day does he spend playing games? He'll take a whole Saturday and go into the evening. From the time he wakes up till` The time he goes to bed? ...the time he goes to bed, yeah. So 18 hours? Possibly. It's 2am, and I've just checked in on Chris, and he's still playing video games. Ever since they got married, more than a decade ago, Maria says Chris is often a no-show for much of their life. Happy Thanksgiving. I'm headed up to our family football game. Chris opted not to play with us. He is going to play video games instead. Why would you stay` I know. ...with a partner who is that... disengaged? I don't know. I think that I really felt like this was a 'in sickness and in health' moment, and, yes, it's hard, but I was committed to him, and I still am committed to him. So we have a house full of people, and he is in the basement playing video games. Oh God. Come here, bro. Come here. Missing life's sweet moments. The baby's trying blackberries for the first time. Maria is there to see their toddler's first taste of a blackberry, and so are you. What do you think, Zailie? Do you like 'em? Do you love 'em? The only one not there is her father, Chris. All right. What's next, boys? Part of your heart must break for what he's missing. It does. They're living in a split screen ` Chris gets online, Maria gets the kids in line. Play time for him, bath time for her. Downstairs, play; upstairs, pray. I am going to go to bed because I am super tired. This is how we function, and, um... This is how we do it. Still ahead ` risky behaviour right under her parents' roof. We were blown out of the water when the police showed up at our house. And inside the mind of an extreme gamer. Can the screen change your brain? But you've looked at this and thought, 'This is a kid in trouble.' 1 Welcome back to 20/20 and tonight's story ` a year-long investigation into digital addiction. Now we take one of our teenaged subjects for an MRI scan to see what his addiction to gaming is doing to his young brain. The result? Well, it's something everyone should see. But first, we meet the husband whose gaming addiction is hurting his wife and children. Here's Elizabeth Vargas. In Ohio, it's time to meet the man in the basement ` Wait. Wait. Wait. What are you saying, bro? Maria's husband, Chris. Dad! Just fine. Chris comes home from work. It may or may not surprise you to know his job is IT, servicing computers. When he walks in the door, it looks like any other normal family. It's tough. OK, go and write out your problem now, all right? But his wife, Maria, says just watch. Doting dad is itching to disappear. Yes. I think I'm gonna head down. Gosh, I keep returning to this machine-gun guy, and I've played just terribly at this dude. Chris shows us his collection of obsessions ` Oh wow. no fewer than 158 carefully organised games. This is where you game, huh? Yeah, matter of fact. Matter of fact. That's a nice set-up. He tries to show me what all the excitement is about. You can either say, 'Hey, you sucker, I put you down that quickly.' (GUNFIRE) It's something where you can remove yourself from, you know, from the world for an hour. Um... Or more. Or more. (CHUCKLES) And watch what happens when Maria comes downstairs to check on Chris before she goes to bed. Hey, babe. Hey, Maria. I am going to head to bed. All right. Goodnight. All right. OK. Do you think you're addicted to these games? Uh, I say` I say addiction's there. Chris says he's considering cutting back. But quit for good? Never. I can't stop forever. That just seems like a... Even though you know it hurts your wife and your children? And... And, yeah, every next thing I say, it sounds more and more like a scared addict. (CHUCKLES) In California, Brooke's parents say her phone and social media fixation opened a portal into a dark place. Her risky behaviour escalated when she was just 11 and 12 years old. Just hanging out with the wrong crowd ` drugs, sex in middle school. With that phone always in her hand, her parents wondered whether any place was safe. OK, she's home, she's safe. But it was a complete false sense of security, because she's up there in her room, you know, with her phone, on the internet. And as her parents later discovered, sexting with strange men. I was up all night sending pictures. Of yourself? Mm-hm. To strangers? Yep. When I did it and I got those compliments, I got that attention, and it just made me feel really good. It's unnerving to listen to you tell me about how you fell into this world of secret sexting... Mm-hm. ...upstairs. Yeah. You weren't safe. Not at all. No. It's not just the phone and the internet. Brooke has ADD and attachment issues. When you take a phone and social media and you put it in the hands of a, you know, a teenager, and then throw in some mental illness, she just becomes very vulnerable. But her parents don't realise just how vulnerable until they get a knock on the door. We were blown out of the water when the police showed up at our house. Oh my gosh. Officers revealed what their little girl had been doing online ` the men, the nude photos, all of it. You know people watching this are going to say, 'Where were you?' Yeah. It was shocking. It was. I guess I thought of her just as a regular, everyday little girl growing up. Word spread on social media about Brooke's mistakes. Bullied and shamed, she tried to numb the pain with drugs and alcohol. I think you used the word 'broken'. Yeah. Do you have any idea how you got that way? I think I just got to a point where I kept getting hurt, I kept doing things that I knew didn't make me happy. And then an act of desperation. Brooke wrote a note on her phone. And somehow, by the grace of God, her parents say, it accidentally popped up on their shared iCloud account. I said, 'What's that?' So I opened it up, and it was a suicide note. A suicide note? What did you think reading that? (CHUCKLES WRYLY, SNIFFLES) I couldn't believe it, you know. It was scary. I just got to a point where I just didn't even know why I was here and why I was still trying. You mean why you were here on Earth? Yeah. It just didn't make sense to me any more. Yeah. They had Brooke committed to a hospital that night. That was it. That's when we knew` That was it. ...we had to do something drastic. The first thing the attendants took from her was her phone. Brookie wanted to, like, fight the nurse for it. I was, like, 'Don't touch me.' I was pissed. The despise in her face for us. Betrayal. She was so angry` She was so pissed off. But there was no other way. I just kept thinking, you know, 'You're not gonna die on my watch.' In Michigan, Josh begins skipping school. He told me a couple of times, 'I'm going to be a gamer, and I can make a lot of money, Mom. 'Believe me. I've got it all figured out.' I was, like, 'Ooh, this is not good.' And then no more school. There was some things going on with his ADHD, and then there was some underlining depression. So it wasn't just all the gaming. Al and Christina are wondering what's going on inside Josh's head. If only there was a way to peek inside that adolescent brain. Well, it turns out there is. You had an MRI before? Josh is getting a functional MRI as part of a new study by Dr David Rosenberg. His theory, yet to be proven, was that excessive gaming changes brain activity. These triplets are in the study too. Turn it off now. Stop, Mom. You're still playing. I said I'm going to watch this, then I'm gonna go play outside with Josh. I told you` I'm gonna go play outside with Josh. That's Noah. You can see why his mom says gaming has more of a hold on him than on his brother and sister. These are the triplets' brain scans. Two are typical, but Noah's is not. Dr Rosenberg highlighted areas in red he says represent brain activity involving memory, attention and decision-making. Noah's is almost completely grey. But now look at Noah's brain after three weeks unplugged at summer camp. He's gone from being barely lit up to being highly. He's highly lit up, yeah. Now for Josh's results. There should be much more activity. There should be more red? There should be more red. So you looked at this and thought, 'This is a kid in trouble'? This is a kid in trouble. Still ahead ` what's it gonna take to throw Josh off his game? How about 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness with no temptation? (DRAMATIC MUSIC) 40 days in the desert may seem a little extreme, but will it work? We'll find out when 20/20 returns. 1 Welcome back. Tonight on 20/20, we're looking at a serious 21st century problem ` digital addiction. We've just seen the effects that too much time on digital devices has on young brains. Well, now a family who've reached breaking point over their son's addiction take drastic action. They sent him to a bootcamp, where he is unplugged for days and 40 nights. The result? Wait and see as Elizabeth Vargas continues her story. (TENSE MUSIC) Early morning in Michigan ` a scene right out of Josh's video game. A couple of guys come to the house and gently but firmly hustle him away into the darkness. He knew it was coming. It's just kinda stupid. I just play video games, and I have to go to a rehab for it. But when the day came, he wasn't ready. Josh really became emotional. He was like, 'I don't wanna go. I'm scared. I wanna see my mom.' Josh is flown to Salt Lake City and then driven hours away into the Utah wilderness and a programme called UNPLUGGED at Outback Therapeutic Expeditions. He and a group of other boys will camp for weeks in this rugged terrain. There is no running water, no electricity, no screens. The only thing that glows in the dark ` a campfire and the moon. In Ohio, no one is getting on a plane, but Chris and Maria are hoping for a game-changer. We arranged for a house call ` addictions specialist Nick Kardaras. So, what are you gonna say to him? Well, it's my whole purpose, is trying to find out where he's at on this whole` with ownership of his addiction, cos he acknowledged that there's a problem. Inside, before Chris decides if he's ready to unplug from his gaming habit, an emotional hug from his oldest children ` a reminder of how much they need him. Don't be sad. (CRIES) That's enough, eh, guys? And then a big test. He wants Chris to get the video games out of the house. We could box them up, and they could be stored somewhere. Chris is at a crossroads. Are you willing to take this opportunity? (CLEARS THROAT) Not next month. Yeah, I'll, um, I'll step up. I'll try. Then it's time to pack up Chris' obsession. All right. Here we go. OK. Slightly painful. Those buckets for children's toys come in handy. I wanna go back to when we knew each other better. Yeah, that's really nice. LAUGHS: Give me a hug. What's wrong with all these so-called cyberjunkies? Is their extreme behaviour a disorder or just a symptom of something else? That is a subject of heated debate among scientist. Is there really such a thing as digital addiction? I think the answer is unequivocally yes. It impacts on the developing brain in exactly the same way substance addiction can. Kardaras has written a book called Glow Kids. You have used the term 'digital heroin'. Really? Digital heroin? Is it that bad? Maybe there's some shock value to that. Maybe I am trying to shock some parents awake to say, 'This is a potentially addictive device. Be careful.' The American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual includes Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition requiring further study. And Dr David Rosenberg is doing just that. Internet addiction clearly exists, but there's always an underlying cause or causes. The Entertainment Software Association, a trade group, says in a statement... But digital addiction is taken seriously in some parts of the world. Asia has hundreds of treatment centres. The World Health Organisation is poised to officially classify 'gaming disorder' in its disease manual. Are we late to the party on this? Yes. I think we are late to the party. China has had internet addiction disorder as a diagnosable disorder for a few years now. We're not going to be able to help people change their behaviour through shame and willpower. Software developer Gabe Zichermann says apps and games are designed to enthral. He would know. He says he used to earn a living making them that way. My work in gamification, in particular, has been used to make just about everything that people use today more addictive and engaging. How do they do that exactly? Every time you challenge yourself to something, and then you achieve that thing, your brain secretes a little bit of dopamine. Zichermann says he and developers like him designed games and apps to purposely activate those jolts of dopamine. But he has had a change of heart and career. He's created an app that helps users break the cycle of compulsion. And I'm using the exact techniques that I've used for the last decade to make things more addicting to help people counteract the addictions they face. It all sounds so devious. I kinda picture them twirling their moustaches as they're talking about this. Psychology professors Chris Ferguson and Patrick Markey study video-gaming, and they say it's getting a bad rap. Are all these families just making this up? No, we're not accusing them of lying at all. No. So then, if they're not addicted to their video games, you're telling me that this is a moral panic? The question, though, is is it the video games themselves that's causing the problem or is it something underlying? That's what we can't speak to. We don't know what is going on in these families. I don't think parents, though, realise that those games have been manipulated. Well, I mean, I think 'manipulated'` over time, they're trying to make them more fun, essentially. Still ahead ` what happens when the fun and games and devices are gone? It's a little tough to think about even now. It's making me feel some feels right now. (CRIES) I don't know. I don't know. So, how tough will it be for these people to go without their devices? Stay tuned to find out. 1 Welcome back to 20/20 and tonight's story ` the culmination of a year-long investigation into digital addiction. Now our three subjects are trying to kick their habits in three different ways. While father-of-three Chris is on a 90-day detox in his own home, teenager Brooke is in a treatment facility while 15-year-old Josh is going unplugged in the wilderness for more than a month. As Elizabeth Vargas explains, each has their own struggle to overcome. Soaring through thin air, these majestic Utah mountains offer a breathtaking vista. But down in the desert dirt, 14-year-old Josh is still trying to catch his breath. I would think that initially, in the first few days, it's just about learning life skills. McKay Deveraux is executive director of Outback Therapeutic Expeditions. It's actually the first several weeks in which they're learning to take care of themselves. Josh is enrolled in a treatment programme called UNPLUGGED. The organisation waived his fee, which can run tens of thousands of dollars, hoping to raise awareness of the problem. If the boys want to survive, they will have to change their lives. What does it have to do with gaming or anxiety or depression? Being able to, kind of, reset everything neurologically and mentally by taking them away from all the distractions of their typical life. After Josh has been in the wilderness for more than seven weeks, we go for a visit. I'm Elizabeth. It's very nice to meet you. All right, so show me round your camp. Josh shows me how he and the other boys live, carrying their few belongings in a homemade backpack, building shelter, preparing meals ` nothing gourmet ` out here, peanut butter is a delicacy. Josh wanted to show off his new fire-making skills,... Where do you do it? Right here? Yeah. Oh my God. ...with disappointing results. Oh, I smell something. I got a lot of brown punk. A lot of brown? Yeah. That was pretty close. We'll practise again later, OK? How's that gonna help you in life, do you think? As an example, it's, like, my anxiety. Like, at first it was super hard for me to hike. Learning to overcome physical challenges here is a lesson Josh can take with him and apply to life challenges back home. So you're learning to push yourself? Yeah. My issues is, like, that I had gaming addiction, slight anxiety and depression. And basically I just use it as, like, escaping from it. Are you worried at all about going home and falling back into your old habits? Yeah, like, I've had dreams at night where I'm, like, playing video games, and then it's just kinda, like, scary when I wake up. There's another milestone for Josh here on the mountain. He's turning 15 ` a birthday to remember. Unlike Josh, Chris is facing his gaming problem right at home in Ohio. But there are still mountains to climb. I don't make it down here much. Um, it's just kind of a place for the kids to play right now. Visiting his former gaming closet triggers intense emotions. Yeah, I freaked out about it. I remember kicking my couch. Watch Chris' reaction to those empty shelves. The games were here, and, surprise, the games were... gone. I was just tight in the chest and (INHALES DEEPLY) Gets a little tough to think about even now. I mean, it's making me feel some feels right now. He documents his struggle to stay out of the game day by day,... I'm day two of this 90-day detox. Boredom, monotony,... agitation. ...week by week. It is amazing. This probably is the first week game-free in... years. Years and years. Maria assumed without games, Chris would spend more time with her and the kids. Fun! But at least for now, his intensive therapy is taking up four hours, nearly, every day. I was kinda hoping that he would at least attempt to, when he's with us, um, be with us. But I wonder if right now it's just a little too much for him with the anxiety level. And although the games are locked away in a storage facility, he admits they still seem to have a hold on him. It's grey and cold and rainy, and wouldn't it be nice just to head downstairs and just play some freaking video games? It's been nearly 20 months since Brooke first arrived at her treatment facility. We wanna start off with some pretty tight limits and structure around your phone use. Periodically, Brooke is allowed to go home for visits. The trips are a test. Brooke's phone, normally locked away, is handed over. This is the first time she's had it since she got to go home last time. Brooke, how long has it been? I'd say probably a month and a half. How does it feel to have it back? It's really exciting, cos, I don't know, I miss talking to my friends, and so it's, like, exciting that I get to do that again. Brooke's mom, Stephanie, is going to the airport to meet her. I'm always hopeful. I'm hopeful every time that she comes home, but I'm also realistic, and I know that it's a real struggle for her. OK, so, Brooke ` looks like she has landed. Oh. Oh! I didn't even` I thought she was part of the flight crew. (LAUGHS) So good to see you. There's been a lost of trust in this family, and Brooke's parents take precautions ` out of sight, out of mind. We have a drawer here that we just keep some of our old devices in. We just kinda keep these hidden while she's here. Remember these? Oh yeah. Most of the visit is going smoothly,... When you made this in preschool. ...paging through old memories of life before the crisis,... (BOTH LAUGH) ...watching home movies. (LAUGHTER) But at night, when Brooke has to hand over the phone, it's hard. (SNIFFLES) Her painful past comes rushing back. She's feeling like the only teenager in the world who can't handle a phone. (SNIFFLES) I guess I just feel really left out and, like, when I have the phone, I can at least talk to people and feel like I'm fitting in still and, like` I just feel like I'm missing out. (CRIES) Even with all the improvement and all the progress you've seen her make, it isn't all better? No, it's not. Right. No. That's still an issue ` what social media does and allows kids to access and be vulnerable to. Yeah. It's a lifelong journey for her. There will still be highs and lows. Still ahead ` a reunion in the mountains. Will sparks fly this time? You OK, Dad? CAMERAMAN: Should we cut the camera? (EMOTIVE MUSIC) You won't want to miss this emotional reunion when we come back right after the break. 1 Welcome back to 20/20 and tonight's look at digital addiction. After nearly a year, our subjects are still battling trying to kick their habits. Things are improving, but will the lure of social media and gaming prove too strong? Elizabeth Vargas continues the story with the emotional reunion of Josh and his parents after more than 50 days apart. (INTRIGUING MUSIC) Welcome to Salt Lake City, ladies and gentlemen, where the local time is approximately 10.13am. Al and Christina travel from Michigan to Utah and then make the long journey over rough roads, tracing their son Josh's path into the western desert. Can't imagine what Josh would think the day they came out here. Yeah. Josh has been unplugged for more than seven weeks. They can't wait to see him, but first they have to find him. Josh is somewhere out here, and then you guys are going to signal for Josh using this. OK. That's how we're gonna find him. (LOUD WHIRRING) Wyatt, a field staffer, gives them a wooden device called a bullroar,... used in ancient rituals to send signals over long distances. (BULLROAR WHIRRS) They stop and listen for a response from Josh,... but nothing. Off in another part of the desert,... (BULLROAR WHIRRS) (PANTS) Oh, come on. (SIGHS) ...Josh is having trouble. Swear to God it was working, like... I know. It was working yesterday. It's not a bad metaphor for the family's communication problems when Josh would shut himself away in his bedroom, gaming all night. CHRISTINA: It's 3 in the morning. It's time to get off now. (BULLROAR WHIRRS) Christina takes a turn. And at last, Josh responds. (BULLROAR WHIRRS) Is that it? That was it. That was it? That was it right there. OK. Moments later, after the longest and most difficult separation of his young life, 54 days apart,... There he is. Is he there? Oh, (LAUGHS) there he is! Hey, Josh! How are ya? Good. Good to see you. Oh my God, you're getting bigger. Dad. Hey, Josh. You all right? TEARFULLY: Yeah. (GENTLE MUSIC) Oh, look at this! So this is your camp right here? As he did during my visit, Josh tries to show his mom and dad how he can make fire without a match. This time the glowing ember in his hands comes to life. Here we go. (LAUGHS) Oh yes! Singed my hair. (LAUGHS) Oh man! That was awesome. (FIRE CRACKLES) Remember the boy who could barely bring himself to put a few words together? This is a different Josh. Like, at home, I didn't even notice that video games were, like, destroying me mentally and how it's, like, just as bad as substances, like, mentally. I just didn't notice that. I didn't, like, care at all. As long as I could play video games, then that was it. That's all I really cared about. I mean, I literally skipped school for a month just to play video games. Josh paints his parents' faces, a figure in red for his mom, standing between light and darkness. Even though, like, you were dealing with my gaming addiction, you could always, like, seek the light. You were always trying to find help for me. Oh, that's cool. Is it? Yeah. That's really cool. Al is moved by his son's recognition of their struggle to free him from his gaming obsession. You OK, Dad? Mm-mm. CAMERAMAN: Should we cut the camera? It's OK. When you're ready, Josh. For his dad, two figures, representing before and after. You've changed a lot. I can see that you're trying to change. I'm glad. OK. Thank you. All right. Love you. And then it's time for goodbyes. A dusty hug,... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. ...and Al and Christina are heading back to Michigan. See you guys in a couple of weeks. Josh will remain behind for now. He has more work to do in the desert. Hi, Mom! In Ohio, it's time for a change in latitude. Chris and Maria are taking the kids for an adventure. Hey. Where are we going? To Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico. Where are we going, Zeezee? We're going Puerto Rico. They visit Puerto Rico every spring, but this year seems different. Go to the pool, go to the beach with my kids and my family. And it's good. It's good to get away. It'd be easy if I can be on vacation all the time. Weeks later, we drop in on Chris and Maria on a Sunday morning. With 53 game-free days behind him, Chris is out of the basement and killing it in the kitchen. One morning, several days earlier, Maria recorded another video diary. It's her birthday. I really don't have big expectations for my birthday. But imagine the surprise when I came downstairs to this. He got me a gift and beautiful flowers, and a really nice card. I'm really feeling a lot of hope and excitement and just happiness. Your time at Outback has come to an end, but the journey continues. After 10 weeks unplugged in the wilderness, it's time for Josh to go home. I guess I get to sleep in a warm bed instead of on the ground in a sleeping bag. (CHUCKLES) Al and Christina are getting ready, patching and painting Josh's room, removing that custom-built gaming computer. Ladies and gentlemen, it's our pleasure to welcome you to Detroit. Oh boy! There he is! He's here. All right. Welcome home. Here. Let me give you a real hug. Oh, you still smell like sage. Home again, Josh has lost weight. He feels taller, and with a new haircut, he's a different boy. Now you've gotta go back to reality. Yeah. Those aren't the only changes. A couple of days later, Josh has a follow-up brain scan. Dr David Rosenberg shows us the results. What you can see here is` Wow. Yeah, this is an 'oh wow' effect. Same boy ` Same boy. before treatment, after treatment. What is that telling you? He was completely shut down. When we talked with him here, he was exuberant, a different child. In California, Brooke and her family work together on a sign of renewal ` a fresh coat of paint. I wanna start over and make my room more positive. I think if I can take my story and make other people, like, think about things before they do it, help them to make a better life, I think that's really important. And then it's time for Brooke to return to rehab. She's done well on this trial visit, but there's more to treating those underlying issues than simply taking her phone away. Yeah, this is the worst day of the whole trip. Every time. Sad that she's leaving, but super happy that she'll be back soon. It may be a sign of her recovery that saying goodbye to her mom is harder than ever. (SOBS) Do you feel like you have your daughter back? No, I have the new and improved Brookie. I do. And she's worked so hard. # Sing it to a blue sky. # Shout until the boys come home. # Don't you even ask why. We just should... # give in to the good. # It's an ongoing battle for all the families involved in our story. Now, if you or a loved one are struggling with a digital addiction, check out netsafe.org.nz for some advice. That's our show for tonight. Thank you for joining us. Kia ora. Nga mihi.